Medium (2005–2011): Season 6, Episode 19 - Sal - full transcript

"But deliver us from evil.

"For thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory

forever and ever." Amen.

You done?

What was that?
I think it was Marie.

What is it, sweetie? What's wrong?

Daddy, Daddy,
there was a man out there.

What? What?

It's okay.

The guy's name is Matt Mulhearn.

Did you know him?



Not really.

I'd see him around
from time to time.

I'd wave at him or his wife.

Oh, my God, his wife, his kids.

They're fine.

Everyone except Mr. Mulhearn here

was in Chandler with one
of the grandparents.

Wife's on her way back now.

This is the third

home invasion murder
in the past month.

The first two happened in
the Western Precinct so, uh,

their homicide squad's
handling the investigation,

but this matches the M.O. Exactly.

Someone pried open the back door,



forced your neighbor here
to open the family safe,

and then put a bullet
in the back of his head.

I know. I dreamt it last night.

Th-The last part of it anyway.

But you mean you didn't come
all the way out here to say hi?

So, uh... give me a
description of the shooter.

I can do one better than that.

I can give you an eyewitness.

Hey, Mommy, what happened?

What's with all the
cop cars outside

in the middle of the night?

Our neighbors, the Mulhearns--

somebody broke into their house.

Are they okay?

Well, it could have been worse.

Only Mr. Mulhearn was home.

Sweetie--

honey, the police are going to
want to talk to you tomorrow

about that man that you saw.

Is he going to come back?

No, honey.

The people that I work with,
they're going to catch him.

They're going to put him in jail.

Okay, but can I please sleep
with you guys tonight?

Of course you can.

Wait a second. Well,
then who's going to sleep with me?

Remember how when we
first moved in here,

I'll call tomorrow.

I'm interested in Southfork

because it combines the
advantages of a small school

with the benefits of a
large public university.

The ratio of teachers
to students is low,

which is something I'm
definitely looking for.

Okay.

What do you think?

Does it sound weird
talking about ratios?

Maybe I should just say, like,
"Class sizes" Or something.

I don't think it matters.

I mean, you already
rocked your SATs.

You really think this
interview is that important?

It's for Southfork.

I mean, they're sending someone
all the way down here to do it.

World themes is calling.

You ever read Beowulf? Uh-uh.

Yeah, me either, and I'm
about to have a test on it.

Later.

Good luck.

Southfork, huh?

That's a good school.

Tough to get into, though.

That's what I hear.

Did you know that less than
ten percent of the people

who applied there last year got in?

Those are brutal odds.

Excuse me, do you work here?

Are you a-a teacher or something?

No.

Okay, so then what
are you doing here?

Why are you hanging around
a high school library?

People are trying to study.

Oh, don't worry,
nobody can hear us. Honest.

Honest!

You're...

Yeah, as a doornail.

Almost three months now.

Heart attack.

Tenth mile of a training run.

My name is Alan Hahn, Dr.
Alan Hahn.

I was a... A professor of
romantic literature at Southfork.

Tenured professor.

Head of the department actually.

Okay.

Well, then it's, um, it's really
nice to meet you, I guess.

Well, it's nice to meet you, too.

GIRL : Rhonda,
Rhonda... RHONDA: I'm sorry.

Ariel...

I think I can help you
get into Southfork.

In fact, I can
pretty much guarantee

that you'll get into Southfork.

Really?

Mm-hmm.

How can you be so sure?

Well, when I was alive,
I was married to a woman

named Sondra Hahn-Barker.

Sound familiar?

She's interviewing me tomorrow.

Mm-hmm.

Yes, Sondra is a very
successful attorney.

She's one of Southfork's
must active alumni.

She's on the board of directors.

She's raised god knows how
much money for that place

If you get her stamp of approval,

you are in-
it's as simple as that.

And I can tell you
exactly how to do it.

If you listen to me,

you will give the interview
of Sondra's life,

'cause I know just
what she wants to hear.

Okay, but...

Why would you do that for me?

A very good and canny question.

It is, after all,
a rather large favor.

In return for which,
I'm asking only a small one.

At the interview,
Sondra will have a laptop.

It was mine.

There's a file on there
I'd rather she not see.

When an opportunity
presents itself--

and I know that one will--

all you have to do is
just delete the file.

