Previously on Medium...
SCANLON: ...was standing, attempting to get out of the tub
when her attacker came to this doorway.
Sorry, guys,
but I seriously doubt this was a robbery.
Why do you say that?
That's an Armand Vartanian,
probably worth three quarters of a million dollars.
SCANLON: The dead woman, the driver of the minivan,
name is Olga Bankova.
The child in the backseat was her son Ian.
Seven years old.
DEVALOS: So... we're certain
the car was pushed into that lake bed?
Mom!
Help!
Have you ever considered running for office?
Excuse me?
We would like to see you go after a spot on city council.
Hello, Detective.
Your deputy-ship.
Haven't seen you in a couple of days.
No reason for you not to come over tonight.
Well, then maybe I will.
MAN: You got a boyfriend?
Hopefully, a doctor or a lawyer.
Someone with some standing.
MAN: Whomever it might be,
just don't let it be a civil servant.
Geez, Manny, are you all right?
: You wet the bed.
I called Dr. Berman.
He remembered you.
I made an appointment for 10:30.
I'll drive you.
I'm a grown man.
I can make my own doctor's appointments,
thank you very much.
Of course. I know it's dinnertime.
He just wanted to run some tests,
and I'm just sitting here waiting for the results.
I've been guarding it with my life.
I appreciate it.
Oh, my God.
Clay.
What'd you say your last name was?
Dubois.
Roland.
Allison Roland.
Al.
Why don't you come in the house?
We'll have a cup of coffee, and...
ALLISON: I don't think he knows he's dead.
What? You trying to get me to feel sorry for him?
I think maybe
that's why he's here.
Maybe that's why he's waiting for me.
You know what else I heard?
What's that?
That if I try hard enough,
sometimes, someone like me
can be felt...
by someone like you.
: Someone is jealous.
Of your high school boyfriend? I think not.
CLAY: You want me to go?
Just say, "Clay, I need you to go."
Clay, I need you to go!
Did you say "Clay"?
Is he here?
Hey, Allison!
: Mommy!
Is he in here? I don't see him, no.
Then where is he, Allison?
I don't know. I don't see him, either.
You expect me to believe that?
BRIDGETTE: Mommy!
Hello?
Hey, you still coming over?
How'd the drink thing go?
They just left. It went great.
It went really great.
But I need to talk to you about something.
Anything. What's going on?
Hang on a second, honey, I'm getting another call.
Baby, whatever it is, it's gonna have to hold.
I just got a call.
Somebody hit a mansion in Bear Park.
I don't have all the details yet,
but, uh, looks like I'm gonna have to run out there.
Hello?
Oh, yes, I understand.
He's right here.
Manuel?
What are you doing?
There's been another one of those house things.
Okay, I know.
The light is on, right?
You turned on the lamp?
The lamp is on? What are you talking about?
Yes, the light is on. They're on the phone.
Shh, don't panic. Just tell them I'll call them back.
What are you talking about you'll "call them back"?
Lilly...
listen to me.
Don't be alarmed...
but I can't see a damn thing.
Shh, Bridgette.
Sweetie, it was just a bad dream.
Sweetie, stop. You're gonna make yourself sick.
It's Scanlon.
Hello? Come here.
SCANLON: Allison, it happened again.
They got the man of the house.
He has a golf club.
The Mom...
In the hall, yeah.
What about the baby?
Did they get the baby?
Yeah, they got the baby, too.
How'd you know?
My daughter told me.
Go to sleep, Joe.
I can't go to sleep.
He's not here.
You don't know that.
I don't see him. I don't see him anywhere.
I would tell you if I did.
But you're not even looking.
I don't see him.
I swear. Right.
Uh-huh. What, you don't believe me?
Allison, the man has apparently been here
for two whole days.
Now, either you forgot
to mention it or he can choose when it is
that you see him, and neither of those two scenarios
makes me particularly comfortable.
You know, you can really be an ass.
I didn't do this, Allison.
I'm going to go sleep in the girls' room.
Go. Holler if you see a ghost.
Yeah, if you see a ghost, remember:
you're a married woman.
Hey, "Allibaster."
Your guy's got quite the temper, huh?
You think he has a temper?
