Medium s01e12 Episode Script

A Priest, a Doctor and a Medium Walk into an Execution Chamber

He just left.
Just had his methadone.
Dark hair, five-11, medium build.
Now, how do I get my money? What's he saying? What's he screaming about? What do you think he's saying? He wants to know what we're up to.
You want to know what we're up to? We're gonna help you kick.
Gonna help you clean up.
¿Acabastes? ¿Acabastes? It's Spanish.
It means, "Are you done?" "Are you through?" You don't know what "Acabastes" means? Oh, that's funny, 'cause you've been raving in Spanish for the last ten minutes.
Really? Well, I don't know what to tell you.
I was dreaming, Joe.
Yeah.
But if you don't speak Spanish I mean, what, your dreams are subtitled? Sorry I asked.
And then after school, we can start the model at my house? Tell him you love him.
That's it! As soon as I get off the phone, I'm going to kill you! You look scary.
You look like a killer sister.
Yeah? No, that's just my little sister.
Say, "I love you, Sean.
" I've been talking to my parents about maybe trading her in and getting a dog.
Good morning.
Dad? Are you trading me in for a dog? Hm? Ariel.
I'm on the phone.
I'm asking Mom.
She'll know! It's ten after 7:00.
Who are you calling? Okay, um, I'll see you in class.
Bye.
Who was that? Sean Bertoni.
He's my, uh, partner for the science fair project.
And her boyfriend! He's coming over after school so we can start working together.
Science fair, huh? What kind of project are you guys thinking about doing? Actually, we're thinking of doing something with rockets.
Rockets! I like it.
It was Sean's idea.
Hmm, well, then I think I like Sean Bertoni.
Dad, Mommy's missing! I can't find her anywhere! No, she's fine.
Stop yelling.
You'll wake your sister.
But, Dad I can't find her, and if I can't find her, how are we apposed to get to school? I'm gonna take you to school.
Mom had to go into work early.
Something came up, something very special came up, and Mom had to go into work extra early.
The lucky stiff.
And that one's for Mrs.
Dubois, courtesy of the Mayor's Office.
All we ask is that you avoid any contact with the press.
If you do get buttonholed by someone, just please, steer them over to me.
Have you ever attended one of these before? State execution? No.
It was my idea-- Mrs.
Dubois has been doing a lot of work as a jury consultant for my office in capital punishment cases, and I thought if she was gonna have a hand in ending someone's life, it was important that she see, um The end result? I'll be curious to see what you think.
For me, the event itself is always surprisingly matter-of-fact.
And then the memory of it, it stays with you for the rest of your life.
I have to say, I'm impressed you're going through with this.
You might want to hold that thought till after in case I pass out or throw up or something.
You wouldn't be the first.
Just keep in mind, people like Reynaldo Cerrera are the reason the death penalty exists.
I prosecuted the man myself.
Guilty of four counts of murder, including the shooting death of a seven-year-old girl, who happened to be walking down the street during a drive-by attack by a rival drug gang.
And the four counts are just what I could link to him directly.
God knows how many other murders he ordered.
Or how many people died because of the junk he was peddling.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course, but if you ask me, lethal injection is too gentle, too civilized an ending for an animal like Cerrera.
That's funny.
What's that? Don't you usually call in the coroner when there's a question about the cause of death? Seems today would be a foregone conclusion.
Well, they're not really coroners, they're the drivers.
They're here to transport the remains to the Medical Examiner's Office.
State requires that we do an autopsy before we hand over the body to the family.
We're nothing if not thorough.
He looks so calm.
They're given a sedative.
Reynaldo Cerrera, do you have any final words? No final ones.
No.
So? So that woman from the Mayor's Office was right.
It's odd.
It was weirdly undramatic.
I'm more surprised by what I didn't feel.
He was a very bad man.
It sounds harsh, but I don't think a life of any value was lost here today.
You must be right-- he must have been empty, soulless.
At least I couldn't see it.
What do you mean? I've never been to an execution before, but normally, when I go to a funeral or if someone passes in the hospital, I see their soul, I see their spirit.
But today there was nothing.
He must've had none.
Well, it's time to rejoin the living.
Oh, which reminds me, when we get back to the office, could I look through the current missing- persons reports? Why, you lose somebody? Well, this is gonna shock and amaze you, but last night I had the craziest dream.
