1
Everyone that loved me,
I lied to.
Even myself.
You know, they say that
God created the world in six days.
On the first day
there was light,
but there was no light.
This is really not my fault
that you are
as fine as you are, 'cause I'm just saying.
You know, the fact that...
- I just need to be with you.
- Oh.
I'm feeling horny.
Okay. Uh-huh.
Rub up on you
like that right there.
There was no heaven
on earth that I could see.
There was no Garden of Eden
that I lived in.
I gotta get ready.
I gotta get ready and so do you.
- Just two more minutes.
- I'm flattered though.
- You know I am.
- Mmm-hmm.
- Go get ready.
- Come on.
There wasn't even
earth under my feet that I could feel.
I mean, nothing.
I felt nothing.
Tonight it's on, that's all I'm saying.
It's on like hot buttered popcorn!
And then on the fifth day
they say he created creatures.
When... When did you
find time to cook breakfast?
Well, the cake sale, it's today, remember?
Oh, right. That's right. That's right.
Yeah, I've been up since 6:00 a.m.
Yep. You know how those deacons are.
They're vicious about their cakes.
Zip me up.
I know you wanna take it off,
but put it back up.
Zip it up.
The only creatures that I saw
were the ones that I imagined in my mind.
And I know God didn't create any of those.
No, he didn't create any of it.
You know, Mommy loves purple,
'cause it's the color of hope.
I see where this is going.
And it's magical.
I love magic, Mommy.
Well, that was easy. Purple it is, baby.
And there was no me.
That's for sure. There was no me.
I wanna go to church with you, Daddy.
I know, baby, but you know what?
They got something special for you today
in Sunday school, I think you'll like it.
Okay, cake's in the back.
Jesus said he would
Said he would
make up my dying bed
My father said he would
Said he would
make up my dying bed
Well, when you
Thank you, Jesus
See me crying
Thank you, Jesus
I don't want nobody to mourn
What I want you to do for me
Thanks for watching her.
Please take one.
This is my child. She's missing.
This is your little girl?
Yes, my daughter. She's missing.
Please help me find my daughter.
- Good morning!
- Hey, Tia.
- How are ya?
- Hey! Ooh!
I'm good. What'd you make?
Well, that's a cinnamon bundt cake.
- Oh, it looks good.
- It's good.
You even had to
bring your mom up here...
- Afternoon, gentlemen.
- Whoa! Good afternoon.
That is one fine honey, man.
Make a hungry dog jump off a meat wagon.
Fellas, fellas, that's my assistant.
- That's what I gotta work with everyday.
- Your sister?
- Assistant.
- Oh...
The Bible talks about a thing
called a "root of bitterness."
You may have cut down all of the leaves
and all of the branches and the tree
and the trunk is gone,
but my question to you is,
have you dug up that root of bitterness?
Because until you get rid of that root
you can't go to the next level.
Is there anybody in here
who hears what I'm saying?
Give Him a praise.
Praise the Lord.
I don't know what you're going to do,
but I've made up my mind.
I will release!
I pray a spirit of release
takes you to the next level!
For the next 30 seconds,
give your God the praise!
Ooh, this looks good.
This looks real good. The food...
Man, it's so hot out here
the food is sweating.
Goodness!
Why does everything have to be so perfect?
I like things a certain way.
Les, man, I see I need to
get you out on a court real soon
'cause you need to
work on that fat, boy.
Hey, man, don't hate.
I'm not hating.
This is from good living.
I mean, you may think it's fat.
- I call it my love bucket.
- Mmm!
What do the ladies call it?
- Fat.
- Thank you.
- 80, Les...
- Yo!
You still banging that little nurse
in the hospital closet, man?
Oh, man!
What's wrong with you? You crazy?
- Of course I am.
- You gotta be kidding me.
- She makes me feel young.
- Young?
- Yeah.
- You?
Well, you know, Tia and I,
we just don't mesh like we used to.
I don't understand that talk of yours.
What you need to understand
is every real man needs a good woman.
You know, like Kari. I'm
blessed to have Kari.
Not only is she sexy as hell,
she's a good wife...
- And a super freak.
- Hey, hey.
That's my lady. That's my angel.
Everybody knows
angels don't get freaky in the bedroom.
Got that right.
So tell me, why did we get married anyway?
So we can live happily ever after
in our lovely gated communities.
Safe and secure, right, Les?
Yeah, well, listen,
I don't want a beggar outside my door.
Everyone ain't able, Les.
I mean, everyone's not as fortunate as you
to be able to shield yourself
from the reality of poverty.
Look, man, I have to agree with Les.
Wow, you, brothers, are demented.
Try that com. I got it seasoned just right.
Daddy!
Do you know
your big day is coming in less than a week?
I'm gonna be seven!
That's right.
All right, go.
Bye, little man.
- Oh!
- Hello.
- Don't I know you?
- Maybe.
Oh!
Mmm!
May I have this dance?
You may.
Please let me change
your heart for you
Please, little girl
Please, baby
Let me change
your heart for you
Excuse me?
I know your motor's
got the blues
That just came to you?
'Cause your oil change
will bring bad news
Watch yourself. Watch out.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I...
That's not good to think about.
Well, then make up your own prayer.
Just remember, what's important is that
you know that God is
always watching over you
and he'll never let you down.
What happens if you let God down?
He forgives you.
God loves us no matter what.
Okay-
God bless everyone. Amen.
That's it?
It seemed to cover everything to me.
Hey, sleep tight.
Don't let the bed bugs bite.
And if they do?
I hit 'em with a shoe.
And make those bugs...
All black and blue.
- All right.
- Good night, Daddy.
Here's your baby and your blankie.
Good girl. See you in the morning.
Ooh, baby.
Mmm, you like it when I'm naughty.
Uh-huh.
- You are my angel though.
- Hmm.
That's not what you called me a minute ago.
That's right.
You know,
earlier today I kept thinking about...
