1
- Hi.
- The bell's broken.
Come on in.
- Hi, Julia.
- Hi.
You are saving our lives.
We're late.
We're going to a
friend's house for dinner,
but they live out at the beach
so I don't gonna expect
we're gonna be home until,
oh, 11, 11:30.
- Is that okay?
- Sure.
Your parents coming to pick you up?
My brother, but he's
gonna wait till I call him.
- Okay.
- We're late.
The kids are asleep already.
Do you remember where their room is?
I'll find it.
How do I look?
You look late.
Beautiful, but late.
I've left the number where we're
going to be on the door of the fridge.
Okay.
Bye-bye.
And, Julia, thanks again for
coming on such short notice.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Hello.
Hello?
I think you have the wrong number.
You do have the wrong number.
Yes, who is it?
Hi.
You don't know me.
My car is broken down and, uh...
I was wondering if I could
come in and use the phone.
Who do you want to call?
The Auto Club.
I'm a member, they'll send
someone out to help me.
It'll only take a minute.
Just to come in and make one call.
I won't bother you again.
I'll call them for you.
I can do it.
I don't wanna put you through any trouble.
You can trust me.
It's okay.
What do you want me to tell them?
You're gonna need
to write this down.
I'm back.
Okay, my name is Steven Dane.
Mm-hmm.
Card number 245,
38,
142,
And that uh, that expires at the
end of August of this year.
Okay.
Just tell them the
name of the street,
a block north of Franklin.
And I may need a tow,
the car, it won't start.
Won't they need to know
what kind of car it is?
Uh, it's a black
Chevy Impala, 1983.
- License number N-Y-Z...
- Uh huh.
You don't know the number
of the Auto Club, do you?
I think it's 555-6800.
Okay, I'll be right back.
Hello?
Did you call them?
Yes, they said they'd
be here in about an hour.
An hour?
They always say they'll
come within 30 minutes.
What's going on?
That's what they told me.
Maybe it's a busy night or...
Yeah, maybe.
Okay, thanks, I appreciate it.
Who is it?
They didn't come.
It's me, the Auto Club hasn't come.
I'm sorry.
Listen, can I just come
in and talk to them?
Give them a call?
No, I'm sorry.
I can't do that.
Would you call them
again for me please?
Sure.
Okay.
You still have all the
information I gave you?
License plate, card
number, all that stuff?
Yes.
Hold on, I'll go call them again.
Hello, Auto Club?
Yeah, um, we called
before about an hour ago
and you never came.
What's the deal?
Well, we've been waiting here.
I mean, why don't you
try and get a move on?
Some of us haven't got all night.
You know what I mean?
Yes.
The name is blah blah blah.
Black Chevy Impala.
Blah blah blah blah.
License plate blah blah blah.
Card number blah blah blah blah.
Blah blah blah blah.
And, um, while you're at it...
Why don't you call my brother
and tell him to come over.
I could use the company.
Please.
Okay, I called them again.
Are you there?
Hello?
What do you want?
You never called them, did you?
You never called the Auto Club?
Yes, I did.
Of course, I did.
I don't believe you.
Why don't you go bother
the people next door?
Some other house on this block?
I have, they're not home.
Nobody else is home on this street.
Just you.
I can't even see your
car out the window.
You've been looking
out the window?
Yes.
I don't see any car.
It's down the block.
Don't you believe me?
Look.
I've, I've done what I, I could for you.
Why don't you just go
away and leave me alone?
I'm sorry.
Listen, I'm stuck here.
Could you do me one more
favor and call my wife?
Tell her what's happened and not to worry?
Would you do that please?
All right.
Give her my card number.
Tell her to call the Auto Club.
Maybe she'll have better luck.
You still have the information I gave you
written down somewhere?
Yes.
The number is 555,
Did you call her?
Yes.
There was no answer.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Are you okay in there?
Yes.
All right.
Well, thanks.
You've done what you could.
I'm sorry to bother you.
Go away!
Leave me alone, please!
Listen to me very carefully.
You don't live here, do you?
You're just a babysitter.
Have you...
been upstairs in the last five minutes?
Why?
I don't think you're
alone in this house.
Someone's upstairs.
I've seen them moving
around through the windows.
You should get out of there now.
Come on out, Julia.
I never told you my name!
Don't stay in there.
- I'm warning you.
- Where...
Where are you?
What have you done with them?
I'm hiding in the bushes.
Why?
He's in there with you.
Look into the living room.
Please believe me!
I'm telling you the truth.
I've dealt with the police before.
I know you think I'm...
I'm not making this up!
What's going on?
I don't know.
She keeps talking about something
that happened five years ago.
Is there a record on it?
Take a few days to get
up here, if it exists.
You want me to put in a request?
No.
Call the university, tell
them we have a hysterical coed
on our hands.
