CROWD (chanting): Die, Fletcher, die!
WOMAN: Kill him! Kill the trash!
Die, Fletcher, die! Die, Fletcher, die!
Gas him! Gas him! Gas him!
Gas him! Gas him!
Gas him! Gas him! Gas him!
Time's up buddy. Time's up buddy.
Time's up buddy...
It's a carnival atmosphere
as we await the execution of Clint Fletcher.
Clint Fletcher,
better known as The Rocky Mountain Barber,
is credited with the murders of 16 young women.
He confessed to all 16 murders and is quoted as saying,
his only regret... So you think the governor will pardon him?
I mean, there's still time.
Clint Fletcher killed 18 women.
He deserves to die.
No, he only killed 16 women.
Eighteen.
There are still two bodies they haven't found yet.
How do you know that?
He told me.
GUARD: You can see the prisoner now, Mr. Dent.
Alex Dent, the crime biographer?
Well, how did you get an exclusive?
I helped to catch him.
CROWD (chanting): Die, Fletcher, die!
Die, Fletcher, die!
You got two minutes.
Judgment day, Clint.
Any last words for posterity?
(grunts)
No guilt?
No remorse?
(chanting): Die, Fletcher, die!
Die, Fletcher, die! Die!
(grunts)
(sloshing)
Where am I?
State Penitentiary. Death row.
What the hell's going on?
You're about to be executed.
What?!
DENT: Guard.
FLETCHER: No!
There's been a mistake!
What the hell's going on?
Time's up, buddy! Time's up, buddy!
No! Please!
Wait!
Somebody help me!
...all attractive co-eds
Fletcher met at a local campus...
(crowd clamoring)
(chaplain reads indistinctly) No, no!
Where's my wife?!
I want to see me wife.
I didn't do anything.
No!
I'm innocent!
Help me!
(Fletcher sobbing)
His reign of terror in the area
lasted two years.
(sobbing continues)
Stop!
Please!
...captured with the help
of famed crime biographer Alex Dent.
Please!
Please, tell me what I did!
(panting)
(cheering)
CROWD: Gas him! Gas him!
(crying)
Gas him! Gas him!
FLETCHER (crying): No!
(sobbing): Please!
I'm innocent. I...
Gas him! Gas him!
(gasping)
(sighs)
(distant siren wailing)
You okay, Father?
It bothers me to see a life purposely taken.
You don't think he deserved to die?
I suppose a great evil has left the world.
I don't know.
I think the evil merely left Fletcher's head
and moved on to someone else's.
Evil's a disease.
Perhaps you're right.
Good night, Mr. Dent.
Father, you don't think this execution solved anything, do you?
Father, I'd love to discuss this further with you.
All right, I'll give you my card.
(sloshing)
(sighs)
Father?
You all right?
Y-Yes, I-I'm fine, thank you.
Go home and get some sleep.
You'll feel like a new man in the morning.
Yes.
(ignition starting)
He'll be more than a new man.
He'll be a best seller.
(thunder crashing)
(phonograph powers up)
(slow ragtime jazz playing)
(mechanical creaking)
(chimes tinkling)
(thunder crashes)
Jack?
Hey, Johnny.
MICKI: Hi, Johnny. Hi.
Ready to go?
You're in good time.
Be with you in one moment. Okay.
MICKI: Where you guys going?
Alex Dent is giving a lecture at the Boyette Hotel.
You want to go?
I don't know.
Might be interesting, Micki.
He's the best-selling author of that book
on the Rocky Mountain Barber.
Serial killers aren't really my idea of a good read.
Oh no, this guy's amazing.
When he writes he makes you feel
like you're right there when the killing occurs.
Always my favorite thing.
He's influenced my writing for the better.
Hey, I read your last piece. That was pretty good.
Really? Mmm.
Thanks.
It's been a long haul.
Alex Dent makes it look so easy.
