(ALARM RINGS)
(SIGHS)
WaIter, honey.
Time to wake up.
Just 10 more minutes.
Oh, I´m sorry, sport. You can sIeep in tomorrow.
That´s what Saturdays are for.
(GROANS)
Up against the waII.
Come, come, come.
AII right.
Got it. Got it. Look, Iook!
(GASPS) AII right, sit down.
Your breakfast is getting coId.
It´s cereaI.
It´s supposed to be coId.
Sweetheart, we´re here.
Okay.
Here´s your books.
Go ahead.
(SIGHS)
(ALL CHATTERING)
Yes, ma´am. If you hoId just a moment, I´II get a supervisor for you.
SANDY: Yes, she´s coming right now.
Just a second, she´II be with you.
Just one second, pIease. You deaI with this one. I´m not going near it.
HeIIo, this is the supervisor. How can I heIp you?
I can see you´re on a party Iine...
UnfortunateIy, some peopIe do Iisten in on party Iines. We...
WeII, what is he doing?
Oh, my...
Everything aII right?
Yes, sir, it´s fine. A Iady was having troubIe with the connection.
Hey, sport. Hey, Mom.
How was schooI?
Okay. Yeah?
We Iearned about dinosaurs.
And I got in a fight with BiIIy Mankowski.
What happened?
He hit me.
Did you hit him back?
Good.
RuIe number one, remember?
Never start a fight, aIways finish it.
Why´d he hit you?
Because I hit him.
You hit him first?
Why?
He said my dad ran off because he didn´t Iike me.
Honey, your father never met you,
so how couId he not Iike you?
Then why did he Ieave?
WeII, because the day you were born,
something eIse arrived in the maiI.
And it was in a box a IittIe bit bigger than you.
You know what was in it?
Something caIIed responsibiIity.
And to some peopIe,
responsibiIity is the scariest thing in the worId.
So, he ran away because he was scared of what was in that box?
Uh-huh.
That´s just dumb.
That is exactIy what I thought.
(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)
Did I miss Amos ´N Andy?
I´m afraid so, sport.
Come now, time for bed.
Are we stiII going to the movies tomorrow?
CHRISTINE: Uh-huh. I hear there´s a new CharIie ChapIin picture
and a new seriaI caIIed The Mysterious Airman.
WALTER: Who´s that?
I don´t know. Nobody does.
That´s what makes him so mysterious.
Oh.
Am I too heavy for you to carry?
Oh, no, not for years.
Not for years.
(TELEPHONE RINGS)
HeIIo? This is Margaret.
Hi, Margaret.
So, how are you?
Fine.
Listen, Jean can´t come in today and now we´re a IittIe shorthanded.
When did she caII in sick?
About haIf hour ago.
I´m having a hard time trying to find someone.
WeII, what about Myrna?
I know she couId use the extra hours and...
She´s busy. Can´t you come?
No. No, no, no. I just...
I promised WaIter that I´d take him to the movies, is aII, and...
WeII, it´s just untiI 4.´00.
AII right.
Just... Just untiI 4:00.
I´II see you then.
(SIGHS)
(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)
There´s a sandwich and miIk in the fridge,
and I´ve asked Mrs. RiIey and her daughter
to stop in in a coupIe of hours.
I can take care of myseIf.
I know you can. They´re checking on the house, not you.
Tomorrow we wiII go to the movies.
And then we´II ride Big Red to Santa Monica and take a waIk on the pier.
How does that sound? Does that sound good?
I´II be home before it gets dark.
I´m not afraid of the dark.
I´m not afraid of anything.
I know. I know.
Be good.
I Iove you.
(ALL CHATTERING)
We´ve got Iines jammed from here to Ohio.
He says he needs to speak to somebody in charge.
I need your signature here for a suppIy requisition.
WOMAN 1 : Number, pIease. WOMAN 2: Number, pIease.
WOMAN 3: Go ahead, pIease.
AII right, get me the Omaha routing station.
See if we can put our caIIs through their switchers.
Let´s get this consoIe running, now.
Christine. Good, I was hoping to catch you.
Look, I´ve been foIIowing your work reports,
and I just want to Iet you know that I am very impressed.
When I first suggested hiring femaIe supervisors,
my superiors weren´t big on the idea.
But you have heId your own as weII as any of your maIe counterparts.
Thank you, Mr. Harris.
Oh, Ben, pIease. Listen, I...
Listen, the point is,
we´re Iooking to take on a manager for our new BeverIy HiIIs office.
And if you´re interested in the job, I couId write a report, or...
That wouId be wonderfuI. Thank you so much, sir.
Okay, good, so maybe we couId...
CouId we speak about it Monday? Yeah, absoIuteIy.
WouId that be aII right? Thank you so much, sir. Thank you.
PIease!
PIease.
(SIGHS)
WaIter.
Honey?
WaIter.
WaIter!
Honey?
WaIter?
Honey!
WaIter!
WaIter, it´s time to come in, honey.
Suzie? Have you seen WaIter?
No, Mrs. CoIIins.
Sorry.
WaIter?
(CHILDREN CLAMORING)
WaIter.
(DOOR SHUTS)
(SIGHS)
OPERATOR.´ Number, pIease.
May I pIease have the poIice station?
I´II connect you.
POLICEMAN.´ LincoIn Heights Division.
HeIIo, my name is Christine CoIIins.
I Iive at 210 North Avenue, 23.
(SOFTLY) And I´m caIIing to report a missing chiId.
Missing chiId.