When I was making that
crawfish, my mom kept
- running across my mind.
- Mmm.
I kept seeing her
sitting there waiting for me to
pour 'em out.
I don't think you ever
get over losing your mother.
I think you just learn to live with it.
I don't think it was
ever the same after Katrina.
After she left her house...
And you remember
how much she loved this city.
Mmm.
I still think she died of a broken heart.
You are such a good man, David.
I know my mother would have loved you.
What are you saying?
Your old man wouldn't have approved?
Oh, stop.
I think he would've loved my crawfish.
How could anyone not love you?
- Mmm-hmm.
- Mmm.
You want seconds, don't you?
Come on, come on.
- Don't let me hold you back.
- Mmm!
- David.
- Hmm?
I think I heard something.
- David.
- Hmm.
Get up. Come on.
Listen. Listen.
Daddy.
I thought you'd locked the door.
I had a bad dream.
The boogeyman was in my closet.
You know I wouldn't let
anything happen to you, right, darling?
Right?
- Nothing.
- Come here.
It's all right, puddin' pop.
Come on. You can lay here with us.
What?
She can lay here with us.
She'll be all right in her bed.
Go to sleep. Go to sleep.
No, Mr. Williams,
that is incorrect, but nice try.
Listen, people, the question is,
does the human condition change
if humans themselves change?
So what's he lecturing on today?
One of my favorites. Karma.
Fearing one's demise
serves a greater divine purpose,
namely as a motivating factor
to keep our own behavior in check...
Right.
If man believes
that there is a karmic reckoning,
be it God or the cold,
harsh principles of cause and effect.
If he believes this,
then it forces him to question the choices
he makes in life and is that
not in and of itself of value?
Ladies and gentlemen.
Now you can also
look at it from the other side
because you can argue two points...
Oh, shoot. You know, listen, I'm sorry.
I gotta grab that. We'll talk after.
Thank you. Thank you.
- Hey, mama.
- Hey. Can you hear me?
Yep, Yep-
So, listen, I just wanna
go over the to-do list with you,
'cause I have
the landscapers coming out
and I wanted to run by you
about an alarm system,
with what we heard
on the news about those kids missing.
Oh, come on, girl. It's nothing.
We don't need another monthly bill,
that's for sure.
Oh, David, come on. I'll pay for it.
Come in.
I gotta go. Students are restless.
And Beth just walked in.
Okay, I can tell you can't talk.
- Bye. See you later.
- I love you.
Hey.
John Whittaker wants to talk to you
and not your damn teaching assistant.
Is he still upset over his grade or the
fact that you won't go out with him?
You know I'm not
seeing anyone these days.
Huh?
Yeah.
By the way, you're wearing that suit.
Shame on you, babe
Some no good woman
Took my baby
My baby
Wasn't it a shame
Shame on you
You're playin' somebody
Hey, girl, can I help you?
- Hey.
- Mmm!
What's up with that, mama?
Hello, sweet thing.
- Get a load of that thing.
- Yeah.
I'd like me some of those.
You got one of them for me?
I got something for you though.
So what? I have secrets.
Who doesn't? Huh?
I pay $600 a month
to keep my secrets to myself.
To protect what I have,
to protect my family.
You cannot blame me for that.
So what does God do?
He punishes me for that?
And does he punish
my innocent daughter?
Oh! My little fairy.
I thought you said
we were making cookies.
I know, I said it.
Listen, give me two minutes.
Come on, sweet pea,
I know you wanna make some cookies.
Come on down!
Mikayla.
Mikayla.
Mikayla!
Mikayla? You wanna make cookies or what?
Mikayla?
Okay, that's enough.
Mikayla?
Mikayla?
Mikayla!
Mikayla!
Mikayla!
Mikayla!
Honey, we're gonna find her.
We will find her.
You know how Mikayla is?
You know how she wanders off sometimes?
Yeah, I do. She wanders.
She must have just...
She must have.
Detective Barrick.
This is my wife, Kari.
Mrs. Ames, we have our
investigators just combing the entire area.
What we have found
is a fresh male boot print in your yard.
We're going to send out
an Amber Alert on your daughter.
- No.
- I'm so sorry.
With the evidence that we have,
there's a possibility
that your daughter was abducted by the MK.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
The Merrero Killer?
Their first grabs were on the West Bank.
It might be someone else.
She could have been kidnapped.
Just kidnapped and maybe...
Who's to say the phone's not gonna ring
and they're not gonna ask for ransom money?
Please, Mrs. Ames. Stay calm.
I don't give a damn about your budget.
Mayor, the FBI should have been involved
if there's a serial killer
running around down here.
We're doing
everything we can, David.
It is because of me and my friends
that you even got elected.
Expect a call from me
every hour, on the hour.
Professor Ames?
I want you and your wife
to come down to the station now.
- Why?
- I wanna polygraph you.
If you're insinuating we had anything to
do with this, you're wasting...
You're not suspects.
It's formality.
We just want our daughter back.
Do you currently reside
at 100 Chevelry Avenue?
Yes.
Is your daughter's name Mikayla Ames?
Yes.
Are you a real estate agent by trade?
Yes.
Is your name Kari Ames?
Yes.
Kari, can I do anything for you?
David, who are these people?
Just my colleagues.
Let's just get through this.
Go on upstairs.
Hey, how you holding up?
- It's a nightmare.
- Have you eaten?
No, I've not.
We have take-out.
You should eat something.
I need you to take a look at this flyer
before we make copies.
It's just a mild sedative.
Come on, Les...
Oh, come on, David. Give it to her.
It'll calm her down. Go ahead.
It's a nightmare.
Go ahead.
Kari, Les just gave me
these sleeping pills.
It'll help...
Help you sleep a little bit.
I don't wanna sleep!
And I won't take no damn sleeping pills.
Mikayla!
All right, the sheriff
says let's call it.
That's it for the night.
We'll come back tomorrow.
This is a woman's story
so I need you to...