How do you know

that she'll leave me
alone with that computer?

Oh, the same way I know

that you're going to pass this
interview with flying colors.

Yes, it's one of the few perks
of my current condition.

What else do you need to know?

What's on this file that
you want me to delete?

Uh, it's personal.

It's, uh, no big deal.

It's just-- it's embarrassing.

Honestly, there's just some, uh,

material I'd rather, you know,
my wife not know about.

Some Web sites I was
visiting, you know.

I think you-you understand
what I'm talking about.

Yeah, I got the idea.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Hello.

Your security system is
ready for activation.

Cool. It talks.

Sure does. The 2100 will even react

to the sound of your voice,

if your hands are full and
you can't punch in your code.

Okay, um...

AUTOMATED VOICE: Your
security system is armed.

Once it's armed,
and the sensor's been tripped,

you have 20 seconds to turn it off

before the alarm goes off.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Your
security system is disarmed.

What else does it say?

Excuse me?

The alarm.

What else does it say?

Uh, pretty much just "
Armed" And "Disarmed."

I can set it up to tell you

which alarm sensor's
been tripped if you want.

Can it say our name?

Not quite there yet.

Maybe next year's model.

All right, well, the alarm is set.

Don't open a window unless
you want the police here.

Good to know.

You've been, uh,
in there for 45 minutes.

What have you been doing?

I was making the Mulhearns lasagna.

I'm going to drop it
off in the morning.

Oh, that poor woman.

I think her name is Amy.

I can't even imagine what
she's dealing with right now.

Losing her husband
suddenly like that?

Mommy?

I can't get tired.

I'm still too scared.

You know we've got an alarm now,
sweetie, right?

It's on and everything.

I know.

You want to sleep
with us again tonight?

Hmm? All right.

Come on, you little one.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Your
security system is armed.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Your
security system is disarmed.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Your
security system is armed.

AUTOMATED VOICE: It's
all right, Marie.

The house is safe.

You heard me. I said you're safe.

You could talk?

I sure can, Marie.

My name's Sal,
and I'm here to protect you.

And I hope that you and I are
going to be very good friends.

Oh. Hi.

Allison, right?

Um, I hope I'm not intruding.

Thank you.

Everyone's been so kind.

I can't tell you how
much we appreciate it.

Um, would you like to come inside?

Another neighbor
brought a deli tray by.

I-I made coffee.

Well, I would love to.

I'm, I'm just a
little late for work.

Um, another time?

Okay.

I've actually got to get going,
too, Amy. Oh.

Okay. Um... Allison,

have you ever met Josh Berryman?

He lives right around the corner.

Hate that we're meeting
'cause of this,

but, uh, it's always nice
to meet your neighbors.

Take care, Amy.

Bye.

Berryman worked as a
software consultant

until his company went under;
That was about two years ago.

Wife filed for divorce
ten months ago.

Mortgage is eight
months in arrears.

Does he have an alibi for the night

of the Mulhearn murder?

Nope. Doesn't have one

for the nights of the
other two murders, either.

Way Berryman tells it,
he spends most nights

watching TV at home
by his lonesome.

Still and all, I know this
guy's broke, but, uh...

He just doesn't strike
me as the home-invading,

execution-style-murdering type.

It's him.

He did it.

He's the man I saw.

Well, there's one way
to find out for sure.

You ready?

Okay, Marie, you see all
those men in the room there?

Let me tell you a secret.

You can see them,
but they can't see you.

Okay?

So all you have to do is

point out the man that you saw
running through your backyard,

and the police here will
take care of the rest.

All right?

All right. Good.

So, do you see him?

No.

Are you sure, sweetie?

Maybe you want to
take another look?

No, I don't think I remember.

Marie, sweetie,
that man can't see you.

You have nothing to be afraid of.

No, I don't remember
his face, Mommy.

I'm sorry.

But, honey,
you looked right at him.

Al.

She said she doesn't see him.

...she really saw the guy?

Well, she did her best.

Can we do that again tomorrow?

Look, I know Marie
saw that man's face.

I just need a little
more time to talk to her.

Aaaaa

You mean nobody else
has come forward

to say they saw him? SCANLON: No.

And so far, forensics has nothing

to tie him to the scene.