Come on, Micki, you'll have a great time.
Yeah, come on.
All right, I'll give it a try.
JOHNNY: You won't regret it.
This guy will turn your head around.
Evil is not a learned behavior.
It's a disease which can strike any one of us at any time.
Take Clint Fletcher, for example--
loving husband, father.
Good, quiet neighbor, the old cliché.
Then something happened.
He became infected.
The virus re-wiring his chromosomes
with the blueprint for evil.
Altering the biochemical processes of his brain,
turning him into a madman.
The disease manifested itself
as he littered the Rocky Mountains with bodies.
They, too, victims of the disease.
The disease is you!
MAN: Hey.
You're the sick one!
You write these books as... as if you enjoy the killing.
Please, I don't...
No, Harold-- Harold, wait.
Let him talk.
The more people they kill, the more books you sell.
You're getting rich off of other people's misery.
I think you've missed my point.
What point?
My brother needed help, you exploited him.
You glorify serial killers.
You encourage people to act out their violent fantasies.
You don't know what you're talking about.
I know what I'm talking about.
I'm Jerry Fletcher.
Clint Fletcher was my brother.
I'm sorry, for both of you.
You never knew my brother!
DENT: I did...
and the voices in his head
that drove him to do what he did.
How could you know what was going on in his head!
Were you there?!
(audience murmuring)
Mr. Fletcher, all you're managing to do here
is convince this audience that insanity
runs in the family. Oh, you bastard!
Get your hands off me!
Harold, please. Leave me alone!
Just... MAN: Hey, get him out of here.
DENT: Ladies and gentlemen, He's the one you want.
I apologize for this disturbance. He's the sick one.
Let me go! But what I have to say next is of the utmost importance.
Although the police have done their best
to give the case a low profile,
there is, at this very moment,
a serial killer loose in this city.
He's struck twice
and he'll strike again, soon.
I'm certain he's a minister, or a priest.
DENT: Driven by some twisted religious concept,
he now hunts those he once sought to help.
By day he maintains the persona of a man of God.
But on some nights,
the evil transforms him
into... an angel of death.
(whispering)
I predict one of those nights
will be tonight.
(murmuring)
Thank you.
That's enough for tonight, Alex.
Just do the publishing, Harold.
Leave the PR to me.
I'd like to thank you, Mr. Dent,
for a very informative evening.
I'm glad you appreciated it.
I'm an aspiring writer myself.
Would you? Sure.
Are you an aspiring writer, too?
Uh, no.
I run an antiques store.
Oh, I love antiques.
People keep pushing me to switch to word processing,
but I stick to traditional pen and paper.
Do you feel it's better to write that way?
For me, it's the only way.
JACK: Well, thank you.
Good night. MICKI AND JACK: Good night.
Dent... I want to talk to you.
Later. Now!
I want to know how you knew all that stuff about Clint.
Research.
Don't give me that.
Maybe my brother killed all those people,
but you were involved somehow.
You're as crazy as he was.
How do you know he confessed to me?
I never told anyone.
He told me. That's a lie.
I knew my brother.
If you knew him so well, why didn't you stop him?
All right, look.
A friend of mine has a place over on Stanley Street.
I'll be there around 11:00.
It's called the Neon Gargoyle.
Why don't you join me there for a drink?
I'll be there.
All right.
I'll see you there, then.
JACK: No matter what you say, Micki,
you have to admit it was an interesting evening.
(Micki stammers)
Jack, do you really think that evil can be a disease?
I suppose.
Alex Dent is certainly dedicated to the possibility.
Well, that's what makes him such a great writer.
I wonder if he's right
about that killer striking again tonight.
Well, there's nothing we can do except wait and see.
If it turns out to be a preacher,
it's gonna make one hell of a book.
Yes. I'm afraid it will.
It was time to kill again.
"The evil coursed through his veins,
"freezing his heart and pounding into his brain.
