You into horror titles?
Not really.
No, too much blood.
First contact.
I can sign that for you if you like.
Are you stalking me?
It's Wednesday.
And that's what, stalking day?
It's the day the new comics come in.
Mr. Fitzroy.
We'll take that, too.
So what made you so interested in graphic novels all of a sudden?
Well, I figured if we were going to work together,
I should know more about you.
I would have told you anything you wanted to know.
You see people tell you what they want you to believe,
these things tell me who you are.
The detective brain at work again.
Is that what it's like being in a relationship with you?
Coffee and interrogation in the morning?
What's the matter? Afraid you couldn't stand the scrutiny?
I've lived long enough that I don't have to answer to anyone.
And that's what it's like being in a relationship with you.
Fine.
Read my books.
Sniff into the secrets of my inner life.
But be careful how deep you dig, Vicki.
It might be a dark ride.
Come on, Sarah, it's bedtime.
We have to be up early for the movers.
I'm not gonna move.
I'm staying here.
Honey, you can't.
You'll like where we're going.
I won't! And neither will Buttercup!
Oh, Sarah...
I hate you!
- Guess what? - No.
Okay, close your eyes.
Isn't it awesome?
What's so awesome about a queen-size futon sale?
Not that. This.
"No case too strange.
Supernatural and occult our specialty."
- Yeah. - No.
No, I didn't ask you to do this.
Look, I'm not Ghostbusters.
They had a lot of clients and now so do we.
Your 10:30's waiting.
Oh dear Mother of God, please say this is not going to be another trip
into the Twilight Zone.
This, uh... Steve,
he's just a regular guy, right?
Nothing freaky?
He's a mechanic.
He likes old cars.
And he just took off...
no forwarding address, no contact information.
When I asked Celeste if she knew why he'd left
she said that...
it was none of my business.
Well, when people run it's usually because there's someone chasing them.
Did Steve have any bad habits?
Women? Cards? Drugs?
I don't know what went on between Steve and my daughter.
From what I saw he was a good man.
With Celeste... gone,
Sarah's all alone and she needs her father.
Before I was sick,
I could have looked after her. But...
if her school hadn't taken her in,
I just don't know what would have happened to her.
Emily, I have to ask you,
do you think there's any possibility
that Steve might have had something to do with your daughter's murder?
I don't think he could have hurt Celeste.
All right. I will look into it.
I can start with the vintage cars.
That's probably a good place.
And I need you to tell me anything you can think of about Steve Jeffries.
I don't remember.
It's okay, Sarah. You're not in trouble.
Mom went in the other room and she called me.
And then there was screaming.
Did you hear anybody else?
I didn't hear anybody.
There's nobody out there.
How do you know that, Sarah?
There just wasn't. I didn't hear anybody.
I just heard Mummy.
Then I went out and she was bleeding.
That's all I know.
The kid's hiding something.
Okay, Sarah, why don't we take a break?
- She's upset. - What about cause of death?
- Deep incisions. - Any stab wounds?
No, more like teeth and claw marks.
From what? Dogs? Animals?
That was our first thought.
The front door was open when we got there.
Burglary is also a possibility.
There was no sign of intrusion.
She could have left the door open.
Do you leave your door open that late?
Did Sarah mention her dad?
They split over a year ago.
Have you run him? Murder's a lot cheaper than alimony.
- Is she always this intense? - Oh, she's just warming up.
There was no alimony, no history of violence.
The guy didn't even shoot for visitation.
He deserted his family. He has issues.
And sometimes people with issues solve them by getting other people dead.
As far as I'm concerned the guy isn't even on the radar for this.
You want to find him to take care of the girl?
Knock yourself out.
Just remember,
you're not investigating a homicide here.
What is she so edgy about?
I wonder.
You okay with this case you've got?
Standard missing persons.
So, um...
Runaway dads, they don't push your buttons any more?
How could they? They're never there.
Your therapist must be thrilled.
Hey, got some knowledge on that Fitzroy dude.
Yeah, man. Took a lot of work. That guy flies way under the radar.