So, without your daughter's I.D.,

we got nothing on this guy.

You can't just let him go.

Allison, no one is
questioning what you saw.

But there is simply

not enough evidence to
justify holding him.

He's a killer, sir.

He lives down the
street from my family.

From my daughters!

All right.

By law, I can hold him for 24
hours without charging him.

But if we don't find enough
evidence between now and then...

You have to let him go;
I understand.

Those dorms, oh, my goodness.

Which one is it-
the one that was built in 1842?

Well, that's Whitman Hall.

That's where I lived as a freshman.

You did? You're kidding.

No.

Sorry.

Oh, it's my office;
I'm going to have to take this.

I thought I'd be done by now.

I didn't expect to find
someone so engaging.

Do you want me to wait outside?

No, no. I'm gonna run to
the ladies' room after.

This'll just take a sec.

Hello, this is Sondra.

Hi.

That's your cue, kiddo.

You got about 90 seconds.

Are you sure this is the right
file you want me to delete?

Stop looking at it and just do it.

But I don't get it.

Why do you want to delete
a bunch of baby photos?

Oh.

Happy now?

Just do it.

You were involved with this person.

And you lied to me.

You know what?

I already nailed that interview.

So I don't need to erase
any of this for you.

Fine. If you think my wife's life,
or anyone's life,

is gonna be made better by
looking at those pictures,

go ahead, just leave them.

But you've got eight
seconds to decide.

Six.

Four.

All right, Ariel,
ready to dive back in?

Absolutely.

You did very well in there today.

I think you're a lock.

I just wanted to,
you know, check in,

make sure you're not thinking
about doing anything rash.

You mean you want to know
if I'm gonna tell your wife

that you were involved
with another woman

and had a baby with her?

That's a bit presumptuous,
isn't it, Ariel?

Y-You don't know
that that's my baby.

Are you saying it isn't?

I'm saying,

the paternity of that child
has never been established.

Not to my satisfaction.

Not to your satisfaction?

Is he your child, or isn't he?

I don't know how to
answer that, Ariel.

That is a mystery
which is now, sadly,

lost to the sands of time.

You know, the woman, uh,
you saw in those pictures--

I wasn't the only person
she was dating at the time.

Uh, Abby was a student of mine.

A very, uh, uh, popular student.

Okay, but in those photos,

she obviously thought
that it was your child.

You-you know what?
I'm not getting into this with you.

Uh, have a wonderful life.

Enjoy Southfork, hmm?

Uh, and here comes my
wonderful widow Sondra.

What's wrong, Marie?

There's no reason to be scared.

I told you I'd keep you safe.

I can't help it.

I understand.

It's a dangerous world out there.

That's why I'm here-
to keep you safe.

To warn you about the bad guys,

and to scare them away
if they come too close.

And do you know why you're here?

To help me.

And that means

you have to listen to what I say.

You have to do what
I ask you to do.

Because I'm the one in charge
of keeping everyone safe.

You understand that...
right, Marie?

That's easy to understand,
isn't it?

You listen to me,
and everything is fine.

You don't listen to me,

and your whole family
dies in their beds.

How's that sound?

Marie?

What are you doing?

I couldn't sleep.

Who were you talking to?

No one.

Are you sure?

Come here.

Honey, if anyone
ever threatened you,

if anyone ever told you things

to scare you about our family,

you would tell me, right?

You know Mommy works
with the police.

I would get them to put
that person in jail.

And even if it wasn't a person,

you would still tell me, right?

Because you know,

I would never let anyone
or anything hurt you.

You know that, right?

Oh, honey...

Were you talking to that alarm?

Was the alarm talking to you?

You can tell me.

It talks when you turn it on.

Well, I-I know that,
but other than that.

Mommy, burglar alarms don't talk.

Not really.

I'm gonna go back to bed now, okay?

Okay, so the burglar
alarm... is evil?

No, Joe, that's not
what I'm saying.

Not exactly.

Okay. What are you saying exactly?

I'm saying that in my dreams,

this thing is talking
to our daughter,

and I don't like what it's saying.

And I know how that sounds,

but I've seen it.

I come in tonight.

Marie is standing in
front of the alarm.

And it's dark.

But I'm pretty certain
that she was talking to it.