"It was time to unleash the fury.
"Time to cleanse one more soul of the sins of the world.
(panting)
"He hunted the man named Fletcher.
(pen rapidly scrawling on paper)
"Jerry carried the burden of his brother's guilt
"into the night.
"He was looking for answers, but found redemption.
"Jerry thought he knew as much about these killers
"as a man could.
Still, he strayed into the killing ground."
Get him.
Get him!
(pen rapidly scrawling on paper)
"The angel neared,
"carrying absolution for Fletcher's sin.
"The voice reminded him who he was.
"The truth and the way. The redeemer.
The Lord's executioner."
(gasps)
Ah.
Father, you scared me.
(gun hammer clicks)
(grunts)
I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believeth in me shall never die.
(gunshot)
(pen rapidly scrawling on paper)
(sighs)
(heavy sigh)
"This was the first time a killer contacted me directly."
(coin clinks in slot)
MICKI: Jack? Jack?!
In here, Micki.
Jack, there was another murder last night.
Oh, my God.
Yeah, the police are now admitting they're linked.
Just as Dent predicted.
Are you ready for this?
"Police identified the victim
as 30-year-old Jerry Fletcher of Fort Collins, Colorado."
Jerry Flet... Clint's brother.
Dent is giving a news conference.
Apparently, the killer called him after the murder.
Micki, something's wrong with all this.
You call Johnny and pay Mr. Dent another visit.
And I'll search the manifest for his name.
You think one of our objects is behind this?
Well, something's behind it. This is all too coincidental.
(indistinct conversations)
Uh, may I see your press passes, please?
We're not with the press.
We'd really like to speak with Alex Dent.
Yeah, well, he won't be talking with his fans today.
Oh, we're not fans.
We just want to know where he was last night.
MAN: What?
MICKI: Around the time that Jerry Fletcher was killed.
He was in his room all night... writing.
In fact, I shared a brandy with him
just after the killer phoned.
Satisfied?
They're ready, Mr. Bradley.
Nice guy.
Johnny... come on.
(clears throat)
Ladies and gentlemen,
my name is Detective Adams, Homicide.
First of all, the details
of this case are still a police matter.
I want it understood
that Mr. Dent has offered his service
as a consultant only.
This madman must be stopped.
How we accomplish it is immaterial.
I've dedicated my life to the unraveling
of the serial killer psyche.
I know how they think,
what they think, sometimes before they do.
WOMAN: Will these murders
wind up in your next book?
Oh, that doesn't concern me now.
What does is catching the Angel of Death
before he strikes again.
MAN: What did the killer say to you?
He asked to speak with me tonight... in person.
(whispering)
It's not uncommon for a serial killer to do this.
It means he's trying to stop.
If there is any chance
to stop the killings, I will meet with him.
MAN (on TV): How long will these killings continue?
The people of this community can rest at ease.
In a matter of hours,
the Angel of Death will be behind bars.
WOMAN: Is it true, Lieutenant Adams, that the mayor has requested...
Alex Dent.
So that's what you're calling yourself these days.
Won't you be surprised to see me.
(indistinct conversations)
What the hell was that?! What?
Look, I agreed to let you tell what you knew,
but this is a police investigation,
not some publicity stunt for your next book.
I think you're overreacting, Detective.
We're both after the same thing.
I don't think so.
Look I've been following your work, Dent.
I'm flattered.
Don't be.
I've been a cop for 23 years.
You know more than you're telling.
But I'm calling the shots, Dent.
Don't you forget it!
Alex Dent's published three books on serial killers
in the last five years.
Before that, he didn't exist.
No other books?
No other life.
We couldn't find any biographical material on him
except what's on the back of covers.
You know, in all of his books,
there's one thing that bothers me.
What?
In all of the cases,
the killer has no memory of their crimes.
Which is the complete opposite of any classical serial killer.
I wanted to ask him that
the other night, but I didn't have a chance.