- I know. - So...
is he the guy Vicki's hooking up with?
They are working together.
Okay, so you're just checking him out
'cause you guys like the same comic books?
No, I think this guy's into something.
Yeah. I think he's into something all right.
Well, what is it with you?
I see a sore I bring the salt, baby!
That's what friends do!
"...what friends do."
Sarah's a very special girl.
I'm happy we're able to help her.
Well, hopefully we can get her hooked up with her dad soon.
It's no problem for us to put her up.
Almost half of our students live here.
Aren't some of these kids a little young to be in boarding school?
Their parents all recognized
their children's talents at an early age.
They understood that enrolling them in the Cobb Academy
would be the best way to fully realize,
those talents.
I saw your Website. It says 'gifted children'.
So this is a little Einstein academy?
Some of our students are burgeoning,
writers, scientists, mathematicians.
We have one ten-year-old boy
who can work out cube roots faster than a calculator,
and recall Pi,
to 22,000 decimal places.
And what's Sarah's gift?
She's an artist.
Her drawings show a grasp of imagination,
proportion and composition of someone well beyond her age.
Did her dad ever come and visit her?
You mean since he abandoned her and her mum?
You're not a fan.
Well, he was something of a negative influence,
always derisive of what Sarah accomplished here at the school,
always fighting her growth.
Well, I guess some men are not supposed to be fathers.
Did Celeste say why she was moving them out of town?
Well, I assumed it was for work.
I had given her some recommendations for schools out west.
Mr. Cobb.
And this is Laurel, Sarah's art teacher.
She and Sarah have a special relationship.
I'm very lucky. Sarah made a painting for my room today.
Sarah,
this is Miss. Nelson. She wants to talk to you.
Laurel and I are going to be just over there.
Tell you what. If I can call you Sarah, you can call me Vicki.
So do you like it here at the Academy?
It's good. All my friends are here.
Well, it's good to have friends.
Everybody needs somebody to look out for them, right?
How about your dad?
Think you could live with him?
Daddy doesn't want me.
Did he ever come by when your mom wasn't around?
No.
He ever call?
I told you, he hates me.
You know, it might feel like that,
but I bet he doesn't hate you.
He left because I was bad.
Aw, don't say that. That's not true.
I'm sure your dad doesn't hate you.
Come on, who could hate you?
I want to go to my room.
Of course.
- Good night, Sarah. - Sarah, it's okay.
Sarah!
Her father really did a number on her.
She thinks it's her fault the guy took off.
Children idolize their parents,
and when a parent abandons them they often absorb the blame.
So what else do you know about Steve Jeffries?
Henry.
- Long time. - Too long.
You cut your hair or something?
Never.
Something different about you.
- Really? - Really.
I never change.
Mr. Fitzroy is a major tenant.
He owns half the top floor.
You think he did something?
Oh, no. I'm just trying to help him out. But, um...
we do have to try and keep this on the 'down low' if you know what I mean.
Nice enough guy.
Comic business must pay pretty good.
You gotta have some serious gig to live here.
Keep regular hours?
Total night owl.
I guess that's where he gets the ideas for these comics of his, huh?
Pretty disturbing.
He gave me a few for Christmas last year
along with a c-note.
I kept the money, gave the comics to my sister's kid.
Kid's kind of twisted anyway, so...
He's got a lot of friends coming and going? That kind of thing?
You could say that.
Mr. Fitzroy is quite the ladies' man.
The phone...
Fitzroy.
Twenty minutes.
You're going?
Something came up.
It's important.
Okay.
You've definitely changed.
So you think the child's father told the mother where he was staying?
Well, when guys bail,
they don't usually worry about staying on the Christmas card list.
As a guy, I might resent that.
Really?
You don't really strike me as the long term commitment type.
I'm the definition of long term.
Not necessarily one woman, of course.
If he didn't tell his wife where he was living
what exactly are we doing here?
Well, even if he didn't tell her, he might have left something...
lead us to him.
You okay?
It's the blood.
It's not making you sick, is it?