I wish these reporters
would leave us alone.
Every little girl that MK abducted
was found dead on the sixth day.
Why wouldn't the police tell us that?
Don't answer that.
Don't answer it, David.
It's Detective Barrick. I got it.
Please...
Please don't tell me my child is...
As far as we know, your
daughter's still alive.
Do you mind if my tech starts
work on your phone?
Oh, no. Here. Come on.
- Why didn't you tell us?
- Tell you what?
That Mikayla has five days left.
Well, I didn't want you to
worry any more than necessary.
Oh, you didn't want me to worry.
What are you doing here?
Why are you here?
Why aren't you out there looking for her?
Detective? I'm sorry.
We haven't slept much around here.
You know what? Don't make apologies
for me, David. Don't do that.
May I speak with you privately?
You know what?
Whatever you have to say,
you can say in front of my husband.
I just wanted to be respectful.
Well, get to the point. How about that?
Mrs. Ames, do you know anyone who
may have a grudge against you?
Do you think someone we know
might've taken Mikayla?
Someone from Baton Rouge.
Kari, what's she talking about?
What's going on?
Kari?
Okay, we'll do it your way.
"Mikayla Carter."
"Two years, women's correctional
institute for narcotics possession."
Who's Mikayla Carter?
"Eight months, women's
correctional institute for prostitution."
"Nine weeks, East Baton Rouge
Parish prison for battery."
"Five weeks, East Baton Rouge
Parish prison for petty theft."
I mean, you can just jump
right in if you want.
I'm not that person anymore.
Mikayla Carter? That's you?
That's you?
Mrs. Ames,
if you know anyone that has it out for you,
you need to tell me right now.
I'm trying to help.
With this rap sheet,
I have to ask.
Have you talked to anyone
or seen anybody from your past?
No, I have not.
And unless I am a suspect,
or you have new information on my daughter,
I think you should leave.
If anybody comes to mind,
you need to call me!
Mr. Ames, I'll let myself out.
I thought if I changed my name,
then my old life would go away.
All this
time I've been living with a stranger.
No, you haven't.
Listen, let's not do this, David.
You... You... You were a ho?
- Theft.
- What?
Narcotics.
- You were a damn ho?
- No!
Do not call me that, okay?
We need to find my daughter.
She's my daughter, too!
Well, I know that, but our focus should
be on finding her! Our focus...
How do we know somebody from your past
didn't come and snatch our child?
We don't! We don't, okay?
God is punishing me.
Well, maybe you need to be punished.
Oh, now you're condemning me?
You're condemning me for cleaning my life?
I willed myself to become who I am.
And who are you?
Who are you?
If you had known my history,
would you have given me a second thought?
Well, Kari, we'll never know now, will we?
There are reasons that I did what I did.
I was raped by my father.
Of course.
I don't believe you.
David, open the door.
David, please.
Somebody's gonna step forward.
Somebody's gotta talk.
I just pray she's alive, man.
Oh, man, don't say that.
Don't even think that, man.
You're right, you're right, you're right.
It's just hard to be positive about
anything when you find out that
the woman you love
has got a rap sheet a mile long.
You know what I'm saying?
You know, I knew
something was wrong with her.
I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Hey, and look.
Oh, man.
Oh, man.
So what do you wanna do now, man?
I don't know.
I'd kick her to the curb if I were you.
Les, I guess that's easy for you to say
what you would do.
She's the mother of my child, man.
She's probably the reason why your child is
missing in the first place, man.
We don't know that.
Oh, man, I tell you, I'd
kick her to the curb.
- Man, I'd kick her to the curb.
- I gotta find Mikayla.
Oh, where you going, man?
I'm gonna roll through some neighborhoods.
All right, I'll roll with you.
All right. I'm gonna start
in the Fifth Ward, downtown,
- and work my way out.
- Fifth Ward?
Man, I forgot I'm still on call,
but I'll tell you what.
- I'll stay here and man the phone...
- I got this.
- Wait a minute. David, come on, man.
- I got it.
Listen, I'm with ya.
Daddy.
I'm gonna be seven!
Good night, baby.
You want seconds, don't you?
Come on, come on.
Mikayla!
Oh, God, bless this food.
Bless this food
which this child is about to receive.
Give him nourishment for the ultimate day.
Amen.
Got you
a little something to eat here.
Look at this. This is so good.
Here we are.
Open up, open wide.
- OW!
You better leave me alone!
You little blasphemer!
- Child of Satan!
- Go away!
You... You Godless little monster.
Now, shut up!
I just said... I said shut up!
What am I thinking? Dear God!
You are only a child.
You are only a child.
New Orleans
Police Department, may I help you?
We have five days left
before Mikayla
is found dead just like the others.
What are you doing?
Mrs. Ames, our department is using
every resource available, and then some.
Even the FBI is here.
Oh, good. I'll wait.
Why can't I get
my daughter's picture on the news?
I don't understand what's going on.
Ma'am, maybe you need to
go talk to the network.
- Thank you.
- I want answers.
Mrs. Ames? Mrs. Ames.
Oh, here's our man from Baton Rouge now.
Mrs. Ames, I'd like for you to
meet Special Agent Wil Bennett.
Mrs. Ames.
I'm sorry about your daughter.
- How're you holding up?
- Hmm. Barely.
I just love reunions.
We went to high school together.
Look, I'm gonna step out
for a few minutes, okay?
Come on, let me walk you out.
New Orleans Police Department,
may I help you?
Barrick, I swear she's got it in for me.
Oh, nah.
I'll deal with her later.
You know,
I tried looking you up over the years.
But you completely vanished.
But when Barrick
sent the file over with the family photo,
let's just say I was surprised.
Oh!
A familiar name, Lemont Bullock.
He bailed Kari out of jail twice.
So she was part of his stable.
- Yeah, top filly.
- Mmm.
We're gonna find her.
They got a pretty good department here.
And I'm gonna make certain of it.
