He could feed off a memory over and over again.
He was animal. Faceless.
Infinite.
But then he would feel it,
the emptiness returning,
and the need would rise in him again.
Go! Go!
-In here? -A detour. Go.
When summer came,
he noticed young lovers would sneak into the cornfield.
He began to follow them
and watch.
Will you come to bed?
Yeah. Soon.
Buckley did this, right?
Correct. He said that this is our house, this is the police station and that's you.
That's me?
Yeah. He made you Chief of Police, so...
I've gained 20 pounds.
-It must be the uniform. -It's the dangers of a desk job.
I'd like to report a lost purse.
Why don't you have a seat?
-I'm living with this every day. -What about your marriage?
-What marriage? -You just don't give up!
-Jack is sleeping in his study! -He's trying.
You have to find a way to keep going.
-Mother... -You don't have a choice.
-I am coping with this. -You can't give up. You have to...
-Oh, no, Mother. -Bingo!
That is cooking sherry!
-Please! Please! -You have to find a way to live with this.
-Live with it? I am living with this! -You're not!
-I'm dealing... I'm coping... -You don't go into Susie's room.
-I'm dealing with it! So what? -You won't let anybody touch her things!
You have a tomb in the middle of your house!
Sweetheart, do you really think if you seal it up
that the pain's going to go away?
My mother went as far away as she could.
She found a job In a small orchard outside of Santa Rosa.
The work was hard, but she didn't mind.
If anyone asked, she said she had two children.
And Lindsey,
who always said she didn't believe in love,
found it anyway.
And there it was.
The moment I would never have.
My little sister had run ahead of me.
She was growing up.
What's the matter? I thought you'd be happy.
I am happy.
I'm very happy.
Then why are you crying?
No. You think she did not want to kiss him?
No.
She did.
She wanted to kiss him very much.
Always, I would watch Ray.
I was in the air around him.
I was in the cold winter mornings he spent with Ruth Connors,
that strange, otherworldly girl
who so easily accepted the presence of the dead among the living.
And sometimes, Ray would think of me.
But he began to wonder,
maybe it was time to put that memory away.
Maybe it was time to let me go.
What was that?
-I'm sorry. -What was... What was that?
Lindsey, throw it!
My murderer had finely tuned instincts.
He knew my sister had begun to wonder
about the solitary man who lived in the green house.
She seemed intent on crowding him,
and he resented it.
He began to feel a familiar itch.
-Mom, look! -Just a second.
Careful, honey.
Mom!
Pretty, aren't they? They are so beautiful.
Mom, look!
Hey, Dad, look at me!
Mr. Salmon.
Hi.
What is that?
It's just a project I'm working on.
-You're a hunter? -Ducks.
-That's a blind, right? -Yep.
-So those things really work? -Oh, yeah.
It's all about concealment, the art of concealment,
and patience.
It takes a lot of patience. I sit for hours on end in the dark.
I'm an outdoorsman.
Always have been.
Mr. Salmon?
I just...
I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I am about your loss.
Dad.
Here. Let me. Let me help you.
Oh, no. That's all right. Really, I can manage.
No, it's no trouble.
All right.
Appreciate it.
This is for you.
Oh, thank you, Mr. Harvey, you really shouldn't.
-You're welcome. -Oh, that does smell...
It's a beautiful smell, isn't it?
-Hey, look at me! -Careful, honey.
Oh, that really does smell delicious.
-Beautiful, yeah. -Dad!
They are something.
Hey, Dad, look at me!
I think it's time for you to go home now, Mr. Salmon.
Go on home.
I'm sorry.
I can't help you.
What did you do to her? What did you do to my daughter?
Tell me! Where is she?
It's got to stop, Jack!
You came this close to getting arrested tonight!
You're lucky George Harvey declined to press charges.
Lucky?
Your father put a hole in the man's back door.
Yeah, he should have put a hole in his head.
-Lindsey, please. -Did you hear that, Jack?
This is the example you're setting for your kids?
Persecuting the neighbors!
-He's not crazy! -I didn't say that.
-Well, then why won't you listen to him? -Because you need evidence, Lindsey.
You can't go around making accusations against George Harvey
when you have no evidence. You need proof.
You are pathetic.
Why can't you just admit it?
You stopped looking for her a long time ago.
Len's right.
He's right.
It's time to put this behind us.
It's gone on too long.
This has to stop.
Dad...
Things will take their natural course, Lindsey.
Len, I appreciate everything you've done. You've been a great friend to me.
That goes for Abigail, too.
You've been a great friend to both of us.
Murder changes everything.
