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Jack's Back (1988)
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He photographs his victims. This one was number four. Each woman was murdered 100 years to the clay from the original Jack the Ripper murder. The first on the 31st of August, the next September the 8th, then two on the 30th. All the victims were prostitutes. Each mutilation was progressively worse with the exception of the 3rd victim. She wasn't mutilated at all, which is the case in the original murders. This guy did his homework. And tonight's the anniversary of the last murder? You got it. Captain, this is Dr. Battera. Captain Prentis. Glad to meet you, Doc. What do you make of all this? We must stop him. Wally. Look, give him some time. We haven't got time. The incision should be made in the lower 3rd of the abdomen on the right side, just below here. And should be a sufficient size to permit access to the intestinal secum. Now, I have big hands, but like we say in Houston, the bigger the scar, the higher the fee. 5th victim, and authorities believe the Ripper will strike again tonight. KBLA, all news, all day. It's 98 degrees in the Civic Center right now, with a high of over 100 expected later this afternoon, as the Santa Ana winds continue across the southland. It's 89 degrees at the beaches, 103 in the Valley, and the forecast for the greater Los Angeles area is sunny and hot, - with no relief in sight. - What's up, homeboy? - Hey, Andrea! - Hi, John. Nice to see you again. - Hi, John Wesford, welcome. - Hi. Did you have any trouble getting down here? - Not at all. - Good, good. Now, the whole area here is split up into five separate camps. This one is Justiceville that we're in right now. I'm going to introduce you to five captains. Each one oversees a different camp. We'll meet them first and then we'll get a chance a little later on to show you around and we can shoot some footage, I hope. - Great. - Hey, Emmanuel. So Tom, what do I do right here? You have to transfer that down here. OK? Once you do that, take it over into this. Same thing the way you transfer it down. Where is he? He's at that camp, isn't he? Good evening, and our top story tonight, the largest mobilization of federal, state and local police ever assembled for a manhunt is preparing for what may be another night of murder for the Ripper. Here's a report from Collin Marsh. It was here in this alley, in Echo Park, that police found the body of Emily Dartmond, a known prostitute, and the 4th victim in this series of grisly killings which mirror the Jack the Ripper murders that occurred on these same dates 100 years ago. Not again. Hello, Mary. You didn't forget. Sidney's looking for you. You better watch out. That's OK, I brought him some Ding Dongs. How you doin', Linda? Let's see what we have here. What's your name? Martha. Martha? Mary, can I have some gauze? Do you have any grandchildren, Martha? Five. What are their names? Martin, Robert, Alexis, and Janie and Ricky. Ricky? Which one is the naughty one? Ricky. You see, I could've told you that. I got a brother named Ricky and he was the naughty one, too. I think you're gonna be just fine, you just need a few stitches here, all right? We'll take care of you right away. She's next. Great. Thank you. Free Saturday night? OK. Tell your mother that he has to come back in six weeks to get the cast removed. OK. Mary'll make an appointment for you. All right. Thank you. Come on. What's up, Doc? I think he's been abused. What's the last name? Rowan. 2330 Hargrove Street. Seen the parents? His sister always brings him. Well, let's see what we can find out, right? Sidney's on the warpath. How rare. He knows why you're late. - Yeah I know, I told him. - You told him? If I want to hear a sermon, I'll go see my preacher! It might just do you some good, you're two weeks past the legal limit for God's sakes. Face the facts. You stay off the streets, you understand? You tell that to my pimp. Don't you care about your unborn child? Wesford! - In my office. - Just wait- NOW! John, who's that woman? I'll tell you later. You know I've been doing your work for you for the past two hours. Sit down. You got a lotta goddamned nerve, you know that? Just because the people out there call you a doctor doesn't make you one. You're still in medical school and you're working