The X-Files (1993–…): Season 11, Episode 8 - Familiar - full transcript
Mulder and Scully suspect that darker forces are at play as they investigate a brutal animal attack on a little boy in Connecticut.
Secrets will
be revealed
on The X-Files.
The truth still lies
in the X-Files, Mulder.
Catch all-new episodes
Wednesdays.
And check out
our other Fox programs,
The Gifted, Lucifer, and 9-1-1.
I can help you. Please.
Only on Fox.
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
happy as can be *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me *
* When I'm feeling lonely,
lonely as can be *
* Oh, Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Won't you play with me *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* We all love you so *
* Stay with us forever *
* Never let us go,
and when I'm feeling lonely *
-* Lonely as can be *
-You can't call me anymore.
* Won't you play with me *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
I can't do this right now.
I'm at the park with Andrew.
We need to talk.
Mommy! Mommy!
Mr. Chuckleteeth!
-Mommy's on the phone, Andrew.
-But, Mommy, look! Look!
-I can't do this.
-Mommy, Mommy!
Stop calling me.
-Stop calling.
-Diane.
Andrew?
Andrew!
Andrew!
Andrew!
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Where are you?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
happy as can be *
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
There you are.
Mr. Chuckleteeth, wait!
Where'd you go?!
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Come back.
Andrew!
Andrew!
Andrew! It's Daddy!
Andrew!
-Andrew!
-Andrew!
-Andrew!
-Andrew, can you hear us?!
Andrew!
-Andrew! -Andrew!
Andrew Eggers!
*
Andrew!
Oh, my God.
You got something?
Oh, God help us.
-Is that him?
-Rick...
-Is that my son?
-Don't... don't look.
-Andrew! Andrew!
-No. -Hey.
Oh, God.
Let me go! Let me go!
Let me go! Andrew!
Andrew! Oh, please.
Please! Andrew!
Andrew!
*
I think you can see
by the photographs
in our case file there,
the boy was viciously attacked,
and the body was found
right here.
The coroner has asphyxiation
as cause of death,
from a crushed windpipe and...
fractured dislocation
of the cervical vertebrae.
Yeah. The town was, uh,
really shaken up about it.
But you think this was
an animal attack?
I think those photos speak
for themselves. Yes.
What kind of animal,
Chief Strong?
We get coyotes,
both here and in town.
Well, it's rare that a coyote
will attack a human being.
Well, they say that
there's a new predator
that they're calling a Coywolf.
It's a mix of Canis latrans
and Canis lupus.
It's a hybrid coyote-wolf.
Is this the first such attack?
And hopefully the last.
But, uh...
let me ask you,
what's the FBI doing here?
The FBI has jurisdiction
over the killing
of the immediate family
of a law enforcement officer.
Wait.
You think that
this was a murder?
-I don't rule it out.
-What makes you say that?
I know this is a small town,
and probably very close-knit,
and I'm sure that you
don't want to hear this.
But if a man did this-- and
it would typically be a man--
he would be emboldened
by escaping detection,
-and would likely kill again.
-The evidence
-doesn't support that. -Well,
the broken neck supports that.
And the bite marks that you see
might be postmortem
animal predation.
You can't just walk in here
making assumptions
that we've already dismissed.
These aren't just
careless assumptions.
Agent Scully's
also a medical doctor,
and damn good at her job.
You'd be looking
at a male, age 19 to 42,
with a criminal record.
And probably lives near
and frequents the park.
Would know
the boy's play schedule.
And, most disturbingly,
these types of killers
get aroused
at the suffering
of their victims.
We were hoping
we could see the body.
Thanks
for backing me up out there.
Yeah. You're my homie.
But Coywolves?
-Really, Mulder?
-Sometimes mixed with wild dogs.
Bet a wolf
hasn't been seen in Connecticut
-for a hundred years.
-Just last year, to be accurate.
All that I took from the report
is that a child was snatched,
right from that playground.
Does that sound like
a wolf to you?
No, I wasn't thinking wolf.
I was thinking
more like a hellhound.
-What's a hellhound, now?
-It's a large black dog
that guards the gates
of the underworld.
But that's
neither here nor there.
The point is
that stranger things
have happened
around here, Scully.
In 1658, a Puritan midwife
named Goodie Bishop
was accused of witchcraft
and lying with the devil.
Legend has it that
she spontaneously combusted
in front
of the assembled townsfolk.
-Right over there. -Well,
as we've discussed before,
people don't just spontaneously
combust, and that woman
was undoubtedly an innocent,
a tragic victim
of religious persecution
and hysteria,
and anybody would know that
if they read
-beyond the tourist literature.
-Because there were
bogus witch hunts doesn't mean
that there were no witches.
And while I do sadly concede
that there are
probably no Coywolves
in Eastwood, Connecticut,
I do suspect
there are still practitioners
of the black arts.
Well, they can practice
all they want,
but it doesn't mean
that witchcraft
-has any basis in reality.
-Well...
and yet, a young boy is dead.
Mulder, the only devil around
here probably parks right here
in front of the playground,
stirring something other
than his cauldron.
Huh.
I just want to find the killer.
No matter how many times
we do this, Mulder,
a child is always the hardest.
It never gets easier.
It's an innocent life cut short.
It's hard not to take it
personally.
Irregular lacerations
and abrasions
on the neck, throat and torso.
Significant...
amount
of the lower abdomen is...
completely torn out
and missing.
That would appear to agree
with their findings.
Well, evisceration fits
animal predation,
but the condition of the body
makes it almost impossible
to determine when it happened.