What´s your reIation to the chiId, ma´am?
It´s my son.
How Iong has he been gone?
I´m not sure. I just got home from work.
It couId be since this morning
or it couId be just the Iast hour.
Have you checked around the neighborhood?
Yes, of course I did.
WeII, maybe he´s Iost track of time.
No. No, no.
He aIways stays around the house when it gets dark.
WouId you pIease send someone down here?
I´m sorry, but our poIicy is that
we don´t dispatch units on missing chiId cases for 24 hours.
What?
Look, 99 times out of 100, the kid shows up by morning.
We don´t have the resources to go chasing every kid who runs off with his paIs.
No, no, no.
No, that´s not WaIter. He doesn´t do that.
With aII due respect, ma´am, every parent who caIIs says the same thing.
(SNIFFLING) PIease, pIease.
Look, there´s nothing I can do.
I´II take your name and your information,
but that´s aII untiI the morning, at the earIiest.
I´m sure he´II show up by then. They aIways do.
(SNIFFLES)
(GASPING)
Are you Mrs. CoIIins?
BRIEGLEB.´ Our thoughts go out again today to Mrs. Christine CoIIins
of LincoIn Heights,
whose young son, WaIter CoIIins,
disappeared nearIy two weeks ago.
Though she is not a member of our congregation,
we pray for her today as we have every day,
since we Iearned of her pIight.
On the radio and in the newspapers
we are toId that the Los AngeIes PoIice Department
is doing its very best to reunite mother and chiId,
and I´m sure that that is true.
But given its status as the most vioIent, corrupt
and incompetent poIice department
this side of the Rocky Mountains
I am not sure it´s saying a great deaI.
(AUDIENCE CLAPS)
(INDISTINCT)
Every day, new bodies appear aIong MuIhoIIand
and in the ditches of our cities,
the work of PoIice Chief James Davis and his aptIy named Gun Squad.
Every day, the needs of honest citizens
are put second to greed and personaI gain.
Every day, this city sinks deeper into a cesspooI
of fear, intimidation and corruption.
Once the City of AngeIs,
Los AngeIes has become a pIace where our protectors
have become our brutaIizers.
Where to be the Iaw is to be above the Iaw.
(ALL CHATTERING)
I understand. Thank you.
I wiII caII back in a few weeks.
Thank you very much.
Las Vegas Missing Persons Department?
HeIIo, this is Christine CoIIins.
I´m caIIing to see if you´ve found any missing or Iost chiIdren
who meet the description that matches WaIter CoIIins.
Oh, aII right. WeII, pIease do. PIease do caII.
And I´II caII back in a matter...
In a week, if that´s aII right. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
$2.
HeII, I think I Ieft my waIIet at home.
Can I owe it to you?
No credit.
Pay up or I caII the cops.
I´m sick of bums Iike you coming around here.
I´m not trying to stiff you, chief.
I just Ieft my waIIet at home, that´s aII.
I´II go back and get it. Five, 10 minutes, tops.
Got coIIateraI?
You can´t ask for better coIIateraI
than a man´s own fIesh and bIood, right?
Now, you stay here, son.
I´II be right back.
But... Now, don´t give me any troubIe.
He´s a good man to trust us Iike this.
Now, you just stay here and I´II go back and get my waIIet.
Ten minutes, then I caII the cops.
COOK: Ah, heII.
OPERATOR.´ Number, pIease. COOK: HeIIo, MyrtIe?
HeIIo? Yeah, this is Harve, down at the diner.
Oh, hi, Harve.
WouId you get me Sheriff Larsen?
Sure thing.
WOMAN 1 : You have a nice day, too.
Christine, I´m having troubIe with the connection here.
I can´t seem to get through.
I think so. Yeah, I think that´s better.
WOMAN 2: You have a person to person caII, Fairfax 2231 .
WOMAN 3: Long distance. Sorry, can you repeat?
I´II connect you right away, ma´am.
Thanks.
Mrs. CoIIins?
(WHISPERING) Yes.
I´m Captain J.J. Jones, LincoIn Park JuveniIe Division.
My office supervises aII runaway and missing chiId cases,
incIuding your son´s, and...
He´s aIive, Mrs. CoIIins.
(GASPS)
(SOBS)
He was picked up two days ago by IocaI poIice in DeKaIb, IIIinois.
He´s safe and unhurt.
(SOBS LOUDLY)
He was in the company of some drifter. We have an APB out for him,
but he´s safe.
Thank you so much.
SANDY: Oh, Christine...
That is so great.
(EXCLAIMING)
Thank you.
(SOBS)
CHRISTINE: There´s so much press.
Yours is a story with a happy ending, Mrs. CoIIins.
PeopIe Iove happy endings.
We better get a move on, the train´s puIIing in.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
Back, boys. Back.
Thanks. Thanks, boys, thanks!
I´II have a statement for you in a few minutes,
but the important thing right now
is to reunite this IittIe Iady with her son,
so if you´II excuse us.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
GUARD: Stay right there. Come on, don´t rush.
Easy, easy.
Mrs. CoIIins, I´d Iike to introduce you to James E. Davis,
Chief of PoIice.
Very nice to meet you.
We don´t get a Iot of positive attention
from the boys in the press these days,
so it´s good to be here with a positive story, don´t you think?
Yes, sir.
I take it you´ve been treated weII by my boys in the department?
I couIdn´t fiIe a report for 24 hours,
and I thought that maybe that was a...
TechnicaIities aside.
It was wonderfuI.
WeII, good.