Just hungry.
Right. Um...
Do you smell anything else?
You know, can you sniff out whoever it was that did this?
I'm a vampire, not a bloodhound.
Right.
Okay, well, we are looking for,
anything he might have sent her.
You know, a picture,
a card...
Henry.
Look at this.
A vivid imagination.
What can you expect from a girl who'd just lost her mother?
This was dated a week before Mom died.
Hi. I'm glad you're still here.
Well, I work when my clients need me.
It seems I'm not the only one who has switched to the night shift.
I wonder if I might ask you a few questions
about the Celeste Jeffries murder.
Oh. It was quite abnormal.
Frankly I was beginning to wonder when you were going to ask me about it.
A real conundrum.
At first I thought it was a creature or creatures.
What do you mean, like dogs or something?
Well, only if they've started breeding dogs
that don't shed and leave no trace of saliva in bites.
Didn't the police find that strange?
The police are trained to ignore things that are too strange.
You used to.
Well, let's just pretend that I don't find
anything too strange these days.
What's your best guess?
Nothing anyone could arrest.
So there are no leads?
Well, I know whoever or whatever did it was scared or angry,
otherwise it would have stopped when she was dead.
Could something like this have killed her?
If it existed.
Does it?
Thanks for your help, Rajani.
Why did you show that to her?
Big teeth and claws,
Shonidemon.
For my money, this isn't a drawing,
it's a crime scene photo.
All right, you place your bet on the bogeyman.
I'm going with Dad.
You know, I had lunch with the bogeyman last week.
Really? How is he? I haven't seen him since I was five.
I so deserve a bonus.
I pay you?
I checked every classic car restorer in the city and found Sarah's father.
He works at Vanguard Vintage Auto in Maple.
Wow! You are good.
You know at this rate I can take a vacation.
What about my bonus?
I'll bring you a t-shirt from Jamaica.
What do you think of this?
It looks like some kid's got an active imagination.
No, I mean this. Could it be anything supernatural?
I don't know. A Sasquatch maybe.
Last time I checked they weren't orange though.
Get on the Net and see if you can find anything
that even remotely resembles this.
Meanwhile I'm going to go check on our honest
to goodness flesh and blood suspect.
Steven David Jeffries?
Who are you?
Hear about your wife?
I didn't hurt Celeste.
I didn't ask.
But a guilty denial's always entertaing.
My ex-wife is dead. The police obviously don't like ex-es.
Yo, Steve, I need a hand out back with the Beamer.
Hey Danny,
where was I last Saturday night?
We're watching ultimate fighting at the Brew King
with the rest of the team. Why?
Nothin'.
I'll be out in a couple of minutes.
So now what? You gonna arrest me?
Who says I'm a cop?
Well then, why are we talking here?
I'm a private investigator. Your mother-in-law hired me.
She wants you to come home and take care of Sarah.
Tell Emily to find somebody else.
I can't help her.
You're the kid's father!
- It confess yet? - It will.
- You found Dad? - Yeah, he's got an alibi.
Something happened in that family, Mike.
- Aw, Vic... No! - The dad knows.
The kid knows.
She knows who killed her mother.
And you still think it's the dad.
Look, Kate talked to the girl.
The shrink talked to her.
They both believe Sarah doesn't know anything.
Well, what do you believe?
Phone records from Steve's garage show
that he did make a call to the school.
So he did talk to her.
He talked to somebody. It doesn't prove anything.
It's a start.
You know, ordinarily I'd say trust your gut but, uh...
this one worries me.
Come on, don't worry.
You'll get wrinkles.
I told you. He doesn't want me.
I made him go away.
Kids don't make grown-ups do anything.
My dad left when I was little, too.
That's true.
Know what? Sometimes grown-ups, they just leave,
and it's not your fault,
okay?
And I hated my dad after he left.
Do you still hate him?
Well, I'm not nominating him for father of the year any time soon, but...
Did your dad ever hurt you or your mom?
No. Why are you saying that?
- Can I go back? - Just one more thing.
Is this your dad?