here under my supervision and approval. One more stunt like you pulled today, and I'll have your ass bounced out of here so fast it'll make your head swim. Do you understand me? I'm writing a letter to the Board of Regents. Consider yourself on probation. Do I make myself clear? Yes. Good. You know, Sidney, the people that come in here need help, not condemnation. What ails them can't be cured by some close of your morality. They deserve the same respect that you'd give any paying patient. You're fired. Sidney, what, you don't have enough people out here to take care of the work as it is. I said you're fired, can't you hear? All right, look, I-I'm sorry, OK? Sidney, I told you I was gonna be late. It won't happen again, I promise. Sidney, I want to work here, I grew up in this neighborhood. So what? Look, I'm not gonna apologize for myself. There are things that I need to do sometimes. You know, you're a regular Albert Schweitzer, son. Can I go back to work now? Get out of here. If you're late again, I will fire your ass. Sid, the hubcaps on your Fleetwood? They're gone. Are you fired? He just wanted to thank me for doing such a fine job. He's worried about you, though, and you, too. Aren't you going to check yourself out? Jesus. And I think that the answer isn't just to build more temporary shelters. Well, what message do you hope this effort conveys? That these people aren't here just to exercise our generosity. They're here because they have no home. I mean we're in the wealthiest country in the world and people are living in the streets and that's a shame. You know, you got a family of six living in a station wagon, right over there. You know, look around you. This is their reality, every day. From downtown Los Angeles, this is Andrea Banks, Channel 10 news. Here he comes. OK, get ready, here he comes, here he comes. Captain Prentis! Captain Prentis, what's your strategy for tonight? Where do you think he'll hit tonight? What's being done about this whole thing? Captain Prentis, do you have any new leads? Where do you think he'll hit tonight? Gentlemen, I made my statement at the press conference this morning. I have no further comment. Captain Prentis, where do you think he'll hit tonight? Comment, please! Yeah, give us a break! All right, I think you ought to grab a seat, we're ready to get started. You wanna settle in back there? I know a lot of you are working your days off or pulling a double shift and I wanna thank you at the top. We need to catch this son of a bitch. Tonight may be our last chance. Now the CHP's and the Sheriffs are gonna have details out there tonight along with the Feds. Now I expect you to show them every courtesy, but I also expect you to be the ones to bring this maggot in. Sergeant Gabriel's gonna brief you on this detail. Gabe? Thank you, Captain. Well, we don't have much. As you know, there have been no survivors and no eye witnesses. We do know that the murders are the work of one man, we know that he's left-handed, he always wears gloves, he smokes, and he's very strong. The murder weapon is a knife, six to eight inches long, very sharp, possibly a scalpel or a post mortem knife. We know that our boy practices safe sex. He uses pre-lubricated Trojans. We have a few ideas, but I'm gonna leave the psychological profile to the doctor. You all have your assignments, so at this time, I'd like to introduce. Dr. Carlos Battera, our consulting psychiatrist on loan from the APA. Dr. Battera. Thank you, Sergeant Gabriel. Jack the Ripper was the harbinger, the father of the modern sex crime and he looms large in our subject's mind. He has duplicated each murder down to the finest detail. Some theorize that Jack the Ripper was a medical man because of the precision of his cutting and his anatomical knowledge. I believe that would also apply in this case. The most important thing that I can tell you with any certainty, is unfortunately about the victim. She will be murdered in her room sometime in the next 12 hours. And she will be pregnant. Good night, all. - Good night, Mary. - Good night, Mary. Don't forget to lock up. We won't. Good night, Mary. Hi. Hi. Hi. You've been kind of quiet tonight, are you OK? Yep. Have anything to do with that girl this afternoon? No. You wanna tell us about her? Not really. Cat's got his tongue. So where's Roger? I haven't seen Roger. Tom, have