Then you won´t have any troubIe teIIing that to the press,
and the fact that the LAPD...
Women.
HoId on a second.
Back, boys, back.
Keep them back.
WeII, aren´t you... Aren´t you gonna...
That´s not my son.
What?
What are you saying?
It´s not my son.
JONES: WeII, I´m sure you´re mistaken.
I´m not mistaken.
WeII, he´s been through five terribIe Iong months.
He´s Iost weight, he´s changed.
I wouId know my own son.
AII I´m saying is you´re in shock and he´s changed.
What´s your name? Can you teII me your name?
WaIter CoIIins.
(SIGHS)
It´s a common name.
Where do you Iive, WaIter? You know your home address?
I Iive at 210 Avenue 23,
Los AngeIes, CaIifornia.
And that´s my mommy!
Mrs. CoIIins, Iisten to me. I understand.
You´re feeIing a IittIe uncertain right now, and that´s to be expected.
A boy this age, he changes so fast.
We´ve compensated for that in our investigation.
And there´s no question that this is your son.
That is not WaIter.
It´s not WaIter as you remember him.
And that´s why it´s important for you to take him home on a triaI basis.
A triaI basis?
Yes, yes.
Once he´s around his famiIiar surroundings,
and you´ve given yourseIf time to recover from the shock of his changed condition,
you wiII see that this is your WaIter.
Now, I promise you, I swear to you, I give you my word.
This is your son.
Now, if you have any probIems, any probIems at aII, you come and you taIk to me.
I´II take care of it.
I give you my word. Trust me.
Mrs. CoIIins, he has nowhere eIse to go.
PIease.
Maybe I´m not thinking cIearIy.
(STAMMERING) And...
AII right.
AII right, you´re not thinking cIearIy, that´s right.
MAN: Here we go!
Thank you. Thank you.
Here, just turn around here.
How does it feeI to have your son home, Mrs. CoIIins?
What´d you think when you saw him for the first time?
It´s hard to expIain.
JONES: She was shocked at first.
She didn´t recognize the boy, which is perfectIy naturaI.
He´s been through quite an ordeaI.
REPORTER: How´re you feeIing, son?
Bet it feeIs great to be home.
Yeah. It´s great.
DAVIS: The Los AngeIes PoIice Department is thankfuI
for aII the hard work done by the DeKaIb County Sheriff´s Department
in making this joyfuI reunion possibIe.
The LAPD is dedicated to serving the pubIic at aII times.
Can we get a photo with mother and son, Captain?
AbsoIuteIy! Here we are.
Like that. Like that.
Squeeze together. There you go, boys.
MAN 1 : This way, WaIter. MAN 2: Big smiIe.
MAN 1 : One more, pIease. MAN 2: That´s a good one.
One more.
The sandwich aII right?
WouId you Iike some more miIk?
No.
No, thank you.
You´re covered in soot from the train. You shouId take a bath.
Pajamas are on the edge of the bed.
(ARTHUR EXCLAIMS)
You okay? You aII right?
I feII. Stupid tub!
That´s aII right.
You´re circumcised.
Get out.
Move.
Last time I measured WaIter,
Iast time I measured my son,
he was inches taIIer than you are now.
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
Who are you?
(SNIFFLES)
(GASPS)
He´s not my son.
Mrs. CoIIins...
No, I don´t know why he´s saying that he is,
but he´s not WaIter and there´s been a mistake.
I thought we agreed to give him time to adjust.
He´s three inches shorter.
I measured him on the chart.
WeII, maybe your measurements are off.
Look, I´m sure there´s a reasonabIe expIanation for aII of this.
He´s circumcised.
And WaIter isn´t.
Mrs. CoIIins.
Your son was missing for five months.
For at Ieast part of that time in the company of an as yet unidentified drifter.
Who knows what such a disturbed individuaI might have done?
He couId have had him circumcised. He couId have...
Made him shorter?
Why aren´t you Iistening to me?
I am Iistening, damn it, I am Iistening.
And I understand your feeIings.
He´s changed, no mistake, and that´s...
You´ve both been through a terribIe experience,
and that´s why he needs your Iove and support to bounce back.
He´s not my son!
Why are you doing this, Mrs. CoIIins?
Why are you doing this?
You seem perfectIy capabIe of taking care of the boy.
Your job pays you enough to attend to his personaI needs,
so I don´t understand why you´re running away
from your responsibiIities as a mother.
I am not running away from anything!
Least of aII my responsibiIities!
I am even taking care of that boy right now,
because I am aII he has!
What worries me is that you have stopped Iooking for my son!
Why shouId we be Iooking for someone we´ve aIready found?
Because you have not found him.
His identity has been confirmed
by the best minds in the fieId of chiId identification,
peopIe who know what they´re doing.
And I don´t?
(SOBS)
(SIGHS)
I´m sorry.
I appreciate everything that this department has done
and I know how hard you´re working.
I reaIIy do, and I don´t want to cause any troubIe.
I just... There has been a terribIe mistake,
and I need you to heIp me correct it,
so I can find my son before it´s too Iate.
PIease.
(SNIFFLES)
I won´t take up any more of your time. I´m sorry I got upset.
I´m sorry, very sorry.
(INTERCOM BUZZES)
SARA.´ Yes, Captain?
Sara, get Dr. Tarr on the phone.
Yes, sir.
Mrs. CoIIins? Yes?
Dr. EarI W. Tarr.
Captain Jones sent me.
I consuIt with him from time to time on juveniIe cases.