JACK: He's not listed in the manifest.
The only author I can find there is a Billy Frazer.
Lewis sold him a pen, but I can't find him
in any of the writer'' directories I've got.
Do you think it could be the same guy?
Do you mean, he might be using a pseudonym, a pen name?
I could certainly
try and talk to Bradley.
He'd know.
Yes. Yes, do that Micki.
Johnny, how about you and I go down to Eastside,
take a look around?
(whispers): All right.
(over radio): Five Baker Seven, this is Tango Six.
We'll be in position in ten. Over.
MAN: Roger, Tango Six, we copy and will advise.
MAN #2: The wire is good for about half a mile, but the buildings
can break up the transmission, so don't stray too far.
Speak normally, and if you're in trouble,
just say, "This isn't good."
We'll move right in.
(garbled radio transmissions)
No heroics.
You spot him, you yell.
We'll pick up everything on the wire.
Just give me some room, huh?
Look, I want this freak before he kills again. Understand?
Thank you.
Be careful, Alex.
Yeah. Thanks.
Move in.
What, we lose him?
Spread out!
Find him.
DENT: Time to end it, Padre.
One more victim to sweeten the climax.
(pen scrawling on paper)
Wha...?
What are you doing?
Writing a final chapter.
What the hell are you playing at?
(grunts)
(pen scrawling on paper)
CHAPLAIN: "I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believeth in me shall never die."
(gasps)
(grunts)
(sloshing)
(grunts)
Lieutenant!
Police. Freeze!
He came out of nowhere. I tried to stop him.
There was nothing I could do.
What's going on?
Where am I?
Jack? Jack!
Johnny, where have you been?
Look, let's get out of here.
I'll tell you on the way.
Come on.
(clamoring in distance)
The press on this will be fantastic.
Congratulations, Mr. Dent. Thank you.
I'm telling you, Alex, this is hot.
I can all but promise you a million dollar advance.
Sounds great.
Doesn't it, Bill?
Marion?
You remembered my name.
That's so romantic.
Uh, Harold, why don't you go on up?
I'll talk to you in a few minutes.
After I get reacquainted with an old friend.
An old friend?
Is that how you introduce your wife, Billy?
How did you find me?
I turned on my TV and, uh, there you were.
I've missed you.
I'll bet.
It's true. I don't read much.
Knowing you put me off writers.
I've missed your rise to stardom.
What do you want?
I've been thinking we should give it another go.
You must be kidding.
I'm not kidding.
I want some of the money you've made.
Not a chance.
MARION: Why not?
I supported you while you were
writing this trash.
You know how embarrassing it'll be
when your fans find out you're
Billy Frazer, the king of sleaze?
All... all right.
Give me your address. I'll make some arrangements.
435 Bluefield Street.
Billy?
Don't disappoint me.
Marion, I don't want to see you again.
Then make sure I won't come back. Hmm?
Bye.
¶ ¶
(muffled groaning)
(click)
(sloshing)
There's never been a female serial killer...
until now.
JOHNNY: Dent stabbed the chaplain with the pen.
I'm not sure what it did, but all of a sudden
he didn't seem to know where he was.
And you're sure that Dent was there
when the detective was killed?
I saw him.
(sighs)
You know, we assumed that the books were written
after the murders.
But supposing it was the other way around?
He wrote it and then it happened.
Exactly.
See, I'm sure that Dent is somehow controlling
the chaplain through the pen.
Whatever he writes, the man does.
Micki?
Micki, what happened?
Are you okay?
Yeah, yeah.
Uh, I followed Dent to his room
and somebody hit me from behind.
They took my wallet.
Should I call a doctor?
No.
No, I'm fine.
I'm sorry, I just want to go to bed.
JOHNNY: Was it Dent?
I don't know. I didn't see anybody.
What are we going to do about Alex Dent?
Forget about Dent for tonight.