you seen Roger around? I haven't seen him around at all. Guess it's not happening? No, not happening. - Roger is... - Boring. Roger is boring, right? He's pretty boring. It's not his fault, though. It's all that Anglo-Saxon shit. I mean 200 years of tweed sport coats and bow ties fucks with your mind. John. Can you imagine the kids, though? Bunch of little Rogers running around with little bow ties. Are you two quite through? You're Italian, girl, you've got hot blood. You should let me fix you up with a brother. At the very least, a Puerto Rican. I can find my own men, thank you. All right. Night, Chris. Night, Jack. Thanks for the book. Did you like it? I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I'll read it over the weekend. OK. Well, if you do like it, though, I'll get you another, OK? OK. What about Jack? I think he's got a thing for you. Didn't hear me. If you're so concerned about me, why don't you take me out? Me? We could go to dinner. I'm too wild for you, Chris. How do you know, John? You're killin' me, I can't go to dinner tonight, I've got work to do. Will you get her out of here, please? Sure. Chris, let me give you a ride home. The Ripper's still out there. Tonight's the night. Yeah, if you wouldn't mind. Of course not. Good night. I'll see you at the car. What's with you? Do you have a penis? Shut up. See you tomorrow, dude. Right. Christ. What do you want? I can help you. HOW? I can get rid of it for you. How much? $200. Take a check? Do you take checks? Let me in. Are you gonna do it here? Of course. Denise? My God! Jesus! Jack! What have you done? Call the police! Call the police! Hey you stupid prick, come back here! Don't you know how to drive? Hello? Is anybody here? Come on! Come on! Emergency operator. The nature of your emergency? Yeah, I wanna report a murder. Your name? John, John Wesford. W-E-S-F-O-R-D . Listen, the victim's name is Denise Johnson and I saw who did it. No! Look, it's, it's not what you think, John. I didn't kill her! God, you gotta believe me! I-I gave her an abortion, that's all! Look, I went out to get her prescription. Don't you see? Somebody else must've come in there! Look, I got scared, I'm sorry! I didn't do it! - You need help, Jack. - No! Me... Fuck. Jesus. Shit. Captain Prentis! Captain Prentis! Who was he? He was a medical student by the name of John Wesford. He hung himself, he knew we were closing in on him. Now we've done something even Scotland Yard couldn't do. We've caught Jack the Ripper. Do you have conclusive evidence? We do. It'll all be introduced at the inquest. We have a press conference at headquarters at nine o'clock. I trust you will all be there. Excuse me. Why don't you see if you can get this cleaned up in about an hour, I want to get a report in to me right away. You got it. See you downtown, Sam. All right. So where do you wanna eat? Boy. What the hell? - Hey! - Now take it easy. - What happened here? - We still can't talk about it. My brother was murdered. - How do you know? - I saw it. You were there? NO, I! I saw it in a nightmare. Last night? Yeah. Tell me exactly what you saw in the nightmare. Well, I was, Johnny was sitting on the floor, and... He had a rope around his neck and someone started to pull the rope. Did you see his face? No. How do you know your brother didn't commit suicide? My brother didn't commit suicide. Someone who was there hurt him. Someone was pulling that fucking rope. Sure. Was your brother left-handed, Richard? What? Yeah. Are you? No, I'm ambidextrous. Let's get some coffee. Would you like a cup? Yeah. Cream and sugar? Sure. What do you think? Well, either he's telling the truth or he killed his own brother. Well, which is it? I don't know. There have been cases documented where twins knew the exact moment of their sibling's death. I'd like to interview him. Hypnotize him if possible. Run a check on him, see what's in the computer. Come with me, Doctor. There we go. Richard, this is Dr. Battera. He's been working with us on the case. How do you do, Richard? You think I'm crazy? No, we don't. No, we're just trying to clarify the situation. Some very serious charges have been made against your brother. We have enough evidence to believe that he's responsible for the Ripper murders. My brother didn't kill anybody. Some motherfucker put a rope around his neck and strung him up on