Shh, down, girl.
How dare you-- camp out in my house?!
Toy with my family, toy with me,
someone you claim to care about?
I hate you.
No, you don't. Yes,
I do and I need you to leave my house.
Funny how things work out.
You know, when we were in school, I thought you were
the smartest thing on two legs.
When we were in school, I thought you were smug.
And vain and selfish and nice to look at
and maybe, deep down, had a heart.
I guess I was wrong about the heart.
You know, he's mistaken about you in there.
Pissed off becomes you.
Leave my house!
Don't you think I would, if I could?
Well, maybe you just have to try harder.
Come on, you can do it.
Find a light and walk into it.
You think it's just a coincidence I ended up here,
out of all the places in all the world?
Your house?
You think it's an accident you can see me?
Hear me? I don't.
I've been to a lot of places, I've seen a lot of things.
I don't believe in coincidence.
I'm here for a reason.
And like it or not, baby,
I think that reason is you.
Mommy, I got scared and I thought I heard voices.
It's just me, sweetie, talking to myself.
Did you have a bad dream?
Uh... kind of.
Do you want to come in my bed and sleep with me?
That might make it all better.
If you don't mind.
Okay, just this once.
As long as we don't make a habit out of it.
: Okay.
MAN: Mr. Devalos.
I'm going to shine a very bright light into your eyes.
I need you to tell me if you see something.
Anything.
DEVALOS: Uh, yeah.
It's very blurry, but I can see.
I see you and I see the room.
And I can see you, Lilly.
My best guess is that we're looking at a severe case
of diabetic retinopathy.
Blood sugar's off the charts.
You're lucky you can see at all.
You're lucky you're conscious.
DEVALOS: What does this mean?
Is this thing curable?
It means we wait.
Wait for that insulin we're putting in you
to hopefully start doing its work.
And wait for the doctors who really
know their way around this stuff
to get here, which may be a little bit.
It is 4:00 in the morning, you know.
LILLY: But he's gonna be okay?
We just have to hope the damage isn't too great.
Mr. Devalos...
when was the last time you saw a doctor?
DEVALOS: I honestly don't know.
I really can't remember.
I'm gonna shut this light off.
I suggest you get some rest.
Mm-mm-mm.
Yoo-hoo.
Okay. Mommy.
I know.
I saw it, too.
It's okay, honey.
It's okay, it was just a cartoon.
Okay? Shh.
Devalos: hey.
I can see you.
Hey.
I can see you, too.
You look kind of soft and gauzy,
kind of like an angel.
Kind of like...
we might be in heaven.
We're not dead, are we?
God, I hope not.
I have a bunch of stuff I have to pick up at the dry cleaners.
If I'm dead, Joe will never remember
where I keep the tickets.
What did you do?
The dentist, the doctor, flying.
Those are my three big demons.
When I was a teenager,
my... my mother
worked in a department store refolding merchandise
at night after everyone had gone home.
She didn't even feel bad.
Just a little pain under her arm.
Ignored it for the longest time.
Store insisted she see someone.
And then, six weeks later...
I do believe that's the last time I ever cried.
Got a life's worth of tears out.
You come all this way
just to give me that swell-looking balloon?
Olga Bankova and her son were run off the road
by the same people who killed the Costigan family last week,
slaughtered the Milano family last night.
And you know this how?
I know.
We're still in the land of cartoon people, right?
I'd really like to see where they lived,
this boy and his mother.
We've already had a detective out there,
but, sure, you're welcome to take a look.
Hey, hold on a second.
Uh, thought you were a friend.
Gaze into your crystal ball.
Give a sick man some hope.
It just doesn't work that way.
A lot of times,
the people closest to me...
I didn't even know you were ill.
I do know that your wife loves you.
We passed in the hall.
She was going home to clean up,
call relatives.
It just poured off her.
"I love this man.
"I'm so angry at this man.
"I love this man.
I am so angry at this man."
ALLISON: Thank you.
They smashed their way through this door.
Who, the cartoon bad guys?
It's an old, rotted doorjamb,
an old, rotted door.
If she didn't have it locked, didn't have the chain on it,
you could kick this open,
we'd never even know.
What is it we're looking for again?