Have them send someone over
from the Dean of Women's Office.
Okay.
Anyone but Johnson.
Yeah.
Hey, Johnson.
Thanks for calling.
Didn't take me long, did it?
It's okay.
She's calmed down quite a bit.
She was badly
traumatized five years ago.
What are you, a clairvoyant?
I got files.
In there?
Julia, I'm Jill.
I'm director of the women's
services here on campus.
How you doin'?
I'm okay.
Now I was brought in
on this a little late
so I don't know what you've
already told these gentlemen
so if you wouldn't mind
repeating it for me
from the beginning?
How far back you want me to go?
Just the recent stuff here at school.
Okay.
I came here two years ago as a freshman
in the liberal arts program.
I stopped going home
after the first summer.
I got an apartment off campus and, um,
I've been there for
about a year and a half.
Almost four months ago...
I can give you an exact
date if you want it.
I noticed that this book of
mine, this book of poems,
it wasn't on the shelf where I keep it.
Where was it?
Well, it was on the shelf,
it just wasn't in the place
where I always keep it.
It had been moved.
Go ahead.
I didn't think much of it at the time.
I mean, I noticed it, I
just didn't get concerned.
Then about six weeks ago
I was suddenly awakened
at three o'clock in the morning.
My alarm clock was going off.
I didn't set that alarm.
This afternoon, I came
home to my apartment
and I discovered hanging in my closet
a shirt that doesn't belong to me.
It's a child's shirt.
I came here.
My door is triple bolted.
I live up on the third story.
Is that all?
Don't you see?
Somebody has gotten in three times
in the last four months.
Someone has been in my apartment
and they have done things,
little things, to let
me know that he's there!
Didn't you just say that
you keep the front door
triple locked and your apartment
is three stories up from the ground?
Yes, yes!
Yes.
That's a hell of an effort
for someone to move a book.
Uh, Julia, would you mind
stepping outside for just a minute?
You all just heard the
same thing I did, right?
So what's to talk about?
Does she have a psychiatric
record or something?
Paranoid delusions?
What about this incident five years ago?
Some sort of harassment thing.
Well, did they catch the guy?
Apparently not, but what do I know?
It's still running around
her mind that's for sure.
I believe her.
What?
I believe her.
The incident five years ago was more
than a harassment thing.
Two children disappeared and
they haven't been found yet
dead or alive.
Yes, she does have a psychiatric record
and a pretty extensive one.
She was responsible for those children,
and she barely escaped with her own life.
I would be willing to bet that
her apartment is pretty bare,
not cluttered.
You would know if a book had been moved.
You know exactly how many
socks you have in a drawer.
How many matches are in
the box by the stove.
You don't mistake those things
and the terrifying thing is apparently...
he knows you don't.
Julia?
Will you come with me?
Nice place.
Thank you.
I'm not real comfortable
with narrow corridors
and small spaces.
Nooks and crannies.
Why don't you have a seat?
I'll make us some tea.
Oh!
Want to call your
parents and let them know
what's going on?
They're divorced.
I know.
How?
How do you know about me?
I've known about you since the day
you set foot on campus.
It's my job.
Julia, when I was a girl
I went through something
very similar to your experience.
I was babysitting in a strange house
and the children I was
responsible for were murdered.
The police caught the man,
but it took me a long time to get over it.
Couldn't be alone.
Julia, I don't think
that the police are going
to get involved, not at this stage.
I would like to call
in someone to consult,
an old friend of mine.
I haven't seen him in years,
but I think he will come down
now if I ask him.
And in the meantime,
I want you to know you
can stay here with me
until you feel that you're ready
to go back to your own apartment.
We will get you through this.
Now boarding at Ramp Seven.
Hey!
Julia, come here.
Julia, come on!
This is John Clifford.
- Hi, Julia, how are ya?
- This is Julia.
- Pleasure.
- John.
There were two men?
Yes, two.
One of whom she only heard, never saw.
I saw him once through the window
the first time that he came
to the door, but it was dark.
Which window?
The living room.
There was a window in the living room
that the police found open,
but only six or eight inches,
and there was never an explanation for it.
Is it possible...
that the man who was talking
to you outside the door
came into the living
room through that window?
No.
No.
No, he was right outside the door.
I had been listening
to him there all night.
And when he said to look into
the living room, I looked.
I didn't wait.
I turned to my side and
there he was, the other one.
He was right there.
The police never believed
that there was a man outside
because the doctor came home just then.
Did they have some other theory?
No.
I guess I didn't lock it when I left.
I was scared and I just
ran right to the police.
That's okay.
Anything changed?
No.
Your hanger?
Yeah.
Jill, I can stay here now.
Sure?
Yes.
I mean, the next time could be
tomorrow or next month.
It could be five years
from now, couldn't it?
I want a life.
Crisis Center Hotline.