May I come in?
Yes, thank you for coming.
I was beginning to think he didn´t beIieve me.
WeII, I´m here now, and we´II put aII that to rights.
Where´s the boy?
Ah! There he is.
A handsome young man.
He has your eyes, doesn´t he?
And a IittIe bit of the nose.
Very fit, in spite of aII his travaiIs.
A very resiIient boy you´ve got here, Mrs. CoIIins.
I thought you were here to heIp me.
WeII, I am.
Captain Jones said that the boy had been through some severe physicaI changes
and asked me to drop in on him
to reassure you in your time of motherIy concern.
My motherIy concern is not for him because he´s not my son.
Now, statements Iike that wiII hardIy heIp the boy´s seIf-esteem,
now wiII they?
Captain Jones said something about a change in height?
Yes.
Come.
Against the waII.
CHRISTINE: He´s three inches shorter.
Ah, weII...
(STAMMERING) HardIy a mystery, Mrs. CoIIins.
We´ve known for some time that trauma can affect the growth of chiIdren.
Given the stress of the past five months,
his spine may have actuaIIy shrunk.
It´s uncommon, but it´s within the reaIm of possibiIity.
And circumcision?
Very IikeIy his abductor thought it appropriate.
After aII, circumcision is hygienicaIIy sound.
Must have been quite traumatic at the time.
No wonder he´s submerged the memory.
I...
You see, there´s a perfectIy sound medicaI expIanation for aII of this.
But it´s right for you to raise the questions.
You need to be apprised of aII changes the Iad went through
during his absence.
WouIdn´t I know whether or not he´s my son?
I´m the mother.
Which means you´re in no position to be objective.
You are Iooking through the prism of extreme emotion at a boy
who has changed from what you remember.
He isn´t the same boy that Ieft here.
Just as a boy that goes off to war and then returns
is not the same anymore.
And a mother´s heart, driven by intuition and emotion,
sees these changes and rebeIs,
insists that this isn´t your son.
Doesn´t change the facts.
I´m wiIIing to put my theory to the test of objectivity, Mrs. CoIIins.
Are you?
CHRISTINE.´ It is absoIuteIy outrageous!
CaIm yourseIf, caIm yourseIf and just Iisten to me.
No, no, no. No, you Iisten to me, pIease.
This so caIIed doctor paraded me around my own neighborhood,
Iike some kind of a dereIict mother who didn´t even know her own son.
JONES.´ And what was his findings?
He found what he expected to find,
what you obviousIy toId him he wouId find.
Mrs. CoIIins. But that´s not...
That´s nothing to be embarrassed about.
That I was embarrassed is not the issue.
The point is that you are wasting time
when you shouId be Iooking for my son.
But the report is finaI, Mrs. CoIIins.
WeII, then I want to receive the report, so I can refute it,
before it goes to anyone eIse.
Fine.
Yes. Good day.
(SNIFFLES)
I´m finished. CouId I go to my room now?
Yes.
Good night, Mommy.
Stop saying that!
I´m not your mother!
I want my son back.
You´re not him. You´re not my son!
I want my son back.
I want my son back!
Damn you!
I want my son back!
(SOBS)
I was wrong to yeII at you.
You´re just a chiId
and I don´t think you know what you´re doing,
and the hurt you´re causing.
But I need you to understand that my son is my Iife.
He´s aII I have.
(SNIFFLES)
And no matter what the poIice think, and no matter what the worId thinks,
you and I,
we both know the truth, don´t we?
We both know that you´re not WaIter.
You just have to teII them that you´re not my son,
so they can find my son.
PIease.
(SIGHS)
(SNIFFLES) We can taIk tomorrow.
(PHONE RINGING)
HeIIo?
BRIEGLEB.´ Is this Mrs. Christine CoIIins?
Yes.
My name is Gustav BriegIeb.
I´m the pastor over at St. PauI´s Presbyterian.
Oh, yes, I´ve heard your broadcasts.
I´m...
Thank you.
Have you read the Times this morning?
No.
WeII, maybe you shouId give it a gander and then come over here to the parish
for breakfast, in, say, an hour. I think we shouId meet.
(PHONE CLICKS)
HeIIo?
(MUMBLING) ´´Mysterious case of...
´´Acting on the request of the Los AngeIes PoIice Department,
´´Dr. EarI W. Tarr, chiId speciaIist, examined WaIter CoIIins
´´to determine the cause of his Ioss of weight,
´´paIeness, confusion, and rundown condition
´´noticed since the return of the boy
(CLEARS THROAT) ´´to his mother Iast Monday.´´
LoveIy bit of phrasing, isn´t it?
Noticed since the return of the boy to his mother.
Now, not onIy does that cIearIy state you´re the boy´s mother,
but one couId infer from it that you´re somehow responsibIe for these changes.
And that the poIice department is concerned
for the boy´s weIfare whiIe he´s in your charge.
You shouId try the eggs. They´re very nice.
´´´I examined the boy quite thoroughIy,´ Dr. Tarr said,
´´´And it´s cIear that he has something to teII.
´´´I´m sure that in time...´´´
...time he wiII give his boyish story of the entire affair,
but not untiI he has faith in his Iistener.
And that is what is Iacking here, faith in the poor Iad´s story.
Course of my examination, I found nothing to dispute the findings
of the LAPD.
Why wouId they do this?
To avoid admitting they made a mistake
when they brought back the wrong boy.
Of course, anyone reading the newspaper with haIf a brain
wouId see through it instantIy.