You were always there for me.
Always.
You're scaring me.
Keep the light off.
I graded these term papers.
I could just leave them here.
I combed every block
within a 20 mile radius of my home.
I rang
every bell.
Nothing.
I'm sorry I...
Oh, no, no, no.
There's no need to apologize.
If you need anything just ask.
And, hey, I'll take care of it.
I can take over your lectures, you know.
I know most of them by heart.
I can't turn my mind off.
I...
I keep seeing her laying there.
I keep wondering...
They'll find her.
I know they will.
- Yeah.
- You want me to stay a little bit longer?
No. Just go.
Go home.
Go home and sleep.
Go home.
Okay-
Are you gonna be all right?
Yup.
Seventeen sex offenders
live within five miles of our home.
Did you know that?
No.
Why Mikayla?
What?
Why would you name our daughter Mikayla?
So that she could have
the childhood I never had.
Here, I've made your favorite,
uh, cheese crackers...
Nah, nah, nah, nah. We're good.
You've reached the Colmars.
We're unable to get
to the phone right now,
- so leave a message at the beep.
Tia, will you please call me?
It doesn't matter what time, okay?
Just call me back.
No, no, no, no, no.
Please, don't answer the phone.
Don't answer the phone, whatever you do.
Now you know I should answer the phone.
Tia, come on, pick up.
Don't talk to her.
Thank you.
Is Ed here?
He's asleep.
You mind telling me what this is about?
Where is he?
Thank you.
Do your homework. Get over there.
Do your homework!
It's the police! She's inside, Ed!
Get up!
Ed.
Homie. Hey!
- I wanna see my lawyer.
- Why?
The only thing I can hold you for is
violation of probation.
You know they hate your kind inside.
They're just gonna beat you up,
they're just gonna cut you up a little.
Okay, okay, okay-
What do you wanna know?
- Mikayla Ames.
- Mikayla Ames?
Yeah. Six-year-old black girl.
She's been all in the news.
There's been some yeah, yeah.
- What kind of yeah, yeah?
- Well, no one's owned up to it yet.
It takes about a month
for the video to hit the chat rooms.
But I don't think there's
too much of a demand for this one.
Why is that?
Little black girls are an acquired taste.
Now, uh...
White lambs or uh,
Asian cherubs...
Your kind of people
just want to make me forget my oath!
You better tell me
if there's any chatter about her.
Mikayla Ames.
You understand? You got that?
You call me.
If not, I'm gonna
be on you like red on pepper.
- You gotta chill.
- Hey!
You got that there?
You got that there?
All right, I got it.
Now clean up this mess.
Tia!
Tia?
David told you, didn't he?
This is not a good time.
And, yes, he told me.
Everybody knows.
They're all convinced
that your past is why Mikayla's missing.
But I don't believe that.
- Oh, you don't. You don't believe it.
- No.
That's why you've been
picking up the phone and talking to me?
No. You know how judgmental Les is.
I mean, he can be a
real asshole sometimes.
Tia!
I really could have
used a friend right about now, okay?
I didn't wanna have to
go through this all alone.
I know.
And if you picked up your damn phone
then I could have told you myself.
Well, I was gonna call you tomorrow.
You know...
Tomorrow! I'm not guaranteed tomorrows.
Mikayla could be dead by then,
for Christ's sake.
- Well, you got to give me some time.
- Time for what?
Time for Les to be okay
with your girlfriend
being a drug addict and a whore?
I got your whore right here!
You know what?
I'm not the only one with secrets here.
Huh? What's that supposed to mean?
That means that your husband is not
as proper as you think that he is.
Hmm?
Especially, when it comes to
those sweet little nurses of his.
Why don't you chew on that?
What was all that screaming?
What did she say?
Nothing you don't already know.
Especially, the fact about you screwing
around with your skank nurse.
What?
Hey, listen, that woman's got...
If you believe anything
this Kari has to say,
I'm telling you,
you gotta be losing your mind.
I am just so ashamed
of what I allowed you to do to me,
what you turned me into.
Listen, that woman is going down,
and she's trying to drag you down with her.
All right.
Spreading these lies and vicious lies...
I don't think that she is lying about this.
Oh, you don't, huh?
Well, she lied about everything else.
Yeah, and she was trying
to tell me the truth.
But I was just too busy placating you.
You need an escort, baby?
Hey!
Yeah, you heard me talking to you, girl.
I gave you all the money I got!
That's all you get?
You've been out here all night.
It's been slow, daddy. It's been real slow.
Slow, my... What the... Give me.
You better give my money.
Now give my money.
Get your hands off me.
I'll cut you!
- I'll cut you!
- Where'd you put the money?
I'd love to sit all night,
but where's my money?
Where is it?
What if I tell you
I ain't got nothing for you?
Oh, you gonna give me my money.
Yeah?
Or what you gonna do, huh?
Now I'm gonna tell you
what you're gonna do.
Oh, I'm gonna show you.
Come back here.
You better run!
I'm gonna leave you
dead on the street when I find you.
Dead on the street!
What are you
doing around here? Now move on.
What you gonna do? Try to stab me?
Where have you been?
I, uh, was posting flyers and, uh,
I fell asleep in the car.
You fell asleep... Kari.
What?
No more lies. Okay? No more lies.
Did Barrick call?
No.
No word from anyone.
I need to take a shower.
Look, David, I don't know what to tell you,
okay? I'm sorry.
All right? I'm sorry for everything.
I know I'm messed up right now.
I can't live like this
anymore.
I'm actually relieved.
I am relieved that all this stuff is out,
because now we can
finally be honest with each other.
You know what I'm saying?
We can be honest.
Okay-
Be honest with me.
Why couldn't you
be honest with me from the beginning?
Do you understand that everything
that you and I have built together...
Everything we built
together is built on a lie.
How am I supposed to... How...
I'm supposed to trust you. You're my wife.
I can't trust you.
I don't know where to start?
- I know. Baby, baby, baby...