I don't know, a reason why killers who hit wealthy families
for no reason at all would also kill
a substitute teacher and her child.
SCANLON: Methinks the woman liked to paint.
Look at this.
It looks like she's trying to learn how to paint
in the style of this artist.
Do these look familiar?
Sure. I'd recognize that squiggle anywhere.
It's after 5:00, Allison.
We've got at least a two-hour drive back.
Allison?
The food court at the mall?
You can have dinner anywhere you want,
and you want to have it at the food court at the mall?
Daddy, if you don't really want to know, you shouldn't ask.
What's wrong with the food court at the mall?
They have everything.
They have food from all over the world.
Okay, the people have spoken.
Let me just get out of these clothes,
and we'll head out to the mall.
Yippee.
Hello?
She is my wife, you know.
Mine.
I know what you're thinking.
You're thinking, what am I gonna do, kill you?
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
But I will figure something out.
I am gonna make your death
more miserable than your life.
She's mine.
Hey, Ariel?
Ariel, sweetie, come here for a second.
Hey, come here. What are you doing?
I thought you were changing.
I thought we were going to the mall. We are, we are.
Just have a look around the room.
Okay.
What am I looking for?
I don't know. What do you see?
Do you see anything?
What are you talking about?
I see what you see.
It's your room.
It looks like your room always looks.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just curious.
So...
there's nothing you see in here that's out of the ordinary?
I don't know.
Did Mommy get a new bedspread or something?
Huh.
It's the wind, Daddy.
It's just the wind.
Huh.
I'm really hungry.
We're all really hungry.
Yes, me, too.
Come on.
I'll change later. Let's get out of here.
Let's go.
You know, they have food from all over the world there.
Look at this. Together again.
If we're here, who's running the city?
Could you have picked a more out of the way place?
Yeah, pretty obscure, huh?
May I start you off with something to drink?
You on the clock?
I'll have a scotch and soda.
The lady will have a dirty martini.
So, when last we spoke, uh...
DINOVI: When last we spoke...
Where do I start?
Drinks... Lady from the third district...
It went great.
It's been 24 hours, and I still don't believe it.
Believe what?
They want me to run for city council.
Wow.
I should cancel the cocktails
and get us a bottle of champagne.
Don't do that. I've been dreaming
about a martini all day.
A martini? Not me?
A martini and you.
I was just
so completely taken by surprise.
Then they started hitting me with these questions.
Questions?
"Where were you born? Are you a native?
"Do you belong to any clubs?
Are you involved with anyone?"
You fess up?
I told them the truth.
That, for all intents and purposes, I'm...
You're at my house one or two nights a week.
Well, no, I didn't tell them that.
I don't think a woman running for office
should be bragging about making the walk of shame
from her lover's apartment to her car at 6:30 in the morning,
praying that nobody sees her.
Yeah, well...
...I want to talk to you about that.
No, it's okay.
I realized something.
I like what we have, the way we have it.
I wasn't sure at first.
Never been with someone who didn't want to come home with me
to my folks at Christmas, but...
but it's okay.
It's actually good.
One of the things these people said to me was,
I guess a lot of the union agreements--
police, fire, teachers-- they're all coming up next year.
I mean, the last thing they wanted to hear was that I'm--
whatever you call this thing we have-- with a civil servant.
Is that what I am, a civil servant?
What? No.
That's their word.
It's really just about...
I get the point.
They don't want you sleeping with the help.
It's really just about these negotiations.
What did you say?
There was nothing to say.
Uh-huh.
Got it.
I'll see you there.
Wait a second.
I thought we were having dinner.
Look, I don't know what to tell you.
I'm just a civil servant.
I get a call, I go to work.
Lee... What?
Hey, some people just got shot to death in Hasbrook Heights.
The mayor's back in town,
so you're not getting the call,
but I'm just a working guy.
Enjoy your drink; it's paid for.
Are you hurt?
You don't even let me keep a toothbrush at your place
and you're hurt?!
I'm not hurt.
I'm thrilled for you.
You have my vote.
But I got to go.
Will the gentleman be returning?
It's Scanlon. He says it's important.
You didn't have another bad dream, did you?
Hello?
SCANLON: You want the good news, the bad news or the very bad news?