When I was alive, I never hated anyone.
But now, hate was all that I had.
I want him dead.
I want him cold and dead with no blood in his veins!
Look at me.
Look at what he did to me!
What am I now?
The dead girl? The lost girl? The missing girl?
I'm nothing!
I was stupid.
I was so stupid!
You don't control this, Susie.
He does not own you.
You can be free of him, but not this way.
What do you know? You don't know anything.
That man took my life!
You will see, Susie. In the end, you will understand.
Everybody dies.
-Brian! -Just a little further in. Keep going.
-Keep going. -Okay, okay, I'm coming!
Dad?
Dad!
Dad! Dad!
I realized what I had done. I willed him to stop.
I willed him to turn back.
I know it's you!
Come out!
Come out and face me!
Did you hear me, you son of a bitch?
Get off me!
You sick fuck!
Brian, stop! Please, stop!
Brian, stop! Brian, stop it!
You want to touch my girl?
Dad!
No.
Brian, stop!
Brian, stop! Stop!
Don't you get it? You've killed him!
-He's dead! -Go.
-He's dead! -Go! Go!
I knew then he would never give me up.
He would never count me as one of the dead.
I was his daughter.
And he was my dad.
And he had loved me as much as he could.
I had to let him go.
Sophie Cichetti. Pennsylvania. 1960.
She had been his landlady.
Jackie Meyer. Delaware. 1967.
She had just turned 13.
Her body was found in a drainage ditch, by the side of the road.
Leah Fox. Delaware. 1969.
She was already dead when he dumped her body in the river.
Lana Johnson. 1960. Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
She was lured into a shack he had built out of old doors.
She was the youngest. She was six.
Flora Hernandez. Delaware. 1963.
He'd only wanted to touch her. But she screamed.
Denise Lee Ang. Connecticut. 1971.
Thirteen. She was waiting for her father to close up their shop
when she vanished.
Denise Lee Ang, who sometimes liked to be called
Holly.
Susie Salmon. 14. Norristown, Pennsylvania. 1973.
Murdered in a room he had built under the earth.
Come on, guys, keep up. Move over to the right!
-You okay, Lindsey? -You go on.
-You sure? -I'm fine. Go.
Catch up?
Dad!
Where's Dad?
Mom.
-What are you doing here? -What does it matter? She's home.
Home for good?
Of course she's home for good.
-Where's Buckley? -He's at soccer practice,
and I have to pick him up in an hour.
My girl.
Jack.
Look at you.
What happened?
This is a crime scene. Tape it all off.
No, no, no, no. You're too late.
We're closed.
-You're closed? -Yeah.
That's too bad. I was really hoping I'd get rid of this thing.
Sorry, pal. I'm filling her in.
-You're filling her in? -Yep.
Oh, yeah. Well, I really hate to inconvenience you, but...
-Would you like some help? -Yeah, sure. That'd be great.
I come here almost every day.
I like to listen to the sounds.
Have you seen Holly?
Did she tell you about this place?
Yes.
Then you must be ready.
I'm Flora Hernandez.
The others will be here soon.
Who's that?
I don't know, but he gives me the skeevies.
The skeevies? What are you, 12?
It's beautiful.
Of course it's beautiful.
It's heaven!
All right, come on. Let's go. I got to...
What are you waiting for? You're free!
Almost.
Not quite.
Ray!
Ruth!
What happened?
Hey.
What's wrong?
Ruth?
Susie?
You wrote me a poem once.
You called yourself the Moor.
That's good. I got it. I'll take it from here.
Kiss me.
You are beautiful, Susie Salmon.
These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence.
The connections, sometimes tenuous,
sometimes made at great cost,
but often magnificent
that happened after I was gone.
And I began to see things in a way
that let me hold the world
without me in it.
It's a cold one tonight!
You looking for a ride?
No.
No?
Are you sure? Pretty cold out here.
I'll take you wherever you want to go.
What do you think?
Look, mister, I'm not interested, okay?
I'm not trying to do nothing. Just trying to be polite.
That's all.
-A young lady alone at night, not safe. -Didn't you hear me?
Piss off!
When my mother came to my room,
I realized that all this time I had been waiting for her.
I had been waiting so long.
I was afraid she wouldn't come.
I love you, Susie.
Nobody notices when we leave.
I mean, the moment when we really choose to go.
At best, you might feel a whisper or the wave of a whisper
undulating down.
My name is Salmon, like the fish.
First name, Susie.
I was 14 years old when I was murdered
on December 6, 1973.
I was here for a moment,
and then I was gone.
I wish you all a long and happy life.