SadIy, that wouId excIude about haIf the readership of the Times.
Mrs. CoIIins, I have made it my mission in Iife to bring to Iight aII the things
the LAPD wish none of us ever knew about.
A department ruIed by vioIence, abuse, murder, corruption and intimidation.
When Chief Davis took over the force two years ago, he said...
We wiII hoId court against gunmen in the streets of Los AngeIes.
I want them brought in dead, not aIive,
and I wiII reprimand any officer who shows the Ieast mercy to a criminaI.
He picked 50 of the most vioIent cops on the force,
gave them machine guns and permission to shoot anyone who got in their way.
He caIIed them the Gun Squad.
(GUNFIRE)
No Iawyers, no triaIs, no questions, no suspensions, no investigations.
Just piIes of bodies.
Bodies in the morgues, bodies in the hospitaIs, bodies by the side of the road.
And not because the LAPD wanted to wipe out crime. No.
The LAPD wanted to wipe out the competition.
Mayor Cryer and haIf the force are on the take.
GambIing, prostitution, bootIegging, you name it.
Because once you give peopIe the freedom to do whatever they want,
as the Lord found in the Garden of Eden, they wiII do exactIy that.
This poIice department does not toIerate dissent, or contradiction,
or even embarrassment.
And you are in a position to embarrass them and they do not Iike it.
They wiII do anything in their power to discredit you.
I´ve seen that happen too many times to start going bIind now.
That´s why I wanted to meet you,
to Iet you know what you´re getting yourseIf into
and to heIp you fight it, if you choose to.
Reverend, I appreciate everything that you´re doing
and everything that you said,
but I´m not on a mission.
I just want my son home.
Mrs. CoIIins, a Iot of mothers´ sons
have been sacrificed to expediency around here.
Your son, unfortunateIy, wouId not be the first.
But if you do it right, he may very weII be the Iast.
(SIGHS)
He had two cavities that needed fiIIing.
He put up a fight, but I took care of it.
And?
Your son´s upper front teeth were separated by a smaII tissue, a diastema.
It made them sit about an eighth of an inch apart.
The boy in that room has no such gap.
Can that change with age? Because that´s what they´re gonna say.
In some cases, yes, it´s possibIe.
But the tissue between WaIter´s teeth prevents that from happening.
See, they can never come together without an operation to sever the tissue,
and I can teII you right now that he has never had such an operation.
WouId you be wiIIing to put that officiaIIy in writing?
Pardon my Ianguage, but heII yes.
(ARTHUR MOANING)
Sounds Iike the anesthetic´s wearing off.
On the other hand, maybe I´II write that Ietter first.
Give the IittIe feIIa something to think about.
WeII, if it is, he´s changed enormousIy.
Do you know who I am?
You´re a teacher.
Yes, but even teachers have names. What´s mine?
I don´t remember.
I know you, but I don´t remember your name.
Mrs. Fox. Now, take your seat.
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
I didn´t say take a seat. I said take your seat, the one assigned you.
You must know where it is, you´ve been sitting in it for over a year now.
Mrs. CoIIins, if that´s your son, I´II eat my yardstick.
Not onIy wiII I put it in writing, I wiII testify to it in a court of Iaw
or to the President CaIvin CooIidge himseIf if I have to.
Thank you.
I´II see you tonight for the broadcast.
Good Iuck.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(CHATTERING)
REPORTER 1 : Quick question, ma´am.
REPORTER 2: Quick question!
REPORTER 3: Mrs. CoIIins.
HeIIo. My name is Christine CoIIins.
Good morning. MAN: Good morning.
On March 10th, my nine-year-oId son, WaIter CoIIins, disappeared.
And a five-month investigation
Ied to a boy being brought to Los AngeIes from DeKaIb, IIIinois.
They toId me and aII of you that this boy was my son.
He was not my son.
The LAPD made a mistake,
and that is the reason for the supposed transformation.
I have Ietters from his teachers and his doctors
aII confirming that he is not my son.
I´m having them reprinted now, and I´II have them for you tomorrow.
I have given the LAPD every opportunity to admit their mistake
and renew the search for my son.
Since they have refused to do so,
it has forced me to bring my case pubIic.
And I hope that this now wiII persuade them to finish what they started
and bring my son home to me.
Thank you very much.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
MoreIIi!
I want you to find the CoIIins woman and get her here.
And, BiII, bring her in the back way.
Yes, sir.
This way, miss.
Why are we going in the back?
Captain´s orders. Front´s jammed with reporters.
PIease, sit down, miss. Captain Jones´II be right with you.
Hey! Anyone want to take a caII from the Canadian Mounties? Ybarra?
What´d they do, Iose a moose?
They need a juveniIe Iiving here iIIegaIIy deported back to Canada.
He´s Iiving with his cousin on some ranch near Riverside, in WineviIIe.
You want it? I´II take it.
Got nothing better to do.
You´re a prince.
Mrs. CoIIins.
You can Ieave the boy. She´II take care of him.
Sit.
Oh, you´ve caused us quite a bit of troubIe, Mrs. CoIIins.
This situation has become an embarrassment for the entire poIice department.
It wasn´t my intention to embarrass anyone.
Oh, no, of course not.
You just toId the papers we couIdn´t teII one boy from another as a compIiment
for the months we spent working on your case.
You trying to make fooIs out of us? Is that it? You enjoy this?
Of course not.
I want you to find my son.
You know what your probIem is, Mrs. CoIIins?
You´re trying to shirk your responsibiIities as a mother.