Cervical fracturing fits
with the picture
that he was
most probably shaken to death.
By a man.
Well, that's...
something I didn't want
to broach out there, Mulder.
You think it's
one of the parents.
You were in Violent Crime,
Mulder,
before you came to the X-Files.
You know the profile.
Eyewitnesses exculpate
the mother.
But the father...
he's a police officer.
Being protected
by fellow officers?
What's that?
What does that look like to you?
What is that--
fine, white sand?
Looks like salt to me.
Mm. That in the report?
What would be
the significance of that?
I'm not sure.
Tell you what else
isn't in the report.
There's an eyewitness to the
scene who wasn't interviewed.
And her father's
the chief of police.
Mulder, she's five years old.
That seem odd to you?
And her mother was
right there with her.
Seems very odd to me.
But you're wasting
your time, Mulder.
Andrew blessed the lives
of all of us here in Eastwood.
Today we all grieve
with Diane and Rick...
for the unimaginable loss
of one of Eastwood's
dearest sons.
This isn't right.
We don't even have his body.
My baby.
It is in the most
difficult times
that the love and compassion
of our community
is so vitally important.
For, "where two or three
are gathered in My name,
there am I among them."
Amen.
Andrew is with the Lord now,
free from the evils
of this world,
free from our iniquities,
and free from our sins.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Both of you,
just please understand
that if you ever,
ever need to talk...
Excuse me.
Diane.
Please, I can't talk now.
Okay. I just...
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Hey, man. So sorry.
Hey, let me ask you something.
Why won't the FBI
release Andrew's body?
Look, he's my son.
What are they saying?
What are you keeping
from me, man?
They're pushing another story.
They're saying it wasn't
an animal attack.
What are they saying it was?
The female agent?
Uh, she laid out a profile.
Male, 19 through 42,
past convictions.
She even says
he probably gets off on it.
Oh, my God.
And he probably lives here
in Eastwood.
I'm sorry, man.
Okay, we'll see you.
Why... why does the FBI
need to speak to Emily?
She's just a little girl.
Look, we need to cooperate
with them.
We've got nothing to hide.
They just want to ask her
some questions.
Anna, just play nice.
But I was there.
We didn't see anything.
I'm getting it from all sides.
They're trying to turn a tragedy
into a damn
murder investigation.
But what does that
have to do with Emily?
Just let them talk to her. Okay?
Man asked you a question, Em.
Emily, did you see
who took Andrew?
But if you saw,
you'd tell Mommy, right?
Did you see anyone at all?
I saw Andrew going
into the forest.
Go watch your show.
Well, um, I...
I guess I'm not
as interesting as...
-Bibbletiggles.
-Bibbletiggles.
Mm. She's obsessed.
Well, who wouldn't be?
I just, I can't...
I can't stop thinking about
how easily it could've been us.
I mean, you look away
for just one moment...
Do you have kids, Agent Mulder?
Uh, well, I have, uh, a son,
who's... he's grown, though.
When I was little, you could
hardly keep me in the house.
Now you can't drag your kid
away from a screen.
Yeah. Are you from around here?
Right down the street. Yeah,
Nutmegger through and through.
Husband, too. I met him
when I was five years old.
He must be under a lot
of pressure. The case.
There's the guilt.
That it happened on his watch.
He's very protective
of this little town.
Obsessively.
Runs in the family, I guess.
Mommy, I want juice, please.
Excuse me.
-Sure.
-Okay.
*
My husband's
a local history nut.
- Oh. - The, uh,
witch trials and all that.
Anything else, Agent Mulder?
-No. Thank you for your time.
-* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
-* Happy as can be *
-EMILY: Mommy!
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me *
He was in the forest.
* When I'm feeling lonely,
lonely as can be *
* Oh, Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me. *
Son of a bitch.
Seeing the body
change your mind?
I maintain
that the boy was murdered.
But there's something
that you should know.
As hard as it is
to contemplate...
-Don't go there, Agent Scully.
-When the child
is under the age of five,
the majority of assailants
are, in fact...
Rick Eggers did not
kill his son.
Most of the time,
friends and family
can't even contemplate
that the suspect is capable
of these crimes
because they carry out
their fantasies in private.
I think I've heard about enough.
I want to rule him out
as a suspect.
Officer Eggers loved Andrew.
He's a decent, honorable man,
a good cop.
But I need your help.
When the suspects
are confronted,
they have a tendency to become
violent towards themselves.
I would confront him myself,
but I don't have to.
He was working his shift
when Andrew was attacked.
With you or out on his own?
Why don't you ask him yourself?
Hey. Where's Eggers?
He just ran out of here, Chief.
Almost knocked me over.
Hey!
Let's go!
Rick, I need you to pull over.
That's an order.
Pull over right now.
The hell is he going?
Hold on.
You think he's going home?
He's going the wrong way.
Melvin Peter!
Where are you,
you son of a bitch?
Put that away. Eggers!
Eggers.
Eggers.
He's not here.
-Eggers, what are you doing?
-He's not here.
-He's not here!
-Whoa, whoa.
Hey, hey! Put the gun down.
Rick. Put the gun down.
It's okay. Come on.
I got it. I got it.
What the hell is going on?
I found the piece of garbage
that she was talking about.
- It's my boy.
- Okay. Okay.
Mulder. Where are you?
Back where they found the body.
There's been a development.
What kind of development?
I'm not quite sure yet.
But the dead boy's father
has had a breakdown.
Mulder?
Mulder, are you there?