the fucking ceiling! We have an eyewitness. Fuck your eyewitness. I don't need this shit, all right? If you want me to stay, book me. Perhaps Sergeant, you could give Richard and me some time together? All right. I'd like to try and help you understand what happened to you, if you'll permit me. You saw what happened to your brother last night in a dream. Had you ever had a dream like this before? Any shared pain experiences where he was hurt and you felt the pain? No. Were there any times that you communicated without speaking? Whether in the same room or far apart? Any unusual experiences? Anything at all? There was one but it was 6th grade. Tell me about it. Our teacher gave us a test, the history test and after it was finished, she called Johnny and I up to the front of the classroom and said that we cheated. Gave the same answers, made the same mistakes. So we told her that we hadn't cheated and... she put us into different rooms and gave us another test. And the same thing happened, identical papers. That's it. Have you ever been hypnotized? No. Well, I would like to hypnotize you. I think it might enable you to see your dream more clearly, without obstruction. Do it. Good. First I'll ask you to extinguish your cigarette, please. And sit squarely in your chair. Make yourself as comfortable as possible. In these chairs. Why don't you take your jacket off? All right, I'm going to ask you to concentrate and I'm going to ask you to focus your attention on the point of light. Look into the light. Good. Now, now please, stare at the light. Relax, empty your mind. You see only the light, you hear only my voice. All right, Richard, your left arm is as stiff as a board. All right Richard, you may relax your arm now and place it back in your lap. Now I'm going to lead you back to the clinic. It's dark. What is it, Richard? Tell me what you see. What do you see, Richard? Tell me what you saw, Richard. Richard? Richard, can you hear my voice? Richard. Can you hear me, Richard, can you hear my voice? Can't wait. Richard! Richard. Richard. It's all right, Richard, it's all right. I saw his face. Jesus. I saw the motherfucker's face. Andrea Banks, Channel 10 News, aren't you John Wesford? - He's my twin brother. - You're twins? We don't have to talk to you. Well, what do you think of the allegations that your brother was the Ripper? Why did he commit suicide? He didn't, he was murdered. How do you know? I saw it. You were an eyewitness? Where's he being held? He's not being held. What's the police department's position on this? No comment! Move it! Shit! From police headquarters, this is Andrea Banks, Channel 10 News. There was nothing we could do, Wally. She was waitin' for us. She must've recognized him last night at the scene. I told the Chief, the Mayor, and the whole goddamned press corps the case was closed. Well it may not be as open and shut as we'd like to think. Something is fishy here and I need a little time to gather some facts. Facts, now we have facts, we have an eyewitness for Christ sakes, Gabe! That's positive ID. He was covered with her blood, all five victims were treated at the clinic where he worked within days of their murder. And the son of a bitch committed suicide. Now that is open and shut! And now some kid has a dream, and you want to forget all about it. That kid is his identical twin brother. He showed up at the scene of the crime. He knew how his brother died, he even knew the exact time of death. Wally, an eyewitness couldn't tell them apart. This just came in. It's Richard Wesford's rap sheet. He's got a whole slew of priors, most of them juvenile. He was a member of the Aces street gang. Wow. When he was 18 he was charged with breaking and entering, assault with a deadly weapon. Copped a plea, went into the Army. They made him a medic. Bingo. He works for the Second Sole athletic shoe store. Transferred down here from 'Frisco about two months ago. Just before the killings started. Jesus Christ. Do identical twins have the same fingerprints? Mother santisima! My name's Rick Wesford. I'm John's brother, I'm looking for some information about him. Yes, what do you want? My name's Rick Wesford, I'm looking for some information about my brother. If you're sick, we can help you. For information, try the public library. Hey man, you know this... Don't "hey man" me. You make any