- Wait!
- Kari.
- Can you just hold me?
Just hold me.
Don't you love me?
- Oh, I love you.
- You do?
- You love me?
- You know I love you.
Hmm?
Come on, Kari. Kari.
What are you doing?
You should have never let her
out of your sight.
- What?
- You should have never
let her out of your sight!
David!
I thought you'd be used to it like this.
You're hurting me.
You know you like it rough. Hmm?
Get off of me!
That's how you wanna do me?
You better put your money on the table.
Kari, I'm sorry.
I don't know what got into me.
Hear? I don't know what got into me.
Zip up your pants,
before I turn into
the woman that you think I am.
'Cause I will cut, negro.
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah
Hey, tell me baby
Watcha want me to do?
Oh, don't you hear me crying?
Hey! Hey!
Say, boy?
Hey!
Why you rich people
think everybody around here is a murderer?
You need to get the hell off my block.
Buddy, you need to back up off me.
This was my block,
before you and your little friends
came creeping up in through here.
Where you from, man?
This is my daughter.
She's been missing four days!
I said, where you from?
Huh? Where you from?
Hey, man, where you from?
Man, the blue house,
on the corner of Burdette.
You Ms. Willis' son?
Yeah.
Hey, man. It's me.
Little Joye.
I was the little dude who used to buy a
snowball from your mama, like, every day.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
That's your daughter?
Yeah.
Man, sorry about that.
Was hoping to bring her down here
one of these days,
see where her old man grew up.
Katrina hit,
- Moms died.
- Man.
- Look, man...
- I just never got around to it.
Hey, man, listen.
When you find her, bring her around.
You gonna find her, all right?
I want you to meet my little daughter.
All right, man? Hey, listen.
Give me some of them flyers.
Hey, man, we got you around here, dawg.
Give me all of them.
I want them all. Want them all.
Good luck, man.
Hey! Sam! Mike! Come here, man.
- This is my boy, man.
- Yeah, I saw that on TV, dawg.
His daughter's missing, man.
Yeah, I'm about to go uptown anyway.
- You gotta pass these out.
- I'll pass them out.
You sure you ain't seen no envelope?
I swear, baby.
I didn't touch that envelope.
You know what? Come here.
Come here! Bring your ass over here.
Come here. Come here.
You know what's so funny?
- You're hurting me.
- Shut up.
You know what's funny, babe?
She ain't never missed a payment.
I didn't take that envelope.
Look, don't you be lying to me...
Yo, yo, yo! Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Yo, what up?
Who are you?
When was the last time
you heard from Mikayla Carter?
Who?
Oh, come on. You know Mikayla Carter.
Don't fuck me like that.
Come on, now.
- Haven't seen that broad in years.
- Yeah, right.
- Whoa, what you doing?
- What's over here, huh?
Hold, hold, hold, hold.
You got a warrant?
You got a license to sell young girls?
You know her daughter's missing.
You know anything about that?
I didn't know the broad had a little girl.
And if she did, it would be mine.
If you have any connection
to her baby girl,
I swear I will put your ass away
and they'll never see your ass again.
You got that there?
Huh?
Punk ass.
I ain't scared of you, bitch.
What'd you say?
What'd you say?
That's Detective Bitch to you.
You got that there?
Thank you. Beth!
These are from your office.
This is a gift from the
Humanities Department.
Everybody wants you and Kari to know
that you're in our prayers.
I'm sorry, did you forget I was coming by?
And now, for local news.
Police are working feverishly
to find seven-year-old Mikayla Ames.
She has been missing from
her Garden District home
and police now believe she may be another
victim of the Merrero Killer.
A $50,000 reward has been posted.
If anybody has any information...
Where's Kari?
I'm not sure.
My turn!
Higher.
This unshaven look suits you.
It's not intentional.
We searched the Rigolette swamp,
all night.
I was with the other team at Jean Lafitte.
I just talked to Detective Barrick.
She says that the FBI guy who's down here,
that you two know each other.
Small world, huh?
Smaller than you think.
Well, he's gonna be
by the house later to discuss the case.
God works in mysterious ways.
You gotta open your eyes.
There's no reason for anything.
God is like Mikayla's blankie.
Just because it made her feel secure,
doesn't mean it had any power.
You know what day it is today?
Of course.
You do? Were you gonna say anything?
What do you want me to say, Kari?
What do you want me to do?
Put another candle on her birthday cake?
Come in.
- Hi, good morning.
- Good morning.
Are you Beth?
- That's me.
- Yes.
- Can I help you?
- Yes, you can.
I am Special Agent Wil Bennett.
Just wanna ask you a couple of questions
in relationship to the Ames case,
you have a minute?
Oh, yeah, I was just grading papers.
- You can have a seat.
- Ah!
Lemont.
What are you doing here?
I warned you about
not sending me my money.
What are you talking about?
I put the money in the envelope
and slid it under the
door like I always do.
Well, you must not
slid it good enough 'cause I ain't got it.
How many students
does Professor Ames fail in a term?
I would say approximately...
- Uh, 8% of his students.
- 8%.
Ooh.
You think any of them
hold a grudge against him?
Oh, well, they're not
happy, that's for sure.
Unhappy enough to take his little girl?
You think somebody would do that
because of a bad grade?
That's messed up.
Cops coming to my house,
asking for your little girl.
- Did you take her?
- Hell, no.
I ain't no child snatcher.
Now you better get them off of me.
I understand you babysat
for the Ames' on occasion.
- Mmm-hmm, I did. Babysat, checked papers.
- Yeah.
Didn't cut the grass.
Um, I was just glad I could help out.
You know, Kari didn't
like leaving Mikayla with strangers so...
Uh-huh.
A little date night here and there
never hurt a marriage.
A man shouldn't leave
a pretty woman home alone.
Let me go.
- Ow, let me go.
- What?
- You down on cash?
- No.
We can make a deal, baby.
- It'll be like old times.