Just tell me where you are.
114 Pendley Avenue.
Step back, please.
Who let the dogs out?
Waiting on a search warrant.
Whose house are we searching?
Convicted sex offender,
Melvin Peter.
He failed to register
with the local police
when he moved in last year.
Two blocks away
from Ash Hill Park.
Who figured that out?
Father of the deceased,
right over there.
Based on the profile I provided.
I'm not convinced.
You sure about that, Mulder?
I'm not sure about anything.
I got the warrant. Let's go.
*
Oh! Come on.
What is it, Mulder?
They put out an APB
on Melvin Peter
and called his parole officer.
I still don't like him for it.
What's not to like?
I mean, you couldn't dream up
a more perfect suspect.
He's potentially John Wayne Gacy
with a monkey.
That's it. It's too perfect.
I don't-I don't like perfect
like that.
Makes me uncomfortable.
Well, sometimes the simplest
of competing theories
is actually the right one.
And I think most of these people
would agree with you.
-That's what scares me.
-Well, they've been living
next to a convicted pedophile
and they didn't know it.
This guy has no chance.
Why are you defending him?
I'm-I'm not defending him.
But you said it yourself,
it's this rush to judgment.
Mass hysteria,
Salem, McCarthyism.
What happened to the precious
presumption of innocence,
which is rooted in
a very democratic ideal
that it's better
to let ten guilty men go free
than to imprison
one innocent man.
I am all for benefit
of the doubt, Mulder.
But he is a convicted felon
and we have to start somewhere.
And you and this mob are
reconvicting him right here
and now for the sins
of his past.
With a fervor
that we see too often
in this American experience
of ours.
If you're not gonna
do something, we will!
*
Em, it's time for lunch.
Emily. TV off, now.
Em.
Emily.
Emily?
Emily.
Emily! Emily!
Similar signs of predation,
but not beyond
forensic analysis here.
You okay, Mulder?
I talked to her
just this morning.
Just this morning she was alive.
This is the killing field.
Is it true? Emily!
-No, no, no. No, no. No, Anna.
-Em!
No, no, no. Don't go there. No.
No, no, no, no, no. Emily!
- Let me go! Emily!
- Stop. Stop.
No. You can't be here.
Okay, you can't be here, honey.
You did this!
You did this to her!
This is all your fault!
She can't be here.
Get her out of here.
I'll take her home, Chief.
I got you.
What is it, Mulder?
It's salt.
Oh, there's some here, too.
You seeing this, Scully?
Mulder, it's a crime scene.
No, you know what this is?
- This is a magic circle.
- Mulder...
In witchcraft,
magic circles are used
-to summon spirits and demons.
-Mulder, stop.
When casting spells or curses,
the salt protects the caster
from the demons unleashed.
Mulder,
this is protecting no one
and you can't do this.
In the 16th and 17th
century, witches were said
to conjure spirits
called familiars,
which usually took the form
of-of animals.
But sometimes could take
human shape in the guise...
Hey, what are you doing?
...of the victims' ardent
desires or a beautiful woman
luring a man to his death, or...
Hey, I asked you a question.
...a TV character.
What do you mean
a TV character?
Mind telling me
what you're doing?
Scully.
This is a Puritan graveyard.
This is ground where spirits
and demons have been unleashed.
I think there's someone
who's not telling us
everything they know.
What the hell?
That's him.
That's him right there.
What did I do wrong?
You killed my boy!
You closed the case
because you didn't want it
looked into further.
You knew there was salt
on that young boy's body,
but you hid that fact,
a fact you knew would reveal
that someone was
practicing witchcraft.
Mulder.
No, it's...
It's okay. He's right.
You ought to take a beat, Chief,
before you say anything else.
Did you kill those children?
I have let the devil
into my soul
and I have sinned against God,
broken a sacred commandment,
but I did not kill anyone,
especially not Emily.
Then what's your part
in all this?
I am a...
lustful man.
An adulterer.
She wanted to end
the relationship,
but I wouldn't let her.
I kept pushing and pushing.
I was on the phone with her
when Andrew went missing.
And now...
my own daughter.
God. What have I done?
See, I'm being punished.
I've opened the gates of hell.
Oh, God.
Let's all give him some room.
How did you know, Mulder?
I... did not see that coming.
But you knew something.
Yeah. In his library,
there are all these books
on the town's history--
folklore, witchcraft.
Well, that's circumstantial
at best.
I'm sure lots of libraries
in this town have those books.
Yes, but he would have known
about magic salt circles
and familiars and hellhounds.
So you think Chief Strong
unleashed something?
I think someone has put a curse
on this town, Scully,
and maybe unwittingly opened
the gates of hell.
Hey, we got a situation here.
-Officer involved.
-Copy.
It's Officer Eggers.
Get him, Rick!
Eggers, stop!
Stop! Hey!
Back off! You can't do this!
He killed my son.
I never killed anyone.
You're a convicted predator.
- Hey! You can't do
this! - Let me go!
Hey! Relax, all right?
I'm serious, Eggers! Back off!
-Hey! -Who the hell
are you protecting?
-Just let me go!
-You, Rick.
-I'm protecting you.
-Let me go!
We were kids.
It was statutory.
- I never hurt anybody!
- Oh, no.
-Don't you talk to me
about kids! -All right. Relax.
Everyone, back up! All of you!
Everyone, back off.
Everybody get off him!
Get off him!
Get off him.
Come on, get off him.
Get off, get off.
FBI!
Any further violence
will be viewed
as attempted murder.
I never hurt anybody.