disturbances in here and I'll call the police, you got that? I got it. Now get out. - Wait! - Get back to work, Chris. My name is Christina Moscari, I was a friend of your brother's. Chris! Fuck off, Sidney! Excuse me. I'm really really busy right now, but, but I can talk to you later if you'd like. I get off at nine. I'll see you then. Thank you. Jesus. Think he killed his brother? Had to. What, you think he's some kind of swami? I don't know. My grandma had the Sight. This isn't Twilight Zone, Sam, this is real life. I'm telling you, man, it's deep. Shit happened. God! Howdy. Hi. There's a pub not far from here where we can talk. Good. Nice car. Thank you. What the hell? He's in the wrong lane, Sam! Son of a bitch! Take it easy, Sam. He's not gain' anywhere. It's up about two miles on the right. I'm really sorry about John. He was a good man. You look so much like him. I can't believe he's dead. I saw it. I saw it last night in a nightmare. Somebody strangled him, and then they hung him. That's what happened. Johnny didn't kill himself. - I can't believe it! - You see that? Yeah, I saw him on TV. We all used to come here sometimes after work. What kind of drugs do they have at that clinic? Normal pharmaceuticals. Johnny have access to 'em? Sidney's the only one with the key. Why do you ask? Just curious. Helen, Rick Wesford. He's John's brother. - How do you do? - Hi. You hungry? They have great fish and chips. The kitchen's closed. OK, we'll have drinks then. Pabst for me. Been. What kind? Any. What do you do for a living, Rick? I I manage a shoe store. What did the police say when you told them you could identify the murderer? They didn't believe me. What are you gonna do? I'm gonna find him. Thanks, Howie. When was the last time you spoke with John? I haven't talked to him in a couple of years. So you weren't close, then. Well. We were and we weren't. Listen, I'm, I'm sorry, I better split. Do you want a ride someplace? No. I live just up the block, across the bridge. I appreciate you talking to me. Wait, don't leave. I'm gonna give you my address and phone number. There are a couple of things I can check out for you tomorrow at school. Call in the evening. Thank you. TW3 to control. This is control, go ahead TW3. Open up, police! I said open up! This is Detective Morofsky, Richard. Open the door. I'm out the back, Sam! Dammit! We're fucked. Captain Prentis. This is Tom Dellerton and Neil? - Finchley. - Finchley. They were friends of John Wesford's and they've made a sworn statement that John was with them in San Diego on the night of the 31st. When Cicely Tuner was murdered. - Is that so? - Yes sir. We were playing in a basketball tournament for medical students. Seven of us went down to train on Friday night and came back Sunday. Where did you stay? At the Highland Inn. My uncle's an assistant manager there. James Finchley's his name. And Wesford was with you the whole time? - Yes, sir. - He never left your sight. Not long enough for him to come all the way back here and murder that girl. Right, and we read that all these murders were supposed to be the work of one man. So if John didn't do that one, we figure he couldn't have done any of them. Right. I want to thank you boys for coming in. We appreciate the help. - You're welcome, sir. - Thanks. Call Sam, tell him to pick him up. I already did a little while ago. They lost him. Goddamn! Let's go. Inside! Who is it? Howdy. Did you get an eyeful, asshole? What? Did you get an eyeful? Out back, peeking through my window. - When? - Just now. Close your door and lock it. You mean it wasn't you? Whoever was there is gone. What did he look like? I don't know, I just saw a shadow. Why are you here? Who's the guy in the back? - Jack. - Jack? Jack killed my brother. Who is it? Police, Miss Moscari, could you open up? Isn't it a little late to be... This is an emergency, may we come in? I'm not really dressed. It's OK, we're police officers. You were with Richard Wesford tonight? Yes. Did he tell you where he might be going, what his plans were? No. What'd you talk about? About his brother. Do you have any idea where he is now? No, I don't. If Wesford contacts you, would you call us at this number immediately? He's wanted in connection with his brother's murder. We have reason to believe he's emotionally disturbed and dangerous. His brother's dead. Wouldn't