No, that's Buttercup.
See?
Buttercup wouldn't hurt anybody?
Ms. Nelson,
I appreciate your concern but you're upsetting her.
Sarah, it's time for your session.
I'll take you down.
Laurel?
- Vicki, right? - Yeah.
Do you mind if I ask you some questions about Sarah's art?
Sure. She's got a great eye.
More than you know.
You sent this to her mom a few days ago.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
Excuse me.
You also called her father I think.
Because Steve called here and talked to someone.
It wasn't Sarah and I don't think it was Cobb.
I was worried about her.
I am worried. She's...
been drawing things like that for a few months.
I spoke to both her mom and her dad.
Is this something to do with why Sarah's mom was moving them?
I think so. She wanted to give Sarah a change of scenery.
I thought it was a good idea.
And the dad?
It was like he already knew what was going on with her.
And it seemed like he didn't care.
Yeah, I kind of got that feeling, too.
Was there anything else going on that had you worried beside the picture?
It wasn't just 'a' picture.
It was pictures.
Very good. It increases both dexterity and direction.
Hello, Sarah.
Hello, Buttercup.
I think...
we have to talk.
When I first saw these I knew she was gifted.
I showed them to Mr. Cobb and...
he agreed.
He even made her one of his special students.
Special students?
He takes a special interest
in the brightest and most talented kids.
For him it's all about letting kids' talents take
them as far as they can go.
The pictures started getting more and more violent.
Could this represent her dad?
Some kind of abuse?
I don't know. I'm not a psychologist. I...
I just wanted somebody to get her some help.
We have a problem, Sarah...
- with Laurel. - Why?
- Laurel's my friend. - You're my friend, Sarah.
Laurel has lied to us.
She sent a picture of Buttercup to your mom.
That's why your mom wanted to move.
- She wouldn't do that. - She did.
And now she's talking to the other woman.
- Why? - Because they want to take you away.
And they want to take Buttercup away from you.
They know that Buttercup hurt your mom.
He didn't mean to.
They don't care about that, Sarah.
Laurel's talking to her now,
trying to take you away.
She shouldn't do that!
- What is that? - I...
I don't know.
I don't want to hurt people.
It's not you, Sarah. I told you.
It's Buttercup.
Let Buttercup go.
You should be angry.
Laurel wants you out of her class. She hates you!
Then I hate her!
Vicki!
Get out!
What happened?
I don't know but I'm going to find out.
Just get some rest, okay?
Vicki!
Are you coming to accident scenes now?
The paramedics called and said that you were involved.
What happened?
See, here's where we're gonna have a problem,
'cause I could tell you but...
But, uh... I'm not gonna believe you, right?
Why do you automatically take that attitude with me these days, huh?
Okay. A giant transparent creature appeared in the room,
smashed me to the floor and nailed Laurel to the light fixture.
You know, a woman almost died here, Vicki. This isn't a joke.
I'm serious.
What,
like all of your cases now are suddenly something
out of the crypt of terror?
I assume Fitzroy's in this somehow.
Henry has nothing to do with this.
He wasn't even here.
He is now.
I've got work to do.
Mike...?
A breakdown in police relations.
Yeah, more like a meltdown.
You're wasting your time.
I told you I'm done with Sarah.
You know, she's a kid, not a poker game.
You don't just get to fold your hand when you don't like it.
You have no idea what's going on.
Stay out of it.
You know, I lay awake at night sometimes
praying that one day that'll be my style.
So far it hasn't happened.
You don't know her.
Besides, I couldn't help her anyway.
Celeste wouldn't let me.
So you and your wife had some problems, big deal.
Everyone does.
When you have a kid you are supposed to be there for them.
You people deserve what's coming to you.
Get out of here.
Sarah's teacher was almost murdered by something tonight,
and I think you know who or what it was.
Now...
this lady here's trying to help you.
I'm ambivalent...
and advise you to be nice.
All right.
You want to know what it is?
Why not?
It's not like you'll believe me anyway!
What did this?
It was Sarah.
