Hey, Richard Kinnell. I love your books. I'm a fan.
Thanks.
No. I'm a fanatic.
Mr. Kinnell, it's an honor.
I'm Betsy Wright from pen. So nice to meet you.
Betsy.
This way, please.
I loved your...
Here, sir. Here.
Thank you.
Keep it moving, ok?
Over here, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. Ohh.
- The hand of glory. - I made it myself.
Thank you.
Here you go.
Good.
I get at least 10 of those a year.
How was the drive, Rich?
Oh, ha ha! Dreadful, thanks.
I've been trying your cell phone all morning.
- No service? - No phone.
You turned it off, you son of a bitch.
Ah, I'm wrestling with some ideas.
How do you think I feel
when my one client won't take my call?
I apologize. You still love me?
10% of the time.
Mm. Please make sure we connect
after this panel.
You're awesome!
Warner Brothers wants to shoot "Night vision."
They brought the brink's truck.
Mr. Kinnell, Mr. Kinnell, where do you get your ideas?
Mr. Kinnell, do you ever scare yourself?
So...
Richard, Richard! You got to check this out, huh?
Cool, huh? Yeah!
Could you sign it for me?
How about a signature? Come on.
Come on, buddy. Let's go.
Come on, guys. I'll return. I love you!
Let's go. Put your shirt back on.
Was that me?
Yeah, if it is, you need a waxing.
Ah, Sarah.
Richard.
Will, Will.
Uh, will you two excuse me?
Are you comfy, Richard?
No, but I'm wealthy.
My caboose has landed its own reality show.
Let me know if you find my dignity up there.
I have a problem, don't I?
Well, atypical cells have appeared in your colon
and spread to the lower intestine.
I want you back next week for an upper G.I.
What is it?
It's nothing yet.
Come on, Josh. You're withholding.
I am, but until we know more...
It's serious.
Well, let's take another look at it.
Yeah.
Frigged by the fickle finger of fate.
Sorry?
I mean, I'm not surprised.
My mother died at 44
and my father at 36.
You're looking for a reason.
Yeah. There are lots of reasons...
Red meat, cigarettes, unprotected sex.
Look, the reason is the same for all of us,
all right? We are mortal.
I imagine, you know, writers,
they enjoy a great measure of control over their work.
You control what your characters say.
You control what they do.
You even control the weather.
Medicine's different, Richard.
We're accustomed to a significant degree of chaos.
Yeah. Man plans and god laughs, huh?
At least let me have another look at this.
Oh, move it!
Come on, knuckleballs. What are you,
blind or blind and drunk?
Damn it.
Please, god, it better be nothing.
I'll die when I'm ready to die.
Physical fitness has never been so cheap. You can do it...
Mm-Hmm.
Oh, you're a smug one.
What do you know that I don't know?
Aren't you Richard Kinnell?
Yes, I am.
I should have known you'd go right for that. It's so you.
It is, isn't it?
I'm Judy Diment. I live down the street.
Um, what can you tell me about this painting, Judy?
It's original. The artist was Bobby hastings.
He's the reason I'm selling off all the hastings' things.
The house was theirs. They even left a dog.
The subject looks like a rock and roll cannibal.
Bobby was like that.
He wore the same t-shirt day in and day out.
It had a picture of the Led Zeppelins on it.
By the end, Bobby was just skin and bone,
dirty all the time.
The end, what?
Suicide. Bobby was just 23.
He was the tortured genius type, you know,
but still living at home. It was the drugs.
Uh, do you have any other paintings, Judy?
No.
One fine tuesday, Bobby took
all his paintings and sketches out into that side yard,
except for that one, I guess,
and burned them.
Bobby must have had 70 or 80 plus all his sketchbooks.
Iris... that's Bobby's mother... said most of them are real bad,
lots worse than the stuff that'd curl your hair.
Most of them have sex stuff in them.
Really?
In the garage, they found
over a hundred of those little bottles
they sell crack cocaine in.
This is where Bobby used to paint.
Anyway, I guess he finally reached
the end of his chain.
No pun intended.
Aren't drugs awful, Mr. Kinnell?
They certainly were.
When Iris found him hanging right there...
There was a tiny note pinned on his shirt.
It said, "I can't stand what's happening to me."
Really?
Um, I feel the same way.