you be disturbed? Please call us if he contacts you. He's dangerous. Thank you. The man in the photograph's name is Jack Pendler. He works at the clinic with us. Are you sure he's the man? Do you know where he lives? Yeah. I'll be right back, I'll get dressed. - Wait- - No. I'm coming with you. Wait, pull over there. What for? I gotta make a stop. Where are you going? Right across the street. Be back in just a few minutes, all right? - What do you want? - Roscoe sent me. Beat it. I'm on page 51. - So? - I need a gun. Now what's a nice young man like you want with a piece? Wedding present. Show me something green. You a police officer? No. You a Federal Marshall? A treasury agent? An agent of the FBI? Good. You look familiar. I seen you around somewhere? I don't know. Watch Dynasty? Take your pick. You gotta be kidding me. I don't kid about money, pal. Come on. I'll take this one and a box of shells. No bullets here. You want bullets, try a sporting goods store. You're a real sweetheart. All right, let's go. What's the matter? Why did we stop here? I needed to see somebody. I bought a gun. What? Listen, why don't you give me the address and I'll take it alone from here, all right? What, so you're gonna shoot him? I couldn't shoot the motherfucker if I wanted to. I don't have any bullets. No bullets. The guy sells guns, he doesn't sell bullets. Well that's pretty stupid, what good is a gun without any bullets? What are you doing here? Sidney. You so- You scared me. I forgot some of my, my stuff and I needed it. Well you're not supposed to be in here after hours. Especially after what's already happened. I understand. I was just leaving. Jack? Sir? I've.. I've been meaning to tell you. You do good work. Thank you, sir. Now go have some fun. Yes, sir! That's it. Does he live alone? Yeah. Do you know if he has a dog? I don't think so. Do you have a flashlight? Yeah, in the glove compartment. What are you gonna do? Just take a look around. You better go home. How are you gonna get in? I used to do this for a living. I'd feel a whole lot better about this if you'd go home. Go home. You're gonna fry, motherfucker. Requesting backup, over. Freeze! All right, hands behind your back. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. I remember everyone always thought I was jealous of John. That pissed me off. I- I never... I never thought I was. There's an old saying. Where's there's no jealousy, there's no love. Well, you've given us quite a night. Pendler's real name is Jack Parmel and he's confessed to the killing of your brother. He claims it was self-defense. It's bullshit. The blood on his medical instruments you found matches the last victim, Denise Johnson. Parmel claims he gave her an abortion and that's all. He says your brother must've killed her. But we know that's a frame. Six years ago in Ohio, he was arrested for rape and aggravated assault. He skipped bail and disappeared. We're arraigning him this afternoon on six counts of murder. Thank you. Thank you. Your car is here now, Miss Moscari. If you like, I could drive you home. I can manage. Thank you, though. Good luck to you. I hope to see you soon. - Thank you, Sergeant. - This way. Are you sure these are aerobic shoes? Yeah, you could use these for aerobics, sure. Fine, I'll take these. Good choice. - Wanna wear 'em? - Yeah, I think I will. Fuck! Goddamn it! Fuck! I need to talk to you. - Richard. - I need to talk to you. Come in. Carlos! It's all right, Mother. Go back to bed. Let's go into my study. I'm very upset that you've come to my house, Richard. It's very disrespectful to me. It's very late at night, you frightened my mother. I'm still having the dreams. I'm still having the fucking dreams! I think I know why you're here, Richard. You know Jack Pendler isn't the Ripper. He's right-handed and he doesn't smoke. I don't know, I- I don't know. I think you know who the killer is, don't you? What? Don't you? No, I... Something's not right. I want you to hypnotize me. Richard-. Come on, hypnotize me. Please. Please. All right, I want you to relax in the chair. Clear your mind. Just concentrate only on the light, and listen carefully to my voice. Chris! Sergeant Gabriel? Carlos Battera. BOO! Sidney! No. Open up, it's the police! Open up in there! Break it down! Put your hands up! |
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