Call an ambulance.
No!
All rise for Judge Theo Brown.
You may be seated.
I fear emotions
are running high today,
so I'd like to ask everyone
to respect the seriousness
of our jobs at this arraignment.
I'll ask respective counsels
to approach.
There will be
two injustices here:
the death of an innocent man and
the release of a guilty officer.
What makes you so sure, Mulder?
It's small town justice.
They have their scapegoat,
their predator.
We've witnessed
mass hysteria and mob violence
at its worst, but I'm not
so sure about an innocent man.
This is a witch hunt.
I think the person or persons
responsible for the deaths
of those children
is in this courtroom today.
What happened to hounds of hell?
Oh, I saw one.
-Mm-hmm.
-I did.
Whatever you think
you may have seen, Mulder,
you still haven't explained how
a wolf can take a young child
-from under its mother's nose.
-Oh, no, it was, it was...
he was just guarding
the entrance
to the underworld in this case.
Return to your tables.
You still haven't
answered my question.
Mr. Eggers.
Due to your exemplary record
as an officer
of the Eastwood
Police Department,
the testimony of your peers
and in determining
you are not a flight risk,
bail will be set at $5,000.
Next court date
is 30 days from today.
Court is adjourned.
Looks like somebody
wants to talk to us.
Agent Scully, Agent Mulder.
Officer Wentworth.
You missed the proceedings.
I'm sickened how things
turned out.
I didn't become a cop
to watch a man
get gunned down
without due process.
So I went out
and did some digging.
The day Andrew disappeared,
Melvin was performing
at a birthday party
40 miles from here.
I checked with his client.
They have him on video.
The encoded time stamp
places him there at 2:15 p.m.,
right when Andrew disappeared.
There's no way he could
have been in that park.
Have you told anybody else
about this?
I told Chief Strong,
but he didn't want to hear it.
He told me
to let sleeping dogs lie.
I-I don't think
the chief's head's been right
since he lost little Emily.
No, you did the right thing.
The town won't see it that way.
Time has a way of shedding light
on injustices...
especially in this part
of the country.
But we're not done here yet.
I sure would like to find
that killer.
See him get
what's coming to him.
We'll talk to Chief Strong.
You think I didn't know?
It's over, Rick.
I called it off.
It's a little late
for that now.
I was stupid.
People make mistakes.
I'm asking you to forgive me.
For sleeping with my boss
or for the death of our son?
No, I will not forgive you.
What, you gonna kill me too?
I'm leaving you, you witch.
You can't leave me, Rick.
I'm leaving you.
Stay away from me!
*
Andrew!
Come on out here,
you son of a bitch!
Anna, you stay down.
This is between me
and your cheating husband!
Strong!
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Happy as can be *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Won't you play with me? *
* When I'm feeling lonely *
* Lonely as can be, oh *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Won't you play with me? *
* Won't you play with me? *
* Won't you
play with me? *
* Won't you play with me? *
What the hell is this?!
*
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
we all love you so *
* Stay with us forever,
and never let us go *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
it's time to say farewell *
* If you try to run and hide *
* We'll send you straight
to hell. *
Eggers.
Man down in the doorway.
It's Officer Eggers.
Shot dead.
I'll call it in.
Mulder, there's salt.
Chief Strong.
FBI!
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Happy as can be *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me? *
* When I'm feeling lonely... *
Mrs. Strong? You in here?
* Won't you play with me? *
*
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
we all love you so *
* Stay with us forever,
and never let us go *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
happy as can be *
* I will be a friend to you
if you'll be a friend to me. *
There's a patrol car
around the corner.
There's no one inside,
but there's something missing.
A grimoire.
It has instructions for
summoning spirits and demons.
Mulder, a man's been shot,
and it wasn't a spirit.
Chief Strong was having
an affair with Eggers's wife,
and it was probably
a crime of passion.
Passion, yeah,
at the gates of hell.
Where are we going?
Back to the scene of the crime.
Come on, Diane.
Pick up the phone.
Oh, my Lord.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Diane.
Diane!
Diane!
Diane!
Diane!
Diane!
Diane.
Anna? Anna,
what are you doing?
Don't!
I have to end what I started.
What you started?
I only meant to curse Diane
for what you were doing
behind my back.
You? You did this?!
Our baby girl?!
I was only trying to curse you.
You've unleashed something,
something that you
can't control!
No. I can end this!
Oh, my God, Mulder.
Anna!
Put the book down.
-Anna, drop the book.
-No.
No, I can end this. Please.
No, no. You may have
tapped into something
you can't control. Anna!
...ad inferos!
Somehow, this didn't burn.
What'd you tell him?
-To consider that book
as evidence. -Huh.
Evidence of what, exactly?
Of a town in the grip
of madness.
Of the most human faults
and frailty.
Or in the grip of a curse,
unleashed by a modern-day witch.
Leave that to
the tourist literature, Mulder.
I just hope that it's over.
I only hope that it is, too.
That woman went up in flames.
Maybe it was the candles.
Maybe it was the gates of hell.
Let's get out
of this town, Mulder.
There is no getting out
of this town, Scully.
Not these days.
*
I made this.
Captioned by
Media Access Group at WGBH
The truth is closer than ever
on The X-Files.
Now here are a few more shows
to check out from Fox.
Every day we encounter people
who are having the worst day
of their entire lives.
This is a family.
We work side-by-side.
- 9-1-1. What's your emergency?
- Hustle up.
You know, I love this job
'cause I get to help people.
9-1-1.