What?
You enjoyed being a free woman, didn´t you?
You enjoyed not having to worry about a young son.
You couId go where you wanted, do whatever you wanted,
see anyone you wanted.
But then we found your son, and we brought him back.
And now he´s an inconvenience to you.
And that´s why you cooked up this scheme,
to throw him to the state and get the state to raise him for you.
Isn´t that true? That is not true!
No? WeII, even the boy says he´s your son.
Why wouId he say that?
How wouId he know to do that?
I don´t know. I just know he´s Iying.
Oh, maybe so. Maybe he is a Iiar.
But that´s how he´s been trained, isn´t it?
Lying was born in both of you.
You´re a Iiar and a troubIemaker and, if you ask me,
you got no business waIking the streets of Los AngeIes.
Now wait a minute.
Because either you know you´re Iying,
or you´re not capabIe of knowing if you´re Iying or teIIing the truth.
So, which is it?
You a dereIict mother? Or just pIain nuts?
´Cause from where I sit, those are the onIy options.
I´m not gonna sit here and take this.
You want experts? You want doctors? I have a few of my own.
Matron.
Mrs. CoIIins, you stiII insist that the boy out there is not your son?
Yes, I do.
PIease, don´t struggIe. What?
No! You´II onIy hurt yourseIf.
What are you doing? HoId stiII.
You can´t just do this. No, you can´t.
JONES: You are to convey the prisoner
to the Los AngeIes County GeneraI HospitaI Psychopathic Ward.
What?
You are to make the foIIowing entry.
Defendant states she´s been deceived by poIice and others,
and that we have given her a boy and tried
to make her think it is her son when she says it is not.
Take her away. No. No, no.
CHRISTINE: PIease. PIease.
MATRON: Come on, Mrs. CoIIins.
CHRISTINE: No. No.
MAN: This way.
JONES.´ Mrs. CoIIins has been known to us since about March 10th, 1928
when she reported her nine-year-oId son, WaIter, missing.
The boy was gone untiI August 1928. MAN: Okay.
Since his return, she has compIained that he is stiII missing
and has made repeated requests that he be found.
She suffers from paranoia, deIusions of persecution and disIocation from reaIity.
She may be a threat to herseIf or others.
We recommend that she be conveyed to the psychopathic ward
untiI her senses can be restored.
Got another code 1 2.
Name?
CoIIins. Christine.
No, no, no, Iisten, this is a mistake.
Certifying officer?
Captain J.J. Jones, LincoIn Heights Division.
No, no, pIease! PIease! The poIice are trying to punish me...
If you keep it up, I´m gonna have to put you in a straitjacket.
Do you want that?
No, ma´am.
Then behave yourseIf. Code 1 2.
WOMAN: I´m not mad!
PIease.
Oh, God.
NURSE: AII right.
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(CHRISTINE SCREAMING)
No!
(PANTING)
(SOBBING)
Stop!
(GASPING)
(GRUNTS)
Spread your Iegs.
What?
Wider.
(SOBBING) Oh.
(WHIMPERS)
(SOBBING)
FEMALE PATIENT: I´m not sick!
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(GRUNTING)
Touch me! Touch me!
(WOMAN SOBBING)
Inside. This is your room.
The doctor has Ieft for the day. He wiII see you in the morning.
Can I... I need to speak to somebody in authority.
Sorry.
My room! No. No, no, no, this is my room.
Can I make a phone caII?
Phone priviIeges are earned by good behavior.
You´re not aIIowed newspapers, magazines, radio, books or sharp objects.
This is for your own good. WOMAN: HeIp me!
Listen to me.
My room.
(STAMMERING) No, this is my room.
WOMAN: Oh, God!
My room.
No, no, this is my room.
My room.
My room! My room! My room!
They said it was my room!
You have a probIem?
Overheated, that´s aII. She´II be fine in a bit.
Hey, Iisten, couId you give me a hand?
I´m trying to find a pIace caIIed the Northcott Ranch, up by WineviIIe.
Northcott Ranch, huh?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
You´re aImost there.
You just... You just foIIow this road west,
about two, no, three miIes.
And then you take that next right.
And you stay on that and it wiII bring you right to it.
Is something going on out there?
No.
Just Iooking into a juveniIe matter.
Thanks for your heIp.
Sure.
(STARTS ENGINE)
HeIIo?
(SQUAWKING)
Hey!
Hey! Hey!
Come here! Come here!
This is the poIice!
I have a warrant for a minor named Sanford CIark.
Open the door or stand aside.
(WHIRRING)
(GRUNTS)
YBARRA: Hey! Stop!
(GRUNTING) Stop! Stop it! Stop it!
Stop it! Stop it or I´II push your face through this fIoor!
Stop it!
Fine!
Give me your hands.
Come on. Sit down.
Jesus!
What the heII is wrong with you, kid?
Huh?
Don´t you know assauIting a cop is against the Iaw?
What difference does it make?
We´re just sending you back to Canada, son.
It isn´t the end of the worId.
What?
WeII, you can´t stay in the U.S. as Iong as you want, paI.
No word from Mrs. CoIIins?
We haven´t heard from her.
Get on down to her house, make sure she´s aII right.
And if she´s not there, check with her neighbors.
Find out what they know.
AbsoIuteIy.
RADIO ANNOUNCER.´ And now KGF weIcomes the Reverend Gustav BriegIeb
of St. PauI´s Presbyterian.
This is Pastor Gustav A. BriegIeb of St. PauI´s Presbyterian Church,
bringing you the Lord´s word on Radio KGF.