Just tell me what's going on.
: Another home invasion.
Only this time, the homeowner was packing heat.
Killed all three of them.
I think it's over, Allison.
I think it's all over.
Okay.
What about the very bad news?
Your boss is still in the hospital.
I need you to get dressed and come downtown
and help me interrogate the solid citizen
who gunned down these three bastards.
What is it, Mommy?
Who's on the phone?
Hold on.
It's the police, honey.
They got the bad Monkeyheads.
They're not gonna bother anybody anymore.
SCANLON: Spell your name for me, please.
Alan Gardner.
And I should warn you,
I don't think I'm actually sick, but I...
We know.
We know that you've been through a lot tonight.
The officer mentioned that you've been throwing up.
I think it's just nerves.
I'm actually feeling a little better right now.
You want to tell us what happened?
What happened...
I don't know... I mean, I guess,
like everybody with a big house, I've been on edge.
It was the staff's night off.
I had been reading.
Fell asleep in bed.
Then the alarm went off.
What did you do?
I ran into the closet.
It's like a little vault, actually--
fireproof.
I keep some papers there, antiquities, canvases.
I'm an art dealer.
And I thought, well, I'll just lock the door and stay in here.
I don't think they can shoot through it.
Like a panic room.
Yeah.
But small.
And there's monitors in there.
So I can see them moving through the house.
And I know the police are trying to call.
And I thought for a moment,
I think I might actually live through this thing.
Then they shot Keezey.
That little schnauzer is the only family I have.
I mean, you go through the housebreaking,
the bladder infections, the doggie tumors,
and you just never imagine...
Even on the black-and-white monitor,
I can see him lying there,
the blood coming out of his body.
That's when I saw the gun...
the rifle, box of ammo...
I got it, like, six years ago,
to go skeet shooting with a client, which I hated.
So much noise, and it...
hurt my shoulder.
Then I went out into the hall.
The way the stairs work, you can't see into the hall
unless you're at the top.
And I just waited.
: Mr. Gardner?
I am a civilized person.
I know they were killers.
They killed my Keezey.
But I just never imagined, in the course of my life,
that I would actually kill another man.
Three other men.
I think I'm gonna be sick.
Look who's returning to the marital bed.
What is it, like, 4:00 in the morning?
It's nice of you to make an appearance.
It's, like, 5:00.
Or five-oh-s...
...seven.
I think it's really over.
The home invaders are dead.
This meek little art dealer shot them,
'cause they killed his dog.
Bridgette will be relieved.
No more bad dreams.
It's funny the way stuff happens.
I think your boyfriend's gone, by the way.
ALLISON: Oh, yeah?
JOE: We had a chat.
I mean, I had a chat.
And I think he heard it,
because I haven't felt any cold breezes,
and he hasn't been seen since.
What do you mean?
Seen by who? Who could see him?
He's a ghost.
I had Ariel take a little look for him.
I mean, she didn't know
that that's who she was looking for.
You did not. Yes...
I certainly did.
Did you think I was just gonna give you up without a fight?
I love you with all my heart.
Mm-mm-mm.
Yoo-hoo.
You got it now?
You got it figured out? 'Cause I got to go.
SCANLON: Wow, what are you doing here?
Aren't you the lady who was with me
till almost 4:30 this morning?
Shouldn't you be at home sleeping?
I tried sleeping.
I kept dreaming.
What about you? Why aren't you home sleeping?
I don't know.
Phone kept ringing.
You wanted to see me. Is something up?
It's like I said, I keep having dreams.
Yeah? So?
Isn't that kind of like Einstein always having brainstorms?
You recognize this?
Thought you said you would
recognize this squiggle anywhere.
It's that painting Devalos told us was so valuable,
that was hanging at the first house.
Okay. Remember
those little paintings at Olga's house I was looking at--
I told you they reminded me of something?
This is the painting they remind me of.
I'm glad we, uh, solved that mystery. I think she was
trying to learn how to paint in the style of this painter.
I think she was trying to learn to paint this painting.
You think they killed her for that?
How does that explain the other killings?
How does that explain the home invasions in two other states?
To be honest, I don't know. I just...
Both those houses are still crime scenes, right?