- No.
Get away from me.
Or I'm calling the cops.
You've been of great help.
Are you married?
No, I'm not.
It ain't over!
I'll be back!
- Hey.
- Hi.
- How you holding up?
- I'm all right.
- Yeah?
- Mmm-hmm.
Listen, if I'm interrupting anything
I can come back.
- Oh, no, please.
- You sure?
Come on.
Wil, this is my husband, David.
Wil Bennett.
Make yourself comfortable.
Listen, man,
I'm sorry about your daughter.
Yeah, the local police
aren't telling me anything.
When we get something concrete,
we'll let you know.
I'm glad the mayor finally
got you down here.
I need results.
Well, we have some very strong leads now.
This is day four.
We're down to the wire here, you know that?
I'm aware. We're looking into all avenues.
Hey.
Thank you.
Nice.
Pray-
You know, you should eat something.
You know what I don't get?
I didn't hear a sound.
Why didn't Mikayla scream?
Well, there could've been prior contact.
Maybe she recognized him from somewhere.
From where?
Anywhere the molester would've blended in.
That could be anywhere.
Could be anybody.
You know, 33% of cases,
contact between the abductor and victim
takes place less than
200 feet from the home.
Okay, what about the other side?
Well, that's just a little FYI for you.
Not away from home.
Just a little FYI for you.
You got a little cocky attitude, bro.
I'm just saying.
No, no. I'm just letting you know that
maybe you should think about
neighbors, you know, we
gotta look at also...
so you should check
all options, I'm saying.
So Kari tells me the two of you
know each other from Baton Rouge.
Mmm-hmm.
- We went to high school together.
- Mmm.
Hmm.
I was Wil's first love.
You know I was 14?
What did I know about
love or anything else?
You knew a little something.
Anyway, I went off to college
and we lost track of each other.
- Well, here's to reunions.
- Mmm!
And first loves.
And good girls...
Pure and chaste that does everything right.
Stop it, David!
Sol understand
you teach at Trudeau University.
I lecture. Please understand.
- I lecture around the world.
- Mmm-hmm.
I have a Ph.D.
I'm Dean of the Humanities Department.
- That's what I do.
- Very nice.
I'm sure the university
is very, very happy...
First of all...
Hold up, hold up, hold up.
That they have such a nice, esteemed...
Okay, look, you're a little bit too flip.
Do you understand that my child is gone
and has been missing for
four freakin' days?
Do you understand that
we're doing the best...
Now you sitting there all calm and cool.
I need you to get a little... Little
more invested in my child being gone.
- Do you understand that?
- Oh!
- Kari...
- What the hell is wrong with you?
Oh! Got a little messy.
- I made a little mess.
- You're drinking again?
Like you said, here's to reunions, huh?
Well, what's next? Crack?
Turning tricks again? Come on.
Get your hands off of me!
You know what? Maybe I should leave.
No, no, bro, you know what?
Why don't you both stay here?
That's right. Go on then.
You've been looking for an excuse anyway.
I'm so tired of you judging me.
I'm so tired of being a
guest in my own home.
You don't even wanna
try to understand me. Huh?
'Cause you know everything,
Mr. Professor, don't you?
What are you shaking your head at?
What are you looking at?
- Don't do this.
- Or I'm busted?
Am I busted?
What are you doing?
All this waiting.
What are the police doing?
Stop this.
What are you doing, damn it?
Everything possible is being done!
Kari, move. Move!
I said, "Move."
You just can't keep stuffing down life.
At some point, Mikayla Carter
is gonna have to deal
with what her father did to her.
And changing your name,
marrying a professor,
and living in this big ass house
is not gonna take away the hurt.
I don't care who I am anymore.
Don't say that. Come here.
I want my family back.
I know.
I know.
You listen to me.
You are a strong,
deserving, good woman.
Um...
Okay, uh... I'll see you tomorrow.
God, where are you?
God, where are you?
Hey, buddy,
you need a hug?
- Hey.
- David,
what are you doing here?
I don't know. I just...
I just wanted to talk.
Well...
You know I'd like to be there for you,
but right now just isn't a good time.
I have company.
- Oh... No, no.
- Mmm.
Of course.
Of course.
- Have a good night.
- Yeah.
Buddy, you need a kiss, that's all.
Come here.
How you doing, you?
- Good morning.
- Morning.
Hey, listen. Grab your things.
I wanna take you somewhere.
- You don't want any coffee?
- No, no, no,
I'll get some on the way. Come on.
- Where? Where're we going?
- Come on! Come on, come on.
- Where are you taking me?
- You know where we're going.
- Not the abuse center.
- That's exactly where we're going.
Wil, this is not a good idea.
Kari, they helped you
get well once before...
I don't wanna go.
- I don't need to go.
- They can do it again.
I said I don't want to go. Are you deaf?
Madame.
Always my knight in shining armor.
Always.
Listen, listen. You got this. Okay?
Through everything.
Unfortunately,
the world rarely cooperates.
Still, you have to push through it.
Thank you, ladies. I'll see you next week.
Yes, thank you.
Yes, that's right.
Mikayla.
- Look at you.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I never thought
I'd be back here again.
- Wil told me about you and your baby.
- Yeah.
- I'm sorry. I haven't kept in touch and...
- Oh, that's okay, that's okay.
What's important is that you're back now.
- So Wil told you everything?
- I know you're drinking again.
Well, I only started
because Mikayla is...
Oh, no, no, no.
Now you can't blame that on your daughter.
I know you.
And we both know where this is coming from.
Don't we? Don't we?
I've just...
Been carrying this dead child
inside me for so long.
Mikayla, you have to
forgive your father and move on.
I don't wanna forgive him.
Besides, he's dead, anyway.
Really? He seems very much alive to me.
There comes a point in everybody's life
where you have got to
learn how to heal yourself.
I mean, some people
write letters that they never send.
Other people,
they just yell and scream at the wall.
But they have got to push through it.