You know, you can start making sense any time now.
Did you ever have an imaginary friend?
Yeah, the kind that lived in a castle and came for tea parties.
Not any that did that.
Well, Sarah's did.
Even when she was a baby,
things started happening.
Stuff would shake around her,
or fall off shelves or even just break.
Celeste thought it was poltergeists, you know,
like the movie. I know, crazy, right?
You'd be surprised.
Go on.
As she got older,
whenever something happened,
she'd say her doll did it.
Buttercup.
So, what... is she psychic?
Telekinetic.
Yeah, that's what Cobb said it was. Her headmaster?
I met him.
We found him through a psychologist we were taking Sarah to.
He said he could help us.
Said she was gifted. And at first it was great, you know?
Things stopped breaking. Sarah seemed happy.
And then, it all changed.
Whenever Sarah wanted something,
Buttercup would just take it.
And whatever power she had it...
just kept getting stronger.
It doesn't exactly sound like the school helped much.
I told Cobb what was happening.
He just said it was all under control.
I wanted to take Sarah out of the school.
Celeste fought me. Cobb had her all messed up, too.
Then one night I come home from work.
Sarah's trashed the kitchen.
Sarah, you can't keep doing this.
Buttercup didn't mean to.
It wasn't Buttercup, honey. He's not real.
Don't say that!
Sarah, you've got to stop this.
Buttercup hates you! Hates you!
I barely survived. So yeah,
I think I know what killed Celeste, but who's gonna believe me?
I think you're sitting with the whole club.
You know, Celeste was planning to take Sarah out of that school.
I knew it would turn on her, too.
If only she'd listened to me sooner.
Well, you can still help Sarah!
She'll be fine, her and that thing.
No, if what you're saying about that school is true, she is in danger.
We need you to take her back!
She almost killed me once already! I'm not going back for more.
Oh, so what? You're gonna let Cobb turn her into a killer?
What kind of a father are you?
Not a very good one, I guess.
Sorry.
You know what? You call me when you grow a conscience.
Son of a...
So what now?
Not exactly something Child Services is set up to handle.
No, it's the kind of thing parents are supposed to be responsible for!
This guy is leaving his kid high and dry!
He has his reasons.
Yeah. Yeah, they all have their reasons, don't they?
His wife rejected him.
His daughter almost killed him.
Steve isn't the same guy as your father.
Like, everybody's got their father issues.
Mine took me 300 years to get over.
His stuff has a totally epic feel.
He really creates his own universe.
What kind of universe?
You know From Hell, right?
Right. Yeah, I love that one.
Yeah, same sort of historical detail.
He did this one set in World War I. It's like you're there.
And there's this creature that shows up during Christmas...
No spoilers, Edwin.
If it's on the cover it's not a spoiler, Brent!
So what other stuff are you into?
We've got the underground stuff upstairs.
I'm into finding out about Fitzroy.
- What's he like? - Like I told you.
Like more.
But with a Warren Ellis edge.
You have a Warren Ellis edge.
- You're an idiot... - You live with your mother...
Hey! Hey!
So,
signings usually at night?
Yeah, it's great.
Some of our customers actually have day jobs.
Hm... really loves the blood, doesn't he?
Oh yeah
this one time a Goth chick came in
and sliced her finger and asked him to sign in the book in blood.
I thought he was gonna jump her right there.
- She was hot! - She was so hot.
Vicki Nelson.
Come on...
Vicki Nelson. This better be good.
Hey. It's me.
Hey, Mike. I was going to call you.
What time is it anyway?
You sleeping?
No. I was just resting my eyes.
I found out something about Cobb, you know,
the guy who runs the school?
More transparent monster stuff?
No, it's Cobb. He's, uh...
He's doing something to the kids,
you know, to Sarah Jeffries and maybe some of the others.
What are we talking about here,
- abusing them? - No, more like mind control.
You know, using their mental powers to kill people.
I didn't hear that last part but, uh...
I'll sniff around the rest of it, okay?
- Okay. Thanks. - I'll call you. Vicki,
do me a favour and stay away from that school.