Wednesdays
at 9:00/8:00 Central on Fox.
be revealed
on The X-Files.
The truth still lies
in the X-Files, Mulder.
Catch all-new episodes
Wednesdays.
And check out
our other Fox programs,
The Gifted, Lucifer, and 9-1-1.
I can help you. Please.
Only on Fox.
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
happy as can be *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me *
* When I'm feeling lonely,
lonely as can be *
* Oh, Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Won't you play with me *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* We all love you so *
* Stay with us forever *
* Never let us go,
and when I'm feeling lonely *
-* Lonely as can be *
-You can't call me anymore.
* Won't you play with me *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
I can't do this right now.
I'm at the park with Andrew.
We need to talk.
Mommy! Mommy!
Mr. Chuckleteeth!
-Mommy's on the phone, Andrew.
-But, Mommy, look! Look!
-I can't do this.
-Mommy, Mommy!
Stop calling me.
-Stop calling.
-Diane.
Andrew?
Andrew!
Andrew!
Andrew!
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Where are you?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
happy as can be *
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
There you are.
Mr. Chuckleteeth, wait!
Where'd you go?!
Mr. Chuckleteeth?
Come back.
Andrew!
Andrew!
Andrew! It's Daddy!
Andrew!
-Andrew!
-Andrew!
-Andrew!
-Andrew, can you hear us?!
Andrew!
-Andrew! -Andrew!
Andrew Eggers!
*
Andrew!
Oh, my God.
You got something?
Oh, God help us.
-Is that him?
-Rick...
-Is that my son?
-Don't... don't look.
-Andrew! Andrew!
-No. -Hey.
Oh, God.
Let me go! Let me go!
Let me go! Andrew!
Andrew! Oh, please.
Please! Andrew!
Andrew!
*
I think you can see
by the photographs
in our case file there,
the boy was viciously attacked,
and the body was found
right here.
The coroner has asphyxiation
as cause of death,
from a crushed windpipe and...
fractured dislocation
of the cervical vertebrae.
Yeah. The town was, uh,
really shaken up about it.
But you think this was
an animal attack?
I think those photos speak
for themselves. Yes.
What kind of animal,
Chief Strong?
We get coyotes,
both here and in town.
Well, it's rare that a coyote
will attack a human being.
Well, they say that
there's a new predator
that they're calling a Coywolf.
It's a mix of Canis latrans
and Canis lupus.
It's a hybrid coyote-wolf.
Is this the first such attack?
And hopefully the last.
But, uh...
let me ask you,
what's the FBI doing here?
The FBI has jurisdiction
over the killing
of the immediate family
of a law enforcement officer.
Wait.
You think that
this was a murder?
-I don't rule it out.
-What makes you say that?
I know this is a small town,
and probably very close-knit,
and I'm sure that you
don't want to hear this.
But if a man did this-- and
it would typically be a man--
he would be emboldened
by escaping detection,
-and would likely kill again.
-The evidence
-doesn't support that. -Well,
the broken neck supports that.
And the bite marks that you see
might be postmortem
animal predation.
You can't just walk in here
making assumptions
that we've already dismissed.
These aren't just
careless assumptions.
Agent Scully's
also a medical doctor,
and damn good at her job.
You'd be looking
at a male, age 19 to 42,
with a criminal record.
And probably lives near
and frequents the park.
Would know
the boy's play schedule.
And, most disturbingly,
these types of killers
get aroused
at the suffering
of their victims.
We were hoping
we could see the body.
Thanks
for backing me up out there.
Yeah. You're my homie.
But Coywolves?
-Really, Mulder?
-Sometimes mixed with wild dogs.
Bet a wolf
hasn't been seen in Connecticut
-for a hundred years.
-Just last year, to be accurate.
All that I took from the report
is that a child was snatched,
right from that playground.
Does that sound like
a wolf to you?
No, I wasn't thinking wolf.
I was thinking
more like a hellhound.
-What's a hellhound, now?
-It's a large black dog
that guards the gates
of the underworld.
But that's
neither here nor there.
The point is
that stranger things
have happened
around here, Scully.
In 1658, a Puritan midwife
named Goodie Bishop
was accused of witchcraft
and lying with the devil.
Legend has it that
she spontaneously combusted
in front
of the assembled townsfolk.
-Right over there. -Well,
as we've discussed before,
people don't just spontaneously
combust, and that woman
was undoubtedly an innocent,
a tragic victim
of religious persecution
and hysteria,
and anybody would know that
if they read
-beyond the tourist literature.
-Because there were
bogus witch hunts doesn't mean
that there were no witches.
And while I do sadly concede
that there are
probably no Coywolves
in Eastwood, Connecticut,
I do suspect
there are still practitioners
of the black arts.
Well, they can practice
all they want,
but it doesn't mean
that witchcraft
-has any basis in reality.
-Well...
and yet, a young boy is dead.
Mulder, the only devil around
here probably parks right here
in front of the playground,
stirring something other
than his cauldron.
Huh.
I just want to find the killer.
No matter how many times
we do this, Mulder,
a child is always the hardest.
It never gets easier.
It's an innocent life cut short.
It's hard not to take it
personally.
Irregular lacerations
and abrasions
on the neck, throat and torso.
Significant...
amount
of the lower abdomen is...
completely torn out
and missing.
That would appear to agree
with their findings.
Well, evisceration fits
animal predation,
but the condition of the body
makes it almost impossible
to determine when it happened.
Cervical fracturing fits
with the picture
that he was
most probably shaken to death.
By a man.