Al, I'm having a hard time

following you down the
rabbit hole on this one.

I know this thing
seems pretty high-tech

because it talks, but it's act...

It's actually fairly simple.

In terms of programming power,

it's about as sophisticated
as the toaster oven.

Smart people have
been experimenting

with artificial intelligence
for decades now,

but I doubt that anybody
has cracked the problem,

snuck it into a burglar alarm
without telling anyone.

Okay. Then why don't you
explain why I'm seeing this?

The burden of proof is on me here?

Yeah.

Okay, fine.

If I had to guess,
I would say that you are dreaming

about what Marie is
seeing in her imagination.

Kids sometimes respond to trauma

by creating imaginary friends.

Marie has been through a trauma,
and if she's getting comfort

by giving the burglar
alarm a personality,

by imagining it can
keep us all safe,

why is that such a big deal?

It's not comforting her,
it's threatening her!

It's telling her that
we're all gonna die.

And you know what? I don't
care if you can't explain it.

I don't like it!

I'm gonna call the
company tomorrow,

and I'm gonna have
them take it out.

Well, hold on a second, Al.

We just spent $2,200 on this thing.

I'm not saying we
won't have an alarm.

I just want a different model;
One that doesn't talk.

Your security system is armed.

Who asked you?

No!

Allison, what can I do for you?

Did I just see Josh
Berryman in here?

You sure did.

We released him this morning,

so I asked him to come by

so I could personally apologize

for any inconvenience
or embarrassment...

Apologize?

You didn't see the paper
this morning, did you?

There was another home invasion
last night in El Mirage.

They cleaned out the safe

and shot a retired couple
in the back of the head.

Since Mr. Berryman was in
our custody last night,

it seems unlikely
that he was involved.

That, plus the utter paucity
of any evidence against him,

well, there's really no
basis on which to hold him.

But I saw him do it.

That's all well and good.

No, no, no, you're not hearing me.

Obviously,
it wasn't him last night.

I don't know if he committed
these other murders,

but I know he killed my neighbor.

I saw him do it.

I can even tell you exactly
where the murder weapon is.

What are you doing?

I thought we had a deal.

Yeah, I thought I was supposed

to help you get rid of some porn.

Yeah-- is this about the baby?

Are you still upset about the baby?

The paternity of that child
has never been established.

All I know is that
that information was

on your computer when you died.

Okay, so maybe your wife
was supposed to find it.

I'm not sure.

I'm just sure that I was
never supposed to remove it.

You think that's going
to make a difference?

That kid is nothing to Sondra.

My family's obligation to
that boy died when I did.

Yeah, well, that's not
up to me to decide.

And you don't know.

Maybe she'll want to help.

Y-You're talking about my wife?

That woman sues
people for a living.

She would personally kill the
last baby seal on the planet

if she thought there was
a dollar in it for her.

That, that kid is
nothing to Sondra.

She'll do nothing for that kid.

Maybe she will, maybe she won't.

It's not up to me.

You might as well stop talking

because there is nothing
that you can do to stop me.

Oh, I know that.

I'm not trying to stop you.

I'm just trying to, uh, delay you.

Ariel.

Mrs. Hahn-Barker.

Uh, great, I've been
waiting for you.

You have?

Uh, yeah.

Sorry, my, uh,

my dad said that he'd,
uh, get me a laptop

when I go to college, so,

yeah, I just saw it lying here

and, and wanted to check it out.

I, uh, I got home the other day

and realized that I wanted
to send you a thank-you note,

uh, thanking you for taking
the trouble to interview me,

uh, and then I realized
that I don't have

a home or business
address to send it.

That's completely unnecessary.

Here's my card.

Thanks.

Ariel.

You gave a great
interview the other day.

Southfork is very
excited about you.

Thank you.

Bye.

Hello.

Yeah, I just wanted to let you know

I'm right around the
corner from your place.

I'd ask if I can stop by for dinner,
except I smell

like I've been rooting
around in a sewer all day,

which is exactly
what I've been doing.

Tell me you found the gun.

I wish I could.

We searched that grate
you pointed out to us

and then we poked our heads
down every manhole on the block.

You'd be surprised
at some of the things

your neighbors flush
down the toilet,

but there's no gun down there.