Could someone possibly
just bring me this painting?
Maybe all the little ones I was looking at
at Olga's house? Allison, is it possible
that in all the hubbub last night, that you missed the part
where the home invaders were shot to death?
No, I heard that.
Did you miss the part where I said
I was still having dreams about it all?
So what do you think?
I think someone's in a mood.
Sorry.
A friend of mine who was visiting left suddenly.
I guess...
I guess I wanted to say good-bye more than I realized.
Yeah, good-byes are a bitch, aren't they?
WOMAN: How's your vision?
It's good.
I can see perfectly.
I feel good, too.
Frankly, Doctor, I feel ready to get out of here.
Ready to get back to work.
Well, that's what's going to kill you, you know.
How good you feel.
You have diabetes, Mr. District Attorney.
I think that you've probably had it for years,
but you just didn't know.
It's a sneaky little bastard.
If you're not checking for it,
it doesn't let you know it's there until it's good and ready
to give you a stroke or a heart attack,
make you impotent or strike you blind.
Are you trying to frighten me?
No, I am trying to warn you.
Now, I can see you every three months.
We can monitor this thing.
I can teach you how to get on top of it.
Or I can see you in a couple of years.
Now, if they manage to keep you alive until you get
to the hospital, well, then we can
chat about how high on your leg we need to amputate
or maybe where the best Braille
classes are.
Okay, so what does this prove?
You know, I don't know anything about this stuff, Allison.
Yeah, I know. Me neither.
But I know someone who does.
Hey, I just wanted to let you know
I'm heading out to Carefree.
Paying a visit to Alan Gardner.
That gallery owner who shot those three home invaders.
Are you okay to drive?
What'd you get, about 15 minutes sleep?
No, I'm fine.
I'm not going to be there long.
I've just have a couple paintings in the car
I asked him to take a look at.
Hey, can I ask you something?
Hmm? Sure.
What did you say to him?
What are you talking about?
To Clay. Last night.
You know what?
I'm sorry I mentioned it. It was silly.
I'm sure that there was nobody there.
Okay. But what did you say to him?
Uh...
Hello?
CLAY: He said, "She's mine."
He said everything you'd want him to say.
He said everything you'd hoped he'd say,
if some crazy numbskull showed up on your doorstep
with the idea that maybe he could have you back.
Sorry. I-I lost you.
Yeah, well, um, I don't know what to tell you.
I don't know, exactly,
what I said, and I really don't think it matters.
You're right. It doesn't matter.
I mean, I don't know what I was getting so worked up about.
After all... I'm here.
Till death do us part.
Yes.
And who knows. Maybe longer.
I'll see you when I get home.
I will see you when you get home.
He's a good man.
I know.
I was wrong about why I'm here.
And you were right.
And I am smug, vain, selfish...
even in death.
None of this has anything to do with me.
I finally figured that out last night.
I'm not here to woo you.
I'm here to help you.
To tell you something
that you otherwise wouldn't know.
To redeem myself.
And then, Allison, I think I'll be on my way.
You sent me that dream last night, didn't you?
The one with
the cartoon?
I know where you're going.
And I know what you're about to do.
And I know how it all ends up.
But I need to get you to do something first.
Ah.
This is where I'm supposed to be.
Mr. District Attorney,
I'd like to introduce you to Alan Gardner.
The gentleman who single-handedly stopped
those three ruthless home invaders.
This is an honor,
sir. No, it's an honor meeting you, sir.
Please.
I apologize for not being made available to you sooner.
I was a bit under the weather.
But I just wanted to let you know
that this office stands ready to help you navigate
whatever legal hurdles your extraordinarily brave actions
may have created for you.
Oh.
Should I have brought
my lawyer?
Both the detective
and Mrs. Dubois, the other night,
seemed to indicate that... that...
That shooting three people to death
to protect one's own life
is a perfectly justifiable course of action? Absolutely.
So long as you can prove that you were in mortal
danger, you have nothing to fear from the justice system.
Well, is there any doubt about that?
Doubts? No.
No doubts, but questions.
There are always questions.
There's quite a lot
of valuable art in your home, isn't there, sir?
I own two art galleries.
Of course there's art in my home.