Oh, Mike, you know better.
Never give orders to a girl who's had less than three hours sleep.
I was totally just calling you.
Here I totally am.
Steve Jeffries just called.
He said to tell you that you were right.
He said he's going to get his daughter.
- What? - He said he's on his way.
You put the family back together.
Happy ending, right?
Yeah, either that or I just sent a man to his death.
Come on!
Henry, hi. It's me. I really need you right now.
Sarah's dad is on his way to the school...
I've got to get there and stop him before he does something stupid.
Nine out of ten people who do that, later report it was a bad idea!
What are you doing here?
Trying to stop you from getting yourself killed.
I don't need your help.
Actually, I think you do.
Come on. Let's go get your daughter.
Vicki Henry. Hi. It's me. I really need you right now.
Sarah's dad is on his way to the school.
I've got to get there and stop him before he does something stupid.
Please, please, please, please meet me there.
Bye.
Let's talk gifted kids.
Ms. Nelson.
Mr. Jeffries! I'm sure Sarah would love to see you.
Let's go.
We have visitors.
- Sarah? - Daddy?
I'm going to take you home.
Sarah,
he's come to take Buttercup away.
Sarah, don't!
You should've told me if you wanted to follow me.
'Cause you got nothing to hide, right?
So I wouldn't have to slow down so you woudn't get lost.
You should go back to tailing school.
Wouh, tailing school.
Whatever you call it.
What are you doing here, haunting the place?
Not, so romantic, Vicky's here, and she's in trouble.
You can join me if you like.
I'm only doing what's best for Sarah.
- By turning her into a killer? - She's not a killer.
Buttercup is, right?
Buttercup is very special.
There is no Buttercup.
There is what Sarah believes.
And the power of the mind can shake reality,
Quantum physics bails this out.
You're a quantum nutjob !
Sarah lives in the real world.
The real world is what destroys a child's beliefs
and the potential that accompanies them.
I will let Sarah keep Buttercup alive.
And he will give her power that few people can even imagine.
With you advising her, right ?
Not a chance.
- Come on. We're gettin' outta here. - Look what he's doing, Sarah.
He wants to hurt Buttercup.
Steve, put the gun down.
Stop it, you shouldn't do that.
Get out of the way.
Oh, right, a linebacker couldn't budge this thing.
Right, uh... We're gonna find another way in.
Look, Sarah, your dad just want to help.
No, he doesn't.
He had a gun, that's bad.
You're bad, too.
- Everybody, freeze. - Mike, put the gun down.
My bet is with you dead, this whole nightmare will be over.
Henry, no!
Nobody hurts anybody.
Sarah, that's not what we're supposed to do, right?
Come on, you don't want to do this.
- Tell Buttercup stop. - No!
Sarah...
Don't let Buttercup do this.
You can control him. Don't let him control you.
I don't have to listen to you.
Mr. Cobb said so.
Sarah, I love you.
I just want to take you home.
He's just lying, you know that.
Sarah, listen.
I talked to your dad, he loves you.
He-- You-- You have to forgive him.
You said you didn't forgive your dad.
- You dad came back. - Don't listen to her.
He's right there, he loves you and he's gonna take you home.
You lie.
Buttercup didn't do those things,
I did.
It was me all the time,
and I didn't stop it.
Daddy?
You okay?
Man, family reunions are a bitch.
Sarah, honey, I missed you so much.
Me too.
We're gonna be okay.
You and me, and Buttercup.
Buttercup is gone.
It's gonna be okay, Sarah.
Who are you, Fitzroy?
I draw comic books.
Sleep with that.
I saw you in there and what you did.
The way you looked.
You're not even human.
Hell, what kind of freak, are you?
Henry, no!
Henry, please, put him down.
Oh, god please, Henry.
Mike, it's not what you think.
What this? You knew this?
It's not all Bram Stoker and...
What?
What, he's cast for the family vampire?
What the hell are you doing with him Vicky?
We work together.
What else? Huh?
Mike...
It has been a really...
long day.
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