We'll go after him tomorrow.
You'll take me closer to murder than I've ever been.
So...
what'll you be?
Something vicious.
A slasher.
(evil chuckling)
"Evil multiplied quickly in her blood,
"slowly transforming her
into the monster she was to become."
Yes.
(sighs)
¶ ¶
Micki, I thought you'd gone to bed.
I'm feeling a little better, thank you.
Right, I think you should get some sleep.
There's something I forgot to tell you.
A woman called Marion
came to see Dent.
And?
Brought this book.
She said she was his wife.
Blood Madness by Billy Frazer.
They are the same person.
MICKI: They were arguing.
I think she was trying to blackmail him.
I'll certainly look this over carefully.
Can I get you anything?
No, I'm fine.
I guess I should just say good night.
Good night. Sleep well.
JOHNNY: Jack?
Micki?
JACK: Up here, Johnny!
How's Micki doing this morning?
She's not up yet.
I've been reading one of Mr. Frazer's books.
Listen to this.
"The ecstasy as I slashed the life from her...
"the joy as the hot blood poured over my hands
and filled my eager mouth."
(sighing): How could I be so stupid?
What are you talking about?
Of course Alex Dent is-is using the pen to create killers.
When he was writing as Billy Frazer,
he was obsessed with brutality.
And just writing about murder
doesn't have the kick of making people do it for you.
Exactly. I think we have to get Micki and get going.
Micki?
She's not here, Jack.
DENT: "She walked the streets,
"while the evil in her veins grew stronger...
"slowly enveloping her mind.
"The evil picked the time and the place.
"It was beginning to show its power.
"She indulged herself
in the ritualistic foreplay of torture."
MAN: Mm-hmm, no, that's fine.
(pop song plays softly)
Uh, listen, Freddy, you handle it, okay?
I'll catch you later, bye.
I'll have another one.
Hi.
Can I buy you a drink?
Sure.
Same for the lady.
Smoke?
So, uh, what's your name?
"She decided to play with him.
(giggling)
Well, if you see her will you tell her to call us right away?
Thank you.
Jack, nobody has seen her.
I'd better start calling the hospitals.
That bump on the head might be worse than we thought.
We might have more to worry about
than a bump on the head.
Jerry Fletcher and Detective Adams
both were suspicious of Dent.
So, he had the chaplain kill them.
Maybe he knew.
And Micki was suspicious, too.
And she's been acting very strangely
ever since she came back from the hotel last night.
He used it on her.
Just like the chaplain.
He transforms them into killers by using the pen!
Micki's his next book.
Come on!
"He was handsome, arrogant.
But she would change that."
Hey, are you okay?
I haven't got all day.
So, uh, what do you say
we split this place, huh?
You know we're gonna have a good time.
Hmm?
(screams)
She cut me!
You crazy bitch!
Call the cops.
Call the cops!
(man raving indistinctly)
"The torture was part of the excitement.
But he was the lucky one who got away."
That's the last time I come into this place, I tell you that!
"Now she was ready to kill."
You're a witness!
I just bought her a drink,
and the crazy bitch went nuts on me.
Well, he's not here.
He's been gone for hours.
Frankly, I don't know where he is.
I haven't seen him since lunch.
When do you expect him back?
Well, I don't know that, either.
When Alex says he needs some time to write,
I give it to him.
MALE REPORTER: Police are still looking for a female slasher
who attacked a businessman Johnny.
at the club with a straight razor.
She is described as a white female with red hair.
Mid-20s, approximately five-seven.
BRADLEY: Is there something else?
Look, I'll, uh... I can leave a message if you like, but I can't
guarantee you he'll call. Yeah, thank you-- do that.
(chimes tinkling)
Jack?
Johnny?
"She was ready to kill."
(sighs)
Where are you guys?
DENT: "She thrived on the fear she invoked in her victims."
What's happening to me?
DENT: "She stepped into the night, a predator.