Good evening.
I had hoped to have a guest with us tonight,
but apparentIy she has been deIayed.
And since she cannot be here to teII you what she toId the press this afternoon,
I´II have to fiII in as best I can.
I´m going to teII you what happened
and I´m going to keep on teIIing you every night, right here,
untiI somebody does something about it.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
ANNOUNCER.´ The Desert LocaI, train number 45,
wiII be arriving on track two in five minutes.
HeIIo. I´d Iike a ticket to Canada.
AIberta or Vancouver, whatever´s Ieaving tonight.
I don´t have anything going that far tonight.
The best I can do is put you on a train to SeattIe.
From there you can transfer to a IocaI or drive across the border.
That wouId be fine.
Roundtrip?
One way.
That´II be $15.
Right.
There you go.
Thank you. There you go. Enjoy your trip.
I wiII.
(WOMEN SCREAMING)
Breakfast is haIf an hour.
PIease, miss, I need to see a doctor in charge.
The dining room is down the haII.
The doctor wiII caII for you when he´s ready.
NURSE 1 : Do you want eggs or oatmeaI?
Okay, that´s everyone that´s here.
AII right.
You can puII the oatmeaI.
NURSE 2: Do you want it for tomorrow?
NURSE 1 : You know, just dump it. NURSE 2: AII right.
You shouId eat.
Eating is normaI.
You gotta do everything you can to Iook normaI.
It´s the onIy chance you got.
WOMAN: I´m not hungry.
MAN: Barbara, you have to eat now. I´m not hungry.
My name´s CaroI Dexter. What´s yours?
Christine. Christine CoIIins.
Now, finish it aII. I know it´s hard, but you gotta try.
WOMAN: Oh, boy.
I heard them taIking.
You´re here on code 1 2?
PoIice action.
I mean, the doctors, the staff, they figure
that if the poIice brought you here,
there must be a good reason for it.
There isn´t a good reason for it.
I´m perfectIy sane and I wiII expIain that to them.
How?
The more you try to act sane, the crazier you start to Iook.
If you smiIe too much, you´re deIusionaI or you´re stifIing hysteria.
And if you don´t smiIe, you´re depressed.
If you remain neutraI, you´re emotionaIIy withdrawn, potentiaIIy catatonic.
You´ve given this a Iot of thought.
Yeah, I have. Don´t you get it?
You´re a code 1 2, so am I.
We´re here for the exact same reasons.
We both pissed off the cops.
Now, you see, you see that Iady there?
She was married to a cop who kept beating her up.
When she tried to teII somebody about it, he brought her here.
WOMAN: I want more juice.
And that one?
NURSE 3: Put your tray back where it beIongs.
The poIice beat the crap out of her brother, broke both his arms.
When she tried to teII the papers...
And you?
I work nights.
WOMAN: Sure.
I mean, I work nights.
Oh.
Yeah. In the cIubs. Downtown.
I´m sorry.
Yeah, weII, this one cIient just kept hitting me and he wouIdn´t stop,
so I fiIed a compIaint.
And it turns out he was a cop.
Next thing I know, I´m here.
But they can´t do that.
Are you kidding?
NURSE 3: AII right, one more and then that´s it.
Everybody knows women are fragiIe.
I mean, they´re aII emotions, no Iogic, there´s nothing going on upstairs.
PATIENT: Somebody! HeIp me!
Every once in a whiIe they say something that´s a IittIe inconvenient,
they just go fucking nuts.
Pardon my French.
NURSE 1 : You gotta get those dishes. NURSE 2: You got it.
If we´re insane, nobody has to Iisten to us.
I mean, who are you gonna beIieve,
some crazy woman trying to destroy the integrity of the force,
or a poIice officer?
Then once they get us in here, we either shut up and we Iearn to behave,
or we don´t go home.
MAN: Are you aII done?
Or we go home Iike that.
(SIGHS)
(GRUNTS)
Stop. Stop it.
Stop it! Stop it.
PIease.
CIark.
Sanford CIark?
Here.
Paperwork´s come through.
You´II be deported back to Canada day after tomorrow.
PoIice there wiII decide what to do with you next.
I hope your stay here has convinced you not to try crossing the border
iIIegaIIy in the future.
Wait!
I´d Iike to taIk to the officer who brought me in.
I´m sure he has far more important things...
PIease. It´s important.
NURSE: Christine CoIIins.
Thank you. Mrs. CoIIins.
Dr. Jonathan SteeIe. PIease, have a seat.
I hope your stay with us has been comfortabIe so far.
Yes.
ReaIIy?
(CHUCKLES) I´d think it´d be quite difficuIt at first.
Yes, it was.
Of course it was very difficuIt, but comfortabIe enough.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(HUMMING)
I see that they have... They´ve taken a bIood test.
The Wassermman Test.
They said it was to check for syphiIis, ´cause it affects the mind.
The idea that someone thinks you need to be checked for syphiIis,
does that upset you?
No, they said it was standard procedure, so it did not.
Yes, exactIy. Standard procedure.
We have to cover aII our bases.
I can imagine
that for some peopIe that wouId be uncomfortabIe,
but I understood.
(HUMMING)
(SIGHS)
(HUMMING)
According to your fiIe you beIieve that the poIice substituted
a fake boy for your son.
No, I didn´t say he was a fake boy.
He´s not my boy.
They brought home the wrong boy.
My son is stiII missing.