Ok, so how much do you want for the painting, Judy?
$45.
Oh, quiet!
Who's gonna buy that dog? He won't listen to me.
I'll be honest with you. I started at 70,
but nobody likes it, so now it's marked down.
Where in the world do you get all those crazy ideas?
Given the choice, I'd rather live.
So sorry.
I stopped at a yard sale on the way.
Oh? Did you find any treasures?
I always do.
Well, let's see.
Ok, ok.
This one's gonna blow your pantyhose off.
Well, that's a charming thought.
Well?
Oh, Richard, it's horrible. I hate it.
Oh, come on. It's not that bad.
Oh!
The Road Virus Head North.
Fitting, isn't it?
Who would paint such a thing?
I'm surprised you weren't more sensitive
to it yourself.
You're the master of fear.
You always were an imaginative fella.
I didn't notice the tattoo.
It's those teeth.
No, no, no. I saw those. It looks different in this light.
The sky looks darker than I remember.
Anyway.
Thanks for lunch.
You liked it?
Delicious.
Ahh.
A penny for your thoughts.
Oh, um...
I had a checkup today...
My very first colonoscopy.
And they found something.
I have to go in for more tests.
Wow.
Have they done a biopsy?
Next week.
Well, that's not so bad.
It's not so good.
You're thinking about my sister.
It's not like it was in her day.
What am I, 50?
Mom was 40 when she got sick.
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
But she had 4 good years.
You know, that artist that hung himself,
he left a simple note.
It said, "I can't stand what's happening to me."
Oh, stop that talk.
It's self-pity.
Get busy living.
You've got 50 more books to write.
50? Ooh.
I got to stop off at Sally's on the way home.
She's watching Hobo for me, you know?
You and Sally gonna get together?
No. We're just friendly.
Well, maybe you could use
a little more friendly in your life, hmm?
Hmm, no, thanks.
One time around the park with Sally is
enough for any man. Ha ha.
Well, now, Richard,
I know you're gonna be fine.
You just have to keep a good attitude.
That's most important.
And you can start
by getting rid of that horrid picture.
Oh, auntie.
Oh, I'm serious.
When you get to the Saco River,
I want you to pull off into that break-down lane
and throw it over.
Ah, look at me, Richard.
I'm 63. My secret is simple.
Fill your life with flowers.
You hear that, "road virus"?
Aunt Trudy wants you to go for a swim.
No, a sink.
I love you.
A bushel and a peck.
Shh!
Quiet,
you crazy dog.
Sorry. The sale's over.
So much for flowers.
Shoot! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Oh, for god's sake.
Rosewood.
He's in Rosewood?
It's impossible.
Hi.
No wonder that kid killed himself.
Nice legs.
Be sure you eat your fiber.
What painting?
I don't see any painting.
Aah!
Jade!
Down. Morstead, down!
Come here. Come here.
Sorry, Richard.
Rescue dogs are loyal but needy.
Good girl.
Did he need to eat my wiper?
It's ok now. You can come out.
There. Oh, sorry, Richard.
Your dog's inside.
Hey, is he always so thirsty?
I can't keep him away from the toilet.
Maybe he's got a salt imbalance.
I'm just saying I'd look into it.
How was the writing conference?
Fine.
You feeling less threatened by your popularity?
Sally, um, thanks for watching Hobo.
Can you bring him out?
You're not coming in? Quiet.
No, it's late. It's late.
I have... what. I got two more hours
To get up to derry.
I understand. You probably have someone waiting.
No. Nobody's waiting.
Oh, my god. What happened to our car?
I mean your car. Did someone break in?
It's a long story.
Were they trying to steal your painting?
Huh?
I bet you stopped at a consignment shop.
You're always treasure-hunting.
Ew.
But I destroyed it.
Oh, tell me you didn't buy that.
Or is it a gift from one of your sick fans?
Richard?
Are you ok?
I destroyed that. I threw it in the river.
God, you're not well. Look at you.
The stock market...
Hey, you look better.
You got some color back.
Richard, you're acting weird.
You're freaking out your own dog.
The yard sale was in Rosewood, New Hampshire.
What yard sale?
The yard sale where I bought the painting.
When I bought it this afternoon,
the firebird was crossing the Zakim Bridge in Boston.