Well, that's...
something I didn't want
to broach out there, Mulder.
You think it's
one of the parents.
You were in Violent Crime,
Mulder,
before you came to the X-Files.
You know the profile.
Eyewitnesses exculpate
the mother.
But the father...
he's a police officer.
Being protected
by fellow officers?
What's that?
What does that look like to you?
What is that--
fine, white sand?
Looks like salt to me.
Mm. That in the report?
What would be
the significance of that?
I'm not sure.
Tell you what else
isn't in the report.
There's an eyewitness to the
scene who wasn't interviewed.
And her father's
the chief of police.
Mulder, she's five years old.
That seem odd to you?
And her mother was
right there with her.
Seems very odd to me.
But you're wasting
your time, Mulder.
Andrew blessed the lives
of all of us here in Eastwood.
Today we all grieve
with Diane and Rick...
for the unimaginable loss
of one of Eastwood's
dearest sons.
This isn't right.
We don't even have his body.
My baby.
It is in the most
difficult times
that the love and compassion
of our community
is so vitally important.
For, "where two or three
are gathered in My name,
there am I among them."
Amen.
Andrew is with the Lord now,
free from the evils
of this world,
free from our iniquities,
and free from our sins.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Both of you,
just please understand
that if you ever,
ever need to talk...
Excuse me.
Diane.
Please, I can't talk now.
Okay. I just...
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Hey, man. So sorry.
Hey, let me ask you something.
Why won't the FBI
release Andrew's body?
Look, he's my son.
What are they saying?
What are you keeping
from me, man?
They're pushing another story.
They're saying it wasn't
an animal attack.
What are they saying it was?
The female agent?
Uh, she laid out a profile.
Male, 19 through 42,
past convictions.
She even says
he probably gets off on it.
Oh, my God.
And he probably lives here
in Eastwood.
I'm sorry, man.
Okay, we'll see you.
Why... why does the FBI
need to speak to Emily?
She's just a little girl.
Look, we need to cooperate
with them.
We've got nothing to hide.
They just want to ask her
some questions.
Anna, just play nice.
But I was there.
We didn't see anything.
I'm getting it from all sides.
They're trying to turn a tragedy
into a damn
murder investigation.
But what does that
have to do with Emily?
Just let them talk to her. Okay?
Man asked you a question, Em.
Emily, did you see
who took Andrew?
But if you saw,
you'd tell Mommy, right?
Did you see anyone at all?
I saw Andrew going
into the forest.
Go watch your show.
Well, um, I...
I guess I'm not
as interesting as...
-Bibbletiggles.
-Bibbletiggles.
Mm. She's obsessed.
Well, who wouldn't be?
I just, I can't...
I can't stop thinking about
how easily it could've been us.
I mean, you look away
for just one moment...
Do you have kids, Agent Mulder?
Uh, well, I have, uh, a son,
who's... he's grown, though.
When I was little, you could
hardly keep me in the house.
Now you can't drag your kid
away from a screen.
Yeah. Are you from around here?
Right down the street. Yeah,
Nutmegger through and through.
Husband, too. I met him
when I was five years old.
He must be under a lot
of pressure. The case.
There's the guilt.
That it happened on his watch.
He's very protective
of this little town.
Obsessively.
Runs in the family, I guess.
Mommy, I want juice, please.
Excuse me.
-Sure.
-Okay.
*
My husband's
a local history nut.
- Oh. - The, uh,
witch trials and all that.
Anything else, Agent Mulder?
-No. Thank you for your time.
-* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
-* Happy as can be *
-EMILY: Mommy!
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me *
He was in the forest.
* When I'm feeling lonely,
lonely as can be *
* Oh, Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me. *
Son of a bitch.
Seeing the body
change your mind?
I maintain
that the boy was murdered.
But there's something
that you should know.
As hard as it is
to contemplate...
-Don't go there, Agent Scully.
-When the child
is under the age of five,
the majority of assailants
are, in fact...
Rick Eggers did not
kill his son.
Most of the time,
friends and family
can't even contemplate
that the suspect is capable
of these crimes
because they carry out
their fantasies in private.
I think I've heard about enough.
I want to rule him out
as a suspect.
Officer Eggers loved Andrew.
He's a decent, honorable man,
a good cop.
But I need your help.
When the suspects
are confronted,
they have a tendency to become
violent towards themselves.
I would confront him myself,
but I don't have to.
He was working his shift
when Andrew was attacked.
With you or out on his own?
Why don't you ask him yourself?
Hey. Where's Eggers?
He just ran out of here, Chief.
Almost knocked me over.
Hey!
Let's go!
Rick, I need you to pull over.
That's an order.
Pull over right now.
The hell is he going?
Hold on.
You think he's going home?
He's going the wrong way.
Melvin Peter!
Where are you,
you son of a bitch?
Put that away. Eggers!
Eggers.
Eggers.
He's not here.
-Eggers, what are you doing?
-He's not here.
-He's not here!
-Whoa, whoa.
Hey, hey! Put the gun down.
Rick. Put the gun down.
It's okay. Come on.
I got it. I got it.
What the hell is going on?
I found the piece of garbage
that she was talking about.
- It's my boy.
- Okay. Okay.
Mulder. Where are you?
Back where they found the body.
There's been a development.
What kind of development?
I'm not quite sure yet.
But the dead boy's father
has had a breakdown.
Mulder?
Mulder, are you there?
Just tell me where you are.
114 Pendley Avenue.
Step back, please.
Who let the dogs out?
Waiting on a search warrant.
Whose house are we searching?