There's only one thing you need to know.
And that is that God is here.
He was there for you then,
and he's there for you now.
I've been looking for a message,
some kind of help, but
nothing is there, and...
He is there!
He is there.
Stop that nonsense.
Well, good morning to you, Jezebel.
And don't you look lovely.
Yes.
Did He not say,
"Remember me when we eat and drink"?
Come on, come on. Give me something.
Yes! He took the bait.
All we need is a time and a place.
This guy fits the profile perfectly.
Say yes. Come on, come on.
I need your help.
Check out the tourist, 6 o'clock.
Hey, that's Eddie Lanier.
I just shook him down the other day.
Bingo.
- FBI! Get down on the ground!
- Police, freeze!
- Get down on the ground!
- Stop! Police!
Get down on the ground, now!
- All right!
- Let's go, let's go!
Get him up. Get him up. Cuff him.
I'm not fighting. You've got the wrong guy.
Not from what I saw, player.
I got no idea what you're talking about.
- Get him out of here.
- Take him to the car.
We got him.
Dispatch, be advised.
We have suspect in custody.
Preparing for transport...
In the beginning, God created man
from the very dust of the earth.
He breathed into him the breath of life.
And he became a living
nefesh, a living soul.
God breathed into him his destiny.
He breathed into him his purpose.
He breathed into him goals,
and concepts and creativity.
Whether you know it or not,
all of that is found inside of you.
The apostle, Paul, said,
"Those He did foreknow,"
"He did also predestin,"
"that we might be conformed into
the image of His dear son."
The reason that God sent you into the earth
is so that you can
exhale what God inhaled inside of you.
So that you can push out of you
all of things that God
has put inside of you.
I came to tell you
tonight you're not through living yet...
Hey. Hey, man!
The difference between
me and Detective Barrick
is that I play by
a whole different set of rules.
Sometimes, I don't even play by the rules.
Do you know, since 9/11,
I can detain a suspect without due process?
All I got to do is
declare you as a national security risk.
And then, it's one phone call from me
and you're on a plane
to some shithole in a Third World country.
You don't scare me, man.
- I'm not the...
- We know you're not the Merrero Killer.
Now, who are you protecting, damn it?
Whatever your friend's got planned,
it is nothing compared to what I got.
Suit yourself.
- Have it your way.
- Okay.
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
But you gotta protect me.
You gotta protect me, man.
- Who is he?
- His name is Remy Hebert.
- Huh? Huh?
- Remy Hebert.
- Where is he?
- He's in Algiers.
Let's
Chopper four,
we have target in sight, sir.
Standing by for further...
Allegations
and complications based around Kari Ames.
Just days ago, New Orleans police
uncovered her past
involving prostitution...
Smith.
Did He not say,
"Those enemies of mine,
who do not want me to be king over them,"
"to bring them here"
"and slaughter them before me."
- Take him!
- Come here.
- Read him his rights.
- Where's my daughter?
- Where is she?
- Which one was yours?
- You sick bastard!
- Let him go, let him go!
Hey, hey, hey.
Stand down.
Piece of...
All right, that's enough.
Stop it. Stop it!
That's enough. That's enough. Come on!
Move him over here, quick.
- Yes, that's right, get him.
- Where are the kids?
- Give me your arm.
- Mikayla Ames.
Search his house.
Mikayla!
Alana Parker.
- Do you know her?
- Yes, that's one of my children.
This is Cobbs, badge 444.
I'm under the Broad Street overpass.
And I've just located a van
matching the description of the MK killer.
What about Christopher Smith?
Oh, spirited little boy, yes.
Uh-huh. Spirited youngster.
And Samuel Willoughby?
You seen him before?
Yes, yes, I knew this little child, yes.
Lynette Beckham.
What a... What a little beauty, yes.
And Mikayla Ames.
What about her?
Yes, I knew all of those.
But... But not her.
You better leave me alone!
My baby.
He killed my child.
I'm sorry.
What possessed you to do this?
Well, they were merely...
Merely sacrifices
to change the course of nature.
What is this
"needing to change the course of nature"?
All of it!
I mean, look around you, woman.
Six days. Six days it took God Almighty
to build a land called Eden.
A heaven on earth.
And?
And man is destroying it!
This goodly earth, the air, the sea.
Even the little animals
are filled with poison.
What has this got to do
with killing children?
They were my offerings to God Almighty!
- On the Sabbath!
- You know what? Get up.
For his mercy.
It was for the...
It was for the good of mankind.
Get him away from me.
It was for the glory of
God, the good of man.
So there's a chance,
there's a possibility she's still alive?
- Yes, yes.
- It's possible.
I mean, we are working on that.
- So somebody else took her?
- Yeah.
You talked to Kari?
She's downstairs, waiting.
I don't think I thanked you
for giving me that extra time
on the porch to whoop that ass.
- Mmm-hmm.
- Good looking out.
I'd do anything for Kari.
You love her that much, huh?
I've always loved her.
But she's in love with you,
and that's how life goes.
Ain't nothin' fair about it.
You know, most of the victims' mothers
couldn't even get the news to
post their daughter's photos.
I'm here because you could
pick up the phone and call the mayor.
Not everybody has that kinda power.
What difference does it make
if Mikayla's still missing?
Well, at least
you still have hope that she's alive.
You know, David, I think you need
to lighten up on Kari a bit.
I mean, give her credit
for what she's done, man.
- She's changed her life...
- She's lied about her life.
And, man, look. I'm just trying to
deal with every day, day to day
- just to get through what...
- Oh, come on, come on, man.
You know what?
I've seen people go through more.
So... So don't stand here
and play the victim, buddy.
- Hey, don't you play with me.
- Look, this is man-to-man, all right?
Hey, man-to-man. There's no void here.
There's no gap for you to step into.
I got this.
I got it on lock...
Bro, you're out of your league, man.
- Is that right?
- You're out of your league, man.