Wait a minute, slow down.
Do you need the police?
Crisis Center.
Situations do arise
where there is no one
around to help you.
And you have to defend yourself
by whatever means necessary.
You cannot say that you
don't believe in violence
unless you also say you
don't believe in living.
They just came up along
with these old reports.
It's eerie, isn't it?
Why in the five years
John, do you think,
between then and now?
Ah, he could have been
doing time for something else.
Could have got away.
Could have lost track of her.
Could have lost interest.
Could have gone off
with these children alive.
Mm-hmm.
There can be a thousand
reasons with a psychopath.
I'm assuming that one of them
had training as a locksmith.
It's possible.
Not difficult to open a lock
if you know what you're doing.
What about the shirt?
Nothing yet.
No prints on the hanger.
I'm sure he wouldn't have left anything
that could be traced back to him.
Why do you keep saying him?
I don't believe there were two men.
Why not?
It's a feeling.
You know.
I kinda wish it is two men this time.
Twice as easy to find.
Not just that.
If it is only one, then he's
got something going for him
we haven't even begun to imagine.
Hello?
Julia, what's the matter?
- Where are you?
- I thought I saw somebody
in the window.
I heard this noise and it
woke me up and I looked.
Where exactly in
your apartment are you?
I'm on the bed.
Are there any lights on?
Just the lamp beside my bed.
Well, what do you see?
Nothing.
What do you hear now?
Nothing.
Is your window closed?
Yes.
Locked.
Yes.
And the door.
I can't tell, it must be.
Julia, listen to me.
Don't assume anything.
Put the phone down and
secure the apartment.
Look into the kitchen then the bathroom.
Turn on the light, look inside.
Then the closet.
Then go over to the front door
and make sure it's locked.
Okay.
And I want you to talk
to me the entire time.
Tell me exactly where you
are, what you're doing.
All right?
All right.
I'm going into the kitchen now.
There's nothing there.
Now I'm going towards the bathroom.
I'm turning on the light.
Julia?
Julia?
Julia!
I'm back.
Good.
The door was locked.
All right.
Now I want you to turn off the light.
Okay.
And look out the window.
I don't see anything.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
I probably imagined this whole thing.
It's possible.
But please do call me if you're concerned
about anything else, any time.
Okay.
Thank you.
John, it's me, it's Jill.
Julia just phoned.
Julia.
Do you own a gun?
Gun pointing down.
Every night I go to bed hoping that
tomorrow somehow things
are gonna be different.
That I'm gonna be somebody
else with a different life.
Somebody with friends.
A person with a future, who isn't alone.
A person who maybe has someone.
And then I wake up.
Julia.
Don't let the future close in on you.
Mr. Clifford.
Do you think that I'm
doing the right thing?
I mean, I could run away.
Try and disappear.
But maybe they wouldn't find me.
I can't make that choice for you.
I'm sorry.
Have you seen Julia?
Isn't she supposed to be here?
Has anyone seen Julia?
Not at her apartment.
I just can't believe
that she wouldn't call me.
Maybe she's avoiding you.
Jill.
Are you sure she hasn't created
something that isn't there?
What do you mean?
A book, an open window.
Explanations are getting
pretty hard to come by.
John, what is happening
to Julia is real.
And it's too much for her.
She's coming apart and I can't blame her.
And I don't think she should be
made to confront it this way.
What choice does she have?
What choice do any of us have?
Is she back at her apartment?
Alone?
I made her promise she
would stay at my apartment.
The women at the center are
gonna be checking on her.
Mr. Clifford?
- Yes.
- Suzie Hart.
Jill Johnson.
You must have some pull
with the police down here.
I appreciate your cooperation.
Glad to be of help.
Just close the door when you're finished.
Thank you.
This is the window.
It was open six inches.
It's only 15 feet.
15 feet, that's an easy distance.
He manipulated his voice
so that she believed
he was outside and he
never was, not at the end.
That's why the doctor never saw anyone.
He was inside the house with her.
This is gonna sound crazy but...
we're looking for a ventriloquist.
Left the kitchen door open.
1380, 61.
Those are the tags, two
for 13 Victor Circle.
It's Julia.
She shot herself.
Oh.
You can see the bullet
entered the skull here
just above the right ear leaving
a number of lead fragments.
There are extensive powder
burns at the point of entry
indicating the close range.
And it exited this area here.
What was the weapon?
We already got the
forensic report on the slug.
They dug it out of the ceiling.
It was from a nine millimeter
registered in her name.
We found it right beside her.
It's amazing she's still alive.
Can she talk?
No.
Will she be able to, someday?
Do you believe in God?
I've seen a lot of these cases.
I worked in Miami until three years ago.
Old people check themselves
out all the time.
When did it happen?
The best we could figure,
about two in the morning.
I should have been home with her.