I don't understand.

It was sitting there,
I saw it sitting there.

I don't know what to
tell you, Allison.

If there was a murder weapon
down there, it's gone.

That's good, Marie.

You're a very
cooperative little girl.

Al, what the hell are
you doing out here?

I'm looking for something.

What?

This. Whoa!

This is the gun

that Josh Berryman used
to kill Matt Mulhearn.

I think Marie put it in here.

I think tha-that alarm told her to.

No, I didn't.
Marie, I know you did.

I saw you put that
gun in the trash can.

Look, honey, I'm not mad at you.

I just want you to
tell me what happened.

Don't look at that alarm,
you look at me.

Look, I know you're scared.

I know that thing has
been talking to you,

but it cannot hurt you.

It cannot hurt us.

I need you to tell me
what it told you to do.

You're scaring me, Mommy.

Burglar alarms do not talk.

Well, that one does,
and we both know it does.

Okay, come on, Marie,
why don't you go back,

see if you can get a
little more sleep?

Joe!

We will talk about
this later, okay?

I'm sorry, Mommy.

She's lying!

This thing is making
my daughter lie to me!

For God's sake,
are you listening to yourself?

I am getting rid of
that thing right now.

What are you talking about?

They're coming to replace
it the day after tomorrow.

Do you know how to
dismantle that thing?

I can cut some wires.

No. Okay, just do me a favor-
give it to me.

If you're dead set on doing this,

at least take advantage of the fact

you're married to an engineer.

And you do me a favor-
don't shock me or anything.

Very funny.

Just don't ask me where I found it.

Am I allowed to ask you what it is?

It's the gun that
Josh Berryman used

to kill Matt Mulhearn.

Look, I know another crime happened

while he was in custody.

I know you made nice
with the guy yesterday.

Just run whatever
tests you need to.

You'll see I'm right.

Ariel.

Mrs. Hahn-Barker.

I thought you were, uh,
were heading home.

I delayed my flight
for a couple of hours.

I wanted to speak with
you about something.

Uh... sure.

I found a file on my
computer yesterday,

and I think that you put it there.

It's the only possibility
that makes any sense.

Thank you for not
bothering to deny it.

Do you know her?

The young woman in the photos?

No, I never met her.

She said the same thing about you.

I spoke with her.

If, in fact, that young boy
is my late husband's son...

I've decided to take
some of the money

that Alan left behind
to provide for him.

I'm glad.

So if you didn't know the girl,

then you must have known Alan.

Putting that file on my
computer for me to find,

I can only assume you had
some score to settle with him.

I've learned an awful lot
about my late husband

over the last 24 hours.

I can't imagine what would
have brought you to Oregon

or to Southfork.

The summer program for high
schoolers, I'm guessing.

So which one of his lectures

on romantic literature
reeled you in?

Sense and Sensibility?

The Lady of the Lake?

That was always one
of my favorites.

The Scarlet Letter?

No, I've never been to Oregon.

I have never heard your
late husband's lecture.

And I swear that I never
met him while he was alive.

You what want to know what
should have been my first clue?

Your interview.

All those carefully
polished answers.

You sounded exactly like him.

It is a shame.

I liked you.

I actually felt good
about championing you

to the Director of Admissions.

Well... I have a plane to catch.

Stop that.

You brought this on yourself.

You didn't need to get
involved with him.

You didn't need his help.

No.

You're a smart girl.

You're going to get into
some wonderful school.

Just not this one.

Why did you guys rip the
alarm off of the wall?

You want to field that one, dear?

It wasn't working right.

O-Kay.

But why isn't Marie
coming out of our room?

I think she misses the alarm.

Okay.

Go get your sisters.

I know Marie's in mourning,
but she still has to eat.

Hello?

Allison.

I'm sorry I didn't get back
to you before you left.

I wanted you to
know you were right.

According to Forensics,

that gun you brought in was
used to execute Matt Mulhearn.

Sir, that's great news.

I'm not finished.

Now, we can tie the
weapon to the murder,

but not to the man you
believe pulled the trigger.

I'm afraid that the gun was
wiped clean of fingerprints

before you brought it in.

Also, the serial
number was filed away,

so there's no way to trace it.