Convicted sex offender,
Melvin Peter.
He failed to register
with the local police
when he moved in last year.
Two blocks away
from Ash Hill Park.
Who figured that out?
Father of the deceased,
right over there.
Based on the profile I provided.
I'm not convinced.
You sure about that, Mulder?
I'm not sure about anything.
I got the warrant. Let's go.
*
Oh! Come on.
What is it, Mulder?
They put out an APB
on Melvin Peter
and called his parole officer.
I still don't like him for it.
What's not to like?
I mean, you couldn't dream up
a more perfect suspect.
He's potentially John Wayne Gacy
with a monkey.
That's it. It's too perfect.
I don't-I don't like perfect
like that.
Makes me uncomfortable.
Well, sometimes the simplest
of competing theories
is actually the right one.
And I think most of these people
would agree with you.
-That's what scares me.
-Well, they've been living
next to a convicted pedophile
and they didn't know it.
This guy has no chance.
Why are you defending him?
I'm-I'm not defending him.
But you said it yourself,
it's this rush to judgment.
Mass hysteria,
Salem, McCarthyism.
What happened to the precious
presumption of innocence,
which is rooted in
a very democratic ideal
that it's better
to let ten guilty men go free
than to imprison
one innocent man.
I am all for benefit
of the doubt, Mulder.
But he is a convicted felon
and we have to start somewhere.
And you and this mob are
reconvicting him right here
and now for the sins
of his past.
With a fervor
that we see too often
in this American experience
of ours.
If you're not gonna
do something, we will!
*
Em, it's time for lunch.
Emily. TV off, now.
Em.
Emily.
Emily?
Emily.
Emily! Emily!
Similar signs of predation,
but not beyond
forensic analysis here.
You okay, Mulder?
I talked to her
just this morning.
Just this morning she was alive.
This is the killing field.
Is it true? Emily!
-No, no, no. No, no. No, Anna.
-Em!
No, no, no. Don't go there. No.
No, no, no, no, no. Emily!
- Let me go! Emily!
- Stop. Stop.
No. You can't be here.
Okay, you can't be here, honey.
You did this!
You did this to her!
This is all your fault!
She can't be here.
Get her out of here.
I'll take her home, Chief.
I got you.
What is it, Mulder?
It's salt.
Oh, there's some here, too.
You seeing this, Scully?
Mulder, it's a crime scene.
No, you know what this is?
- This is a magic circle.
- Mulder...
In witchcraft,
magic circles are used
-to summon spirits and demons.
-Mulder, stop.
When casting spells or curses,
the salt protects the caster
from the demons unleashed.
Mulder,
this is protecting no one
and you can't do this.
In the 16th and 17th
century, witches were said
to conjure spirits
called familiars,
which usually took the form
of-of animals.
But sometimes could take
human shape in the guise...
Hey, what are you doing?
...of the victims' ardent
desires or a beautiful woman
luring a man to his death, or...
Hey, I asked you a question.
...a TV character.
What do you mean
a TV character?
Mind telling me
what you're doing?
Scully.
This is a Puritan graveyard.
This is ground where spirits
and demons have been unleashed.
I think there's someone
who's not telling us
everything they know.
What the hell?
That's him.
That's him right there.
What did I do wrong?
You killed my boy!
You closed the case
because you didn't want it
looked into further.
You knew there was salt
on that young boy's body,
but you hid that fact,
a fact you knew would reveal
that someone was
practicing witchcraft.
Mulder.
No, it's...
It's okay. He's right.
You ought to take a beat, Chief,
before you say anything else.
Did you kill those children?
I have let the devil
into my soul
and I have sinned against God,
broken a sacred commandment,
but I did not kill anyone,
especially not Emily.
Then what's your part
in all this?
I am a...
lustful man.
An adulterer.
She wanted to end
the relationship,
but I wouldn't let her.
I kept pushing and pushing.
I was on the phone with her
when Andrew went missing.
And now...
my own daughter.
God. What have I done?
See, I'm being punished.
I've opened the gates of hell.
Oh, God.
Let's all give him some room.
How did you know, Mulder?
I... did not see that coming.
But you knew something.
Yeah. In his library,
there are all these books
on the town's history--
folklore, witchcraft.
Well, that's circumstantial
at best.
I'm sure lots of libraries
in this town have those books.
Yes, but he would have known
about magic salt circles
and familiars and hellhounds.
So you think Chief Strong
unleashed something?
I think someone has put a curse
on this town, Scully,
and maybe unwittingly opened
the gates of hell.
Hey, we got a situation here.
-Officer involved.
-Copy.
It's Officer Eggers.
Get him, Rick!
Eggers, stop!
Stop! Hey!
Back off! You can't do this!
He killed my son.
I never killed anyone.
You're a convicted predator.
- Hey! You can't do
this! - Let me go!
Hey! Relax, all right?
I'm serious, Eggers! Back off!
-Hey! -Who the hell
are you protecting?
-Just let me go!
-You, Rick.
-I'm protecting you.
-Let me go!
We were kids.
It was statutory.
- I never hurt anybody!
- Oh, no.
-Don't you talk to me
about kids! -All right. Relax.
Everyone, back up! All of you!
Everyone, back off.
Everybody get off him!
Get off him!
Get off him.
Come on, get off him.
Get off, get off.
FBI!
Any further violence
will be viewed
as attempted murder.
I never hurt anybody.
Call an ambulance.
No!
All rise for Judge Theo Brown.
You may be seated.