You may have heard, in addition to your home,
and the two others in the Phoenix area, two others
in the Southwest were also hit. Guess what they all had
in common? Every family that was
targeted, owned at least one major work of art.
But I-I don't understand.
I thought I read that nothing had been taken from
the homes.
The papers never mentioned anything about art being stolen.
And it appears that none had, but then...
Mrs. Dubois here developed a theory.
Well, what if you could find someone who could paint
near-perfect copies of modern masterpieces?
You go into a home.
You massacre everyone who lives there.
You replace the authentic painting with the fake.
Then while everyone is consumed with the grief and horror,
you quietly sell the priceless originals to wealthy collectors
in the Middle East and Asia.
Wow.
You think that's what's been going on?
Well, that's the reason
I brought that painting to you yesterday.
It came from the Costigan home after the massacre.
I was really hoping to get your expert opinion
as to its authenticity.
Well, I'll sign anything.
And happily testify under oath, the painting you showed me,
the one you said came from the Costigan home,
that's absolutely an original Armand Vartanian.
Easily worth at least a million dollars.
Maybe twice that, depending on the appetite of the buyer.
So much for your theory.
So you would be willing to sign
a sworn statement
vouching for the painting's authenticity?
Well, I'd have no choice.
Sorry about that.
Mm. I appreciate this.
And let me present you with this.
And this is? That...
that's a search warrant.
Actually, the detectives should be arriving at your house
right about now.
To look for what?
That painting that I brought you yesterday--
an old friend suggested, before I gave it to you,
that I mark it in some way.
So, on the back, where it would do no damage,
I wrote the initials, "C.B."
in indelible marker.
That is the painting that you gave back to me.
And, yes, it's the real actual painting.
But it's not the painting I brought to your house.
No initials.
The painting
I brought to your house was the one you had Olga Bankova paint.
What are you suggesting?
What are you... What are you talking about?
Those home invaders
worked for you, Mr. Gardner.
So did Olga.
Although we're fairly certain she had
no idea what she vas involved in until it was too late.
When you realized I was going to pay you a visit,
you thought I might be on to something.
So you gave me the authentic painting
to throw me off the scent.
This is preposterous.
DEVALOS: Really?
What about the part where you suggested to your hired killers
that you needed them to hit one more home-- yours.
But, unlike everyone else,
you weren't surprised when they showed up-- you were waiting.
You can't prove that.
Oh, I think we can.
What was your story--
waiting at the top of the stairs?
We think maybe you were hiding at the bottom.
DEVALOS: According to ballistics,
you shot those men in the back.
Your dog, too.
Now, if you'll
excuse us, I need to give myself a little insulin shot
and I'd love to have a word with you.
Detective, read this man his rights.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be
: used against you in a court of law.
Nice work, Allison. I mean that.
I'd like to think if I'd been feeling better
I might have listened more and sooner.
Don't worry about it. It's no big deal.
It wasn't just me; I had a lot of help.
Yeah, I know, your daughter.
The cartoons.
Yeah, and an old friend.
Well, thank him for me, too.
Yeah, well, if I see him, I will.
ALLISON: Some say sleep is the death of each day's life.
But I say sleep is the gateway to our dreams.
And our dreams are the map of our humanity.
Ever watch a child sleep?
They almost always smile.
They know what's coming.
And adults?
Ever notice how we try to tidy up our lives just before bed?
Did you take your pills?
Mm-hmm.
Check your sugar?
You die on me, I'll never forgive you.
Don't worry.
I'm not going anywhere.
Or what a disappointment it is
when we're lurched out of our sleep,
our dreams, by something unexpected.
Scanlon.
Hi.
Uh...
Who is it? Is it work?
Uh... Want me to go?
No. It's okay.
It's nothing. Wrong number.
Mmm.
Hey, Al.
Allibaster.
You know what I heard?
That if I want it bad enough...
if I try hard enough...
sometimes, someone like me...
can actually be felt...
by someone like you.
A great man once said,
"If a little dreaming is dangerous,
"the cure for it is not to dream less...
but to dream more."
Did you think I was just going to give up
and let you dream this dream without a fight?
Dream all the time.
Yeah, I'm for that.