Now it's in Rosewood.
The painting is changing.
It's following me.
You're drinking again.
No.
- The pills? - No.
Then what is it?
Richard, you had a checkup after the writing conference.
I mean, what did your doctor say?
He found something.
What did he find?
He didn't say.
Why didn't you tell me this?
Were you expecting to drive home alone
and keep this inside?
Now tell me exactly what the doctor said.
Whatever he said is the least of my worries.
Right now, there is the distinct and terrifying possibility
that I might be losing my mind.
You're not losing your mind, Richard.
You just had a terrible day.
I think you need a healing.
- Oh... - Yes, a healing.
We've got to get you out of these clothes first.
Come on out back.
...will be able to take advantage
of valuable federal tax credits
starting in 2006.
We interrupt now for a breaking local news story.
A Rosewood woman has been brutally murdered
while doing a favor for an absent friend.
38-year-old judith diment was conducting a yard sale
outside her neighbor's home when she was savagely attacked.
Neighbors heard a loud car accelerating away from the vicinity
along route 1.
Ok, so we have to adorn your chakras in crystal.
Do you think that crystals will tame
a runaway imagination?
Yes, they will.
My god, it's hot in here.
Well, that's the point.
Your body is releasing toxins.
Ok, now take this.
It's a flower extract to combat fear.
Open up. Come on.
I'll take a pint.
You have to educate yourself
about health, Richard.
You're a writer.
Do your research.
Knowledge is power,
power to fight.
Mmm.
Fight. Yeah.
That's what Aunt Trudy said.
Uh!
Hey, welcome back.
You feel better?
Come on. Get in.
It's gone.
Like magic.
What'd you do with it?
Don't ask.
Sally.
It's in the trash where it belongs.
Did it change?
I didn't look.
No. I mean, was it still the yard sale?
I told you I wouldn't look, and neither should you.
Here.
What's this?
I... I want you to stay at the lighthouse inn tonight.
Richard.
No, please. If you do, I'll be able to sleep.
I'm not afraid of your painting.
I know. Just humor me.
Thank you for the healing.
You're welcome.
Oh, and Hobo thanks you, too.
Anytime, Hobo.
Hey.
Find your way back.
Maybe I will.
Maybe I'll beat this thing inside me and...
just, um, surprise everyone.
Bye.
Home, Hobo. Home.
No more yard sales.
I sent her away.
I know what you are.
You're a disease growing in my body.
If I die, you die.
I want you to think about that.
Killing me would be your suicide.
We need each other to live.
I'm not your damn disease,
You egomaniac.
I'm what you don't know.
I'm your fear.
Aaah!
Uh.
Rosewood police tell us
that today's murder is not the first tragedy
in this neighborhood.
Just last year, a boy next door committed suicide
in this same house.
It's very sad, Claudia.
Very sad for the diment family and all their friends.
I'm Claudia Clemmens reporting from Rosewood.
It's real.
This is real.
No.
Aunt Trudy's.
- Hello. - Trudy.
I know it encourages burglars to say things
like this, but i've gone to Kennebunk
to watch a movie.
If you intend to break in,
please don't take my china pigs.
If you want to leave a message,
do so at the beep.
Trudy, call me when you get back home.
I don't care how late it is. Just call me.
Oh, god. Please not Aunt Trudy.
Send them by the coast road.
Please send them down the coast road.
No.
No! No!
Trudy?
Yes, dear. What is it?
Are you all right?
I'm better now.
What's wrong? Your voice sounds all funny.
It's trembling. What is it?
It's that picture, isn't it?
It's that damn picture.
Well, yeah. You were right.
It... it's evil,
So I burned it in the fireplace.
Well, good. Scatter the ashes, too.
You were worried about me, weren't you,
Because you showed it to me?
Yes. Fire was the right idea.
That's how they used to kill evil, right?
You've used it a few times in your books.
Ha! You're right. I did.
I'm fine, Richard.
You get some sleep.
You've had a hard day, hmm?
You've got to stay strong and healthy.
We'll talk tomorrow?
I think so.
Good night, dear.
He would have been here by now,
even if he'd taken the coast road.
Hobo.
Take it! Take it! It's yours!
Go away! Leave me alone!
Aah!
Uh!
Damn you.
Blood.
I'm going outside, I think.