The city her prey."
(grunts)
"Her first victim was Marion Frazer."
(chuckling)
Jack, do you really think Micki would kill somebody?
If he wants it, she will.
All he has to do is write it.
Where would she go?
Anywhere Alex wants her to go.
Wait here a minute.
"Her beauty masked the monster that lurked within her soul.
"Marion's killing was the most brutal I have ever seen.
"There would be artistry in the kill,
"a beauty and symmetry that would amaze
"as much as it would appall.
"Her bloodlust was driven by madness.
"She struck out at me by killing Marion.
"The ritual was all, the dread it created.
"The awesome sweetness of the torture.
"Killing was the only way she could display her talents
"and release the pain that screamed through her skull.
The blood would replace it with the joy of satisfaction."
If he thinks he can treat me like dirt,
he's got another think coming.
(phone ringing)
Hmm!
Hello.
Marion... yeah, it's me.
I thought so.
Look, would you shut up
and listen, please, for a change?
I'm sending someone over right now.
You just wait there.
This better be worth waiting for, Billy.
Yeah, I promise.
You'll get everything you deserve.
(sighs)
(knock at door)
May I come in?
Alex send you?
Yes. Come in.
Nothing? No.
No, I'm sorry.
Thank you.
What did you find out? He hasn't called.
He hasn't picked up his messages.
He could be anywhere.
And so could Micki.
Jack, maybe they're in the same place.
Well, you said that Alex Dent
wasn't happy just writing about murders.
He had to see them.
We still don't know who he sent Micki after.
What about somebody else
who was a threat to him?
His wife.
Marion Frazer.
The phones are over there. Come on.
(sighs)
He said you'd have something for me.
I do, I told you.
He asked me to wait.
(chuckles) What for?
He wants to be here.
Don't tell me he's anxious to see my eyes light up.
I don't know.
He just asked me to wait.
Hmm. (phone ringing)
Hello.
Mrs. Frazer?
Yeah, speaking.
My name is Jack Marshak.
(dial tone droning)
What the hell are you doing?
Mrs. Frazer?
What?
Come on, we're going over there.
He wants us not to be disturbed.
No.
Why don't you ask him to save you? (gasps)
(chuckling)
(grunting) (screaming)
(whimpering, screaming)
What's the matter, love? Don't you like what I sent you?
Alex, please!
Come on.
She needs you. No.
DENT: When she's finished
with you, you'll be a work of art. No, no!
(Marion panting)
(screaming)
JACK: 429, 431... 435!
There!
(yelps)
(shrieks)
(shrieks, laughs)
(shrieks, chuckles)
DENT: Stop it!
Get away from me!
(groans)
For God's sake, leave me alone. (laughing maniacally)
Somebody help me!
(Dent wails)
Micki!
(Micki shrieking, Dent groaning)
Micki, stop!
It's me, Johnny.
(shrieking)
Micki!
For God's sake, it's us!
(Micki continues shrieking)
Use the pen!
How?
Pull the evil from her neck.
(sloshing) (Micki groaning)
Get her out of here.
(knock at door)
(door opening)
How are you feeling?
I made you a snack.
I'm not hungry.
Micki, you should have something.
You've had a rough time.
Do you want to talk about it?
What's to talk about?
I killed someone.
(sighs) Micki, what happened...
it wasn't you.
It wasn't your fault.
Jack, I don't remember a thing.
It was the pen.
Its evil is now down there in the vault.
At least you can be happy
it'll never harm anybody again.
It's over, Micki.
Remember that-- it's over.
(chuckling sobs)
(groaning)
(thudding)
(chuckling)
(screaming)
(squishing thud)
(Micki screaming)
Micki? MICKI: Jack!
Micki?
Jack, Jack!
Micki, it's all right. Jack!
It's all right, it's all right.
It's just a dream, Micki.
Look, it's over. It's over.
You're safe.