Is that right? Well, let
me tell you something.
I understand Kari,
which is more than I can say for you.
Whoo!
You stay the hell away from my wife.
Hey, Frank, I want
another look at MK's boot prints.
Suit yourself.
All right, these are the prints,
that came from the Ames' house
and the nearby levee.
Uh-huh.
Those are the ones that came from
the other victims' locations.
- These two?
- Mmm-hmm.
All right.
All right, look. Look at this.
These prints are both from the same
type of boot. Same size, everything.
They're identical.
Yeah, but we never really
questioned why
one of them has always been
half as deep as the other one.
The weight is inconsistent
with a size 11 boot.
The press did
leak the details of the killer's M.O.
My guess is whoever wore these boots,
was wearing a couple pair of socks
to make them fit,
which means we're dealing with a copycat.
We gotta backtrack.
What we got here? Moving out?
Don't you wish.
Empty out some of these boxes
so we can put Mikayla's flyers in 'em.
- Let me ask you a question.
- Hmm.
How many students
you estimate you've taught at Trudeau?
Man, I don't know. Thousands.
And you still think
not one of them went sideways?
It kinda defies the odds of probability.
Occasional student gets
upset about a grade, then I talk to them.
Beyond that, Beth would know.
Yeah, I know. I spoke to her.
- What'd she say?
- Same thing you said.
You ever had a thing with a student?
An affair with a student?
- No.
- What about with one of your T.A.'s?
Since assaulting a federal
officer is a felony,
I'm gonna
let you walk off my property and leave.
Off the record,
I'm gonna let you have that one.
- Do that.
- This time.
If you're looking for Beth,
you've called the right number.
Leave a message.
You ever had a thing with a student?
- Oh.
- Hmm.
I'm pregnant.
What'd you say? What did you say?
You heard me.
I'm pregnant.
When did you find this out?
- Um... Yesterday.
- You're telling me now.
You know better than this.
We can't have a baby. I love my wife.
What's that?
Is it Beth?
"I never wanted to
complicate things by getting pregnant,"
"but the grief of losing
a child was almost too much to handle."
He does this and then he judges me?
Revenge is a good motive.
That's why Mikayla didn't scream.
She knew her.
I'm gonna call it in. Stay there.
"The longer that time goes by, the more I
start to realize that there is no divorce."
All right, Kari, listen.
I'm gonna go... Kari?
Kari!
Shit!
Kari... Hey, listen.
Kari is on her way to Beth's
and she has my gun.
What are you doing in my house?
Where's my daughter, Beth?
Where's my daughter?
Where is she?
I don't know what you're talking about.
Don't bullshit me.
Girl, you better tell me
where my daughter is.
- Where is Mikayla? Or I'm...
- Or what?
What you gonna do? Kill me?
Huh?
Uh... Nice work you showing up here, baby.
Little Miss Perfect turns out to be
- nothing but a whore!
- Mommy! I'm in here! Help!
Psycho bitch! Mikayla?
- Mommy! Mommy!
- Baby, I'm here. Mommy's here.
- Come and get me.
- Hold on.
- Mikayla!
- Don't you be screaming in my house!
Mikayla!
- Come and get me.
- Hold on, baby.
Stand back, honey.
How dare you come into my home?
Back, baby.
David needs to know
what it feels like to lose a child!
Run, baby, run!
- Mommy!
- You're not going!
I will not let you touch her!
You're not worth it.
Oh, I see you got your gun back.
Oh, yes, I did.
Not funny.
Well, uh...
I needed to thank you.
Thanks for everything.
Always.
Always.
Aw...
Take care of you.
She's finally asleep.
You know what?
You spent how much time with that woman?
You couldn't tell she was crazy?
I got caught up.
There was obviously an attraction and...
We talked and she was intelligent...
Stop. Stop. That's enough.
So many times I wanted to say something.
But you didn't.
I didn't say anything
'cause I didn't wanna lose you.
So where do we go from here?
I don't know.
Here's what I know.
I would give my life for that little girl
up there that we created together
and I would give my life
for the woman I love and that's you.
Well, I never stopped
loving you, so...
Maybe we'll find forgiveness in that.
I'm gonna go upstairs
and stay close to Mikayla.
Oh, freedom
Oh, freedom
Oh, freedom
Over me
So what's next?
Kari, you've...
You've done the hard part.
You've forgiven your father,
you've forgiven yourself
but the amazing thing...
You got your daughter back.
I got her back. It's a miracle.
Absolutely.
And I got my faith back.
I mean, I really got it back.
I feel the earth under my feet finally.
When you begin to forgive
and build your faith,
nothing's impossible.
That's important.
Because you're going to need that faith
to get your marriage back.
Mmm-hmm.
Well, that's not gonna be easy.
But, uh...
We're going to try.
If you take a little love,
a little prayer,
and mix it with some forgiveness,
you'd be surprised.
I'm goin' home
And go home
To my Lord
And be free
I took you to a place
A place I've learned to call my own
Where the sun always shines
Yes, and you get
that good feeling in your bones
You know the people are friendly there
And you can leave
that nasty old feeling back at home
Well, but we ended
back where we started
Things didn't turn out
the way that you had planned
Yes, we have to go back
where we started, woman
Things didn't turn out
the way you had planned
Now my life is nothing but the blues
Yes, it look like
that nasty old feeling is here to stay
Leave that nasty old feeling back at home
Lord, I need you
Can you hear my cry?
I'm down on my knees
And I don't know why
My little baby's gone
She's been taken away
I know, I know, I know
I need to pray
That there will be a seventh day, oh
She's just a child
And it's just been a while
Since you gave her to me
Why must it be
Is she coming back home
Where I know she belongs
If she can't be with me
Oh, I pray she's with thee
She's just a child
She's just a child
And it's just been a while
Since you gave her to me
Oh, you gave her to me
Why must it be
Is she coming back home
Where I know she belongs
If she can't be with me
Oh, I pray she's with thee