Bottom line is,

we simply cannot connect it
to Josh Berryman in any way.

So he just gets away with it?

In the absence of further
developments, I'm afraid so.

Look, I know this hits you
quite literally close to home,

and I want you to
know how sorry I am.

I understand, sir.

Thank you.

So, I-I did like you told me.

I-I went to the bar in Avondale,

and I bought this from a guy who
deals drugs in the parking lot.

And, um, I went to the bank.

Um, I-I got a safe deposit box.

But, you know, don't-don't worry,

because I-I-I won't spend it

till a couple months
after the job's done.

But, uh...

You got the money, right?

I guess it's really gonna happen,
I guess. I'm actually...

Gonna kill someone.

Hey.

Listen.

Calm down.

It's going to be fine.

Just be sure you...

Shoot me in the back of the head.

We need it to look like
the other break-ins.

So now you know.

I hired Josh to kill me.

That voice.

You sound exactly like...

The burglar alarm?

Yeah.

I'm the man behind the curtain.

I'm Sal.

I apologize for
using your daughter.

But after Josh shot me,
it became pretty clear

that you were going to lead
the police to the truth.

And I couldn't let that happen.

She was so fascinated

by that alarm.

She really wanted to
believe it could talk.

You manipulated my child?

You bullied her so she wouldn't
identify Josh in the lineup?

You put a gun in my baby's hands!

I did.

And again, I apologize.

But what was I going to do?

Josh left his prints
all over that gun,

even though I told him never
to handle it without gloves on.

And he was supposed
to dump it in a lake,

not in a sewer grate,

where it would just sit there
until a city worker found it.

Hey... I get that
you're angry with me.

But believe it or not,

I had a really good reason
for doing what I did.

You're not even a
little bit curious?

You don't even want to
know why I hired someone

to shoot me in the head?

Not really.

Not now.

At the moment,

all I really want to do is
call the people I work with

and tell them about a
drug dealer in Avondale

who sold Josh the gun.

Oh, and this, uh,
brand-new safety deposit box

that's got $20,000 in it.

I had Huntington's disease.

Do you know anything
about Huntington's?

It's genetic.

I got it from my dad.

You wake up one day,

and you don't have control
of your body anymore.

Your-your limbs move.

They dance.

They writhe.

In the old days,

they thought people who had
it were possessed by a demon.

There's no cure.

There's barely even a treatment.

It's just a slow, terrible death.

And your family,
they get front-row seats.

There was no way

I was putting Amy and
the kids through that.

Not after what I saw with my dad.

So when I realized, I had it,

I decided to bow out gracefully.

Problem was,
I couldn't kill myself.

Life insurance doesn't
pay out for a suicide,

and Amy and the kids
really need that money.

I knew Josh was in a pinch.

So he and I,

we came to a mutually
beneficial arrangement.

An "Arrangement?"

Is that what you call it?

You abandoned your family.

You left your wife to see you lying

in a pool of your own blood.

I know, it wasn't pretty.

But believe me, it was a lot
better than the alternative.

I-I know that you're angry with me.

But this crime that you're
running around trying to solve?

It's really just a case
of assisted suicide.

With, I'll grant you, a little--

a little insurance fraud thrown in.

But there's no murder here.

Not when you really think about it.

You know, if you're not lying,

if you really were sick, I'm sorry.

But I have no reason to trust you.

And, you know, it's really
the courts who decide

whether or not your
death was a murder.

Your call.

But if you keep dialing,

you lose the chance
to cooperate with me.

Cooperate with you on what?

On what?

Did you forget?

Allison, there's a real
murderer out there.

He's already robbed and
killed five people.

And I'm pretty sure he has
no intention of stopping.

One of the only nice
things about being dead?

Gives you a hell of a vantage point

from which to watch the living.

I know an awful lot about this guy.

I can tell you his name,

where he lives,

where he works.

I know where he hides the stuff
he stole from his victims.

I can even tell you the name
of the nice, young couple

he's planning on hitting next.

If I agree to ignore
what you and Josh did.

What's his name?

What?

Nothing. I...

I was just thinking about what
an interesting person you are.

It's kind of a shame

we didn't get a chance
to know each other,

living so close and all.

Matt.

Name.

You should go get a piece of paper.

You're going to want
to get all this down.