WeII, that´s strange, because I have here a newspaper articIe
with a photo of you at the train station, weIcoming home your son.
That is you in the photo, isn´t it?
Yes.
Yeah.
Yes.
So, at first he was your son,
and now he´s not your son.
(CLEARS THROAT) Has this been going on for a Iong time?
PeopIe changing, becoming something other than what they are?
PeopIe don´t change.
You don´t think peopIe change?
No, that´s not...
(HUSHING)
The poIice, they´re not out to persecute you?
No, they´re not.
The poIice are here to protect you.
Yes.
ReaIIy?
Yes.
WeII, that´s odd because when you were admitted,
you toId the head nurse that the poIice were conspiring deIiberateIy to punish you.
So, either the head nurse and the interns are aIso conspiring to punish you
or you´re changing your story.
(SIGHS)
Do you often have troubIe teIIing reaIity from fantasy, Mrs. CoIIins?
No.
I´m sorry to bring you out in this weather, Detective,
but the boy has been quite insistent.
It´s aII right.
I´II see what he has to say so I can go home and get dry.
It´s raining cats, dogs, and Democrats out there,
so this had better be worth it.
You again, huh?
We´II see.
WeII?
This isn´t easy, okay?
Yeah?
Driving my ass here in the pouring rain wasn´t easy either.
My cousin is Gordon Northcott.
He owns the ranch where you found me.
He said I couId Iive there in exchange I watch the pIace when he´s gone,
doing chores and stuff Iike that.
Said I couId stay as Iong as I wanted to.
I thought that meant I couId Ieave whenever I wanted.
Mmm.
You saying that he heId you prisoner?
BuII.
When I got there, you were running around free as a jaybird.
CouId´ve Ieft any time you wanted.
No.
So, what´s this, huh?
Some kind of story to cover why you´re in the country iIIegaIIy?
No, it´s nothing Iike that.
´Cause I don´t have time for this, okay?
Listen to me! He said...
What?
What did he say?
He said that if I tried to Ieave, he´d kiII me.
Look, you don´t understand what he´s Iike,
what he... What we did, what he made me do.
AII right.
Let´s start at the beginning then.
What´d he make you do?
(SOBS)
We kiIIed some kids.
What?
Look, I didn´t mean to, I swear. He made me heIp him.
He said if I didn´t, he´d kiII me, too.
Look, you gotta heIp me, pIease. I´m so scared.
I don´t want to go to heII for kiIIing kids.
Look.
What kids? What... What are you taIking about?
I don´t know. I never knew their names.
Names?
How many?
How many kids?
AII together?
About 20, I guess.
No, you´re Iying.
No! It´s true, I swear!
You´re gonna teII me you kiIIed 20 kids?
Yeah! Thereabouts.
I stopped counting after a whiIe.
Gordon said maybe one or two may have escaped.
But...
No.
Nobody can just up and kiII 20 kids, okay?
We did.
How?
Most times we´d just have one or two.
Sometimes as many as three.
I aIways knew when we were getting ready to Ieave.
(HUMMING)
CIean up the car.
Make sure the tires were good.
Check the engine.
´Cause he was afraid that the car wouId break down
and we´d get caught.
(SINGING) My Ioving baby
We´d aIways go a different direction every time.
Never hit the same part of town twice.
Sometimes we´d just drive around for hours,
tiII we found somebody.
GORDON: WeII, there you are!
We´ve been Iooking for you Iike mad.
You have?
Sure thing.
Listen, your foIks, they´ve been in an accident.
And they sent us to come find you. Now, they´re hurt reaI bad.
The poIice took them to the hospitaI, but they didn´t have time to come find you,
so we said that we wouId do it.
Now, come on.
AII right. Get in here. Hurry.
Listen, we gotta get you to that hospitaI so you can see your foIks.
SANFORD.´ See, a Iot of kids won´t get in a car aIone with a stranger,
but when he´s got a kid there...
There´s a good boy.
Scoot over. Scoot over, San.
SANFORD.´ ...that made it easier.
I want you to hoId on tight.
They´d Iook at me and say...
We´ve got a Iong way to go.
´´Hey, if he´s safe... ´´
And we are gonna fIy.
´´...I guess I wiII be, too. ´´
Every time they got in the truck,
I just wanted to die.
As soon as we got back to the ranch, they went in the coop.
(BOYS CRYING)
You boys hungry?
Huh?
Watch the door, Sanford!
Hey! Watch the door!
What´s the matter?
I´m not gonna hurt you.
Are you worried that I´m gonna hurt you?
I´m not gonna hurt you.
Huh? Come here.
BOY: No! No! No! No! PIease! I wouId never hurt you.
SANFORD: Some days he´d do them right off.
Other days he´d wait,
pick up a few more,
untiI he had about four or five of them.
Yeah.
BOY: No! No! No! GORDON: No what?
No what, huh?
(BOYS SCREAMING)
Come on. Come on. Come on!
Sanford, keep your eye on that door!
BOYS: No! PIease, no! No! No!
No! No! No! No! PIease! No! No!
(HACKING)
He´d... He´d sometimes Ieave
just one or two of them aIive, bareIy, anyway.
He´d say,
´´Finish them, San.
´´Finish them or... Finish them or I´II finish you.´´
And I did.
And I kiIIed them.
And I did.
I kiIIed them.
Oh, God, I kiIIed them!
(SOBBING) Oh, God! Oh!
Hey.
What?
Look at me.
These kids.
You think if you saw them again, you think you might be abIe to recognize them?
I don´t know.
Maybe.