Don't you know?
She was in her own apartment.
Why?
Why would she come back here?
John.
This is dated last night.
It's dark, I can't see.
No phone.
Jill, where are you?
I don't think it proves anything.
What do you think then?
Instincts will only take you so far.
Then you have to rely on
evidence and there isn't any.
This is evidence, read it.
I've read it.
Read it again.
It's dark, no phone.
What do you think that means, no phone?
It was taken out like five years ago.
Phone is working.
Today, what about last night at 2AM.
It's dark.
What do you think that means?
Does it say in there why she
went back to her apartment?
Does it?
Jill.
Mm!
She tried to kill herself.
What if you're wrong?
Look, there's nothing more I can do.
And even if I'm wrong, he
won't be around any more.
He is out there somewhere.
He will go after someone else.
I'm sorry.
I'm going home.
Well, I don't know why he didn't just
finish the job and kill her.
Jill!
Julia.
It's me, it's Jill.
I'm with you.
You're getting better.
I know it.
Those stupid doctors,
they don't believe it but
they don't know you like I know you.
Julia.
We'll get him.
Somehow, I promise you.
I will get him.
Hello, Jill.
I said, hello, Jill.
Honey, Edgar Bergen is dead.
Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd.
Nobody wants acts like that anymore.
There must be others,
where would I look?
I don't know burlesque
theaters, bar mitzvahs.
You could try those places
around 159th Street.
Here.
Hey, daddy.
Jesus is com...
Hey, honey.
Shhh!
Ladies and gentlemen,
put your hands together
for The Great Landis!
Can you just hold the
spot, don't move it?
How many times have you looked
at yourself in the mirror
and asked yourself, "Who
am I going to be today?"
"What face will I show the world?"
It is said that God created
Man in his own image.
I looked in the mirror this
morning and this is what I saw.
Of course there are other mirrors
besides the one above your
bathroom sink, aren't there?
The woman sitting out
there knows the truest one,
the mirror that most reflects
the person she wants to be,
despite all the makeup she uses,
and hairstyles and clothes,
is in the eyes of the man who loves her.
And maybe for the college
boys the truest mirror
is the toilet bowl staring back at them
the morning after a toga party.
I don't know.
We live our lives in a
land of mirrors, don't we?
Everyone we meet,
everything we see and feel
from the blank ceiling above our heads
to the eyes averted on the street,
to the close, sweaty
smell of rooms like this.
- They tell us who we are.
- That's enough!
Without them, you become like me.
Cut it, that's it!
I am not the reflection of anything.
I am not an illusion, I am the truth.
- Tony!
- Invisible.
Unknowable.
You people are the real illusions.
You people are the real illusionists.
Yeah!
What the fuck was that?
What, you crazy?
I'm gonna get you arrested.
- Please.
- I fucking will.
Look, I'll do it
right, I need the money.
Oh, you need money.
You need money, you can lick
the stinking toilets clean.
There's your goddamn plumber!
Jesus.
Toilet's over here.
Hasn't worked in three days.
Yeah.
Yeah!
Woo!
Yeah, yeah!
Baby, this is good, oh yeah.
Yeah!
I liked it.
I liked your act.
Nothing's an act.
Just get the hell out of here, come on.
Out, out!
Mr. Landis?
They told me about your act inside.
I missed it.
Where you goin'?
I wanna talk to ya.
I wanna give you a job!
I wanna hire ya!
Wait!
Can you tell me if Mr.
Landis lives down there?
William Landis?
He's a ventriloquist.
He's gone.
What do you mean?
Moved out.
For good?
When?
Poor guy.
Come out here, children had died.
Wanted to find their
mother, tell her about it.
Did he find her?
I think so.
Thanks.
Jill?
Yeah.
You all right?
Yes, I just need a little time to think.
I'm fine.
Thank you for asking.
You sure?
I'm fine.
Operator.
Yes, operator, can you dial
a local number for me please?
What is the number please?
555-2348.
Let me try it for you.
Thank you.
I'm sorry, sir.
There seems to be some
problem with that line.
What sort of problem?
I don't know, sir.
A crossed line or a temporary disconnect.
I'll make a report of it.
Jill.
Jill.
Jill.
How does it feel?
You're all alone now, Jill.
Help me, Jill.
It's dark.
I can't see.
No phone.
Jill, where are you?
Jill.
I'm here.
I'm here.
Jill.
Where are you?
I'm here, Jill.
Where are you?
It's dark, Jill.
I can't see!
Hi-yah, Hi-yah!
Jill!
Jill!
Where's the gun?
Thank God.
Jill.
Jill.
Jill?
Jill.
You're okay?
Is he dead?
He's dead.
Doctor Miller, 4721.
Okay.
They were gonna give you a private room.
I just figured you'd get better faster
if you had somebody to talk to.
Julia?