I fear emotions
are running high today,
so I'd like to ask everyone
to respect the seriousness
of our jobs at this arraignment.
I'll ask respective counsels
to approach.
There will be
two injustices here:
the death of an innocent man and
the release of a guilty officer.
What makes you so sure, Mulder?
It's small town justice.
They have their scapegoat,
their predator.
We've witnessed
mass hysteria and mob violence
at its worst, but I'm not
so sure about an innocent man.
This is a witch hunt.
I think the person or persons
responsible for the deaths
of those children
is in this courtroom today.
What happened to hounds of hell?
Oh, I saw one.
-Mm-hmm.
-I did.
Whatever you think
you may have seen, Mulder,
you still haven't explained how
a wolf can take a young child
-from under its mother's nose.
-Oh, no, it was, it was...
he was just guarding
the entrance
to the underworld in this case.
Return to your tables.
You still haven't
answered my question.
Mr. Eggers.
Due to your exemplary record
as an officer
of the Eastwood
Police Department,
the testimony of your peers
and in determining
you are not a flight risk,
bail will be set at $5,000.
Next court date
is 30 days from today.
Court is adjourned.
Looks like somebody
wants to talk to us.
Agent Scully, Agent Mulder.
Officer Wentworth.
You missed the proceedings.
I'm sickened how things
turned out.
I didn't become a cop
to watch a man
get gunned down
without due process.
So I went out
and did some digging.
The day Andrew disappeared,
Melvin was performing
at a birthday party
40 miles from here.
I checked with his client.
They have him on video.
The encoded time stamp
places him there at 2:15 p.m.,
right when Andrew disappeared.
There's no way he could
have been in that park.
Have you told anybody else
about this?
I told Chief Strong,
but he didn't want to hear it.
He told me
to let sleeping dogs lie.
I-I don't think
the chief's head's been right
since he lost little Emily.
No, you did the right thing.
The town won't see it that way.
Time has a way of shedding light
on injustices...
especially in this part
of the country.
But we're not done here yet.
I sure would like to find
that killer.
See him get
what's coming to him.
We'll talk to Chief Strong.
You think I didn't know?
It's over, Rick.
I called it off.
It's a little late
for that now.
I was stupid.
People make mistakes.
I'm asking you to forgive me.
For sleeping with my boss
or for the death of our son?
No, I will not forgive you.
What, you gonna kill me too?
I'm leaving you, you witch.
You can't leave me, Rick.
I'm leaving you.
Stay away from me!
*
Andrew!
Come on out here,
you son of a bitch!
Anna, you stay down.
This is between me
and your cheating husband!
Strong!
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Happy as can be *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Won't you play with me? *
* When I'm feeling lonely *
* Lonely as can be, oh *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Won't you play with me? *
* Won't you play with me? *
* Won't you
play with me? *
* Won't you play with me? *
What the hell is this?!
*
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
we all love you so *
* Stay with us forever,
and never let us go *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
it's time to say farewell *
* If you try to run and hide *
* We'll send you straight
to hell. *
Eggers.
Man down in the doorway.
It's Officer Eggers.
Shot dead.
I'll call it in.
Mulder, there's salt.
Chief Strong.
FBI!
* Mr. Chuckleteeth *
* Happy as can be *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
won't you play with me? *
* When I'm feeling lonely... *
Mrs. Strong? You in here?
* Won't you play with me? *
*
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
we all love you so *
* Stay with us forever,
and never let us go *
* Mr. Chuckleteeth,
happy as can be *
* I will be a friend to you
if you'll be a friend to me. *
There's a patrol car
around the corner.
There's no one inside,
but there's something missing.
A grimoire.
It has instructions for
summoning spirits and demons.
Mulder, a man's been shot,
and it wasn't a spirit.
Chief Strong was having
an affair with Eggers's wife,
and it was probably
a crime of passion.
Passion, yeah,
at the gates of hell.
Where are we going?
Back to the scene of the crime.
Come on, Diane.
Pick up the phone.
Oh, my Lord.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Diane.
Diane!
Diane!
Diane!
Diane!
Diane!
Diane.
Anna? Anna,
what are you doing?
Don't!
I have to end what I started.
What you started?
I only meant to curse Diane
for what you were doing
behind my back.
You? You did this?!
Our baby girl?!
I was only trying to curse you.
You've unleashed something,
something that you
can't control!
No. I can end this!
Oh, my God, Mulder.
Anna!
Put the book down.
-Anna, drop the book.
-No.
No, I can end this. Please.
No, no. You may have
tapped into something
you can't control. Anna!
...ad inferos!
Somehow, this didn't burn.
What'd you tell him?
-To consider that book
as evidence. -Huh.
Evidence of what, exactly?
Of a town in the grip
of madness.
Of the most human faults
and frailty.
Or in the grip of a curse,
unleashed by a modern-day witch.
Leave that to
the tourist literature, Mulder.
I just hope that it's over.
I only hope that it is, too.
That woman went up in flames.
Maybe it was the candles.
Maybe it was the gates of hell.
Let's get out
of this town, Mulder.
There is no getting out
of this town, Scully.
Not these days.
*
I made this.
Captioned by
Media Access Group at WGBH
The truth is closer than ever
on The X-Files.
Now here are a few more shows
to check out from Fox.
Every day we encounter people
who are having the worst day
of their entire lives.
This is a family.
We work side-by-side.
- 9-1-1. What's your emergency?
- Hustle up.
You know, I love this job
'cause I get to help people.
9-1-1.
Wednesdays
at 9:00/8:00 Central on Fox.