You? How is that possible? What the hell? Oh, God, it's 3:00 in the morning.
Hello? Allison, it's Lee Scanlon.
I'm sorry to call so late.
I'm at a murder scene, and, uh I was wondering if I could send a car to bring you downtown? Detective Scanlon, it's the middle of the night.
Yeah, I know.
Normally I wouldn't bother you, but I got a dead woman, and I got a witness, and the witness says he knows who did it.
And I couldn't think of anyone else who might be able to make sense of what he's saying.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
What are you talking about? Well the witness is telling me the killer was a ghost.
Can you state your name, please? Why are we taping this, and who's she? The agreement I made with your attorney was that I would defer making a decision on whether or not to book you until you made an on-the-record statement of your version of what happened.
She's not a shrink, is she? She's with the District Attorney's office.
They have to weigh in whether to charge you, as well.
Well, what difference does it make? - I'm a dead man, right? - Mr.
Ramirez, please.
I'm trying to help you here.
I'm trying to keep you out of jail.
What difference does it make? He'll just kill me in jail.
He'll find me wherever I am, right? Mr.
Ramirez, are you aware that right now you are the primary suspect in the murder of Lorena Vasquez? And until I have your statement to evaluate, you will remain the primary suspect? Let's start with your name, please.
My name is Steven Ramirez.
You want to tell us what you do for a living? I'm a businessman.
An entrepreneur.
Would it be fair to say that you're involved in many of the same businesses as Rey Cerrera? Rey Cerrera was an animal.
Is an animal.
I own a legitimate business.
I'm involved in facilitating imports and exports.
Obviously, we we had a number of enterprises that competed for the same market share.
Now according to this report, police responded to shots being fired at the former home of your business rival, the late Rey Cerrera, and found you attempting to flee the scene.
They also discovered the body of Lorena Vasquez, a woman thought to be Cerrera's girlfriend.
I'm guessing she's another area where you and Rey "competed"? She loved me.
And I loved her.
And I guess I guess he wasn't ready to give her up.
And now he doesn't have to.
All right, let's start from the beginning.
You and Lorena were in the hot tub.
I'm guessing from all the champagne bottles we found that you were celebrating.
Rey was dead.
It was the beginning of a new day for us.
And we were out there, in the hot tub.
It was a beautiful night.
It was perfect.
She was so happy.
She said she wanted some more champagne My God.
She was so beautiful.
And then I heard it.
First the scream And then the crash.
And then I saw someone.
I saw someone inside the house.
And this, this, this didn't make any sense.
And this house, I mean, it it's built like a fort, right? Then I felt his presence.
I looked up, and that's when I saw him, Rey Cerrera.
I started firing, and I just kept on firing.
And he was gone.
He came back from the dead to kill her.
And now that he knows about us, he'll come back again to kill me.
Oh, boy, school! Yay! Oh, my goodness, here comes Sean! Hey, maybe he's going to propose! Bridgette! Shh.
Hi, Sean! Hey, Ariel.
Hey, Bridgette.
I finished the nose cone last night.
Wow.
That looks great.
Sean, this is my mother.
Hi, Sean.
Nice to meet you.
Mommy? Mommy, why? It's nice to meet you, too.
I was just filled with this sense of dread.
It just became so clear to me.
He's gonna do something.
He's gonna hurt her, he just is.
We're talking about a ten-year-old boy here.
I mean, they're working on a science fair project together, not going to Florida for spring break.
How can he possibly hurt her? I don't know.
I'm just telling you what I saw, I'm just I'm telling you what I felt.
Well, I think you've got to be a little suspicious about anything you might be feeling after watching a man being put to death and then staying out half the night.
And what are you doing on the phone? Aren't you supposed to be at home, catching a nap? I tried.
I couldn't sleep.
I just felt I needed to tell you.
Can you hold on a second? I'm getting another call.
Hello? Allison? The District Attorney asked me to call to see if you could meet him at the courthouse in about an hour.
An hour? Yeah, sure.
They got coffee there? Manuel! Thanks for coming here.
I would have happily come to your place, but I'm locked into a trial and You're a busy man, Larry.
We get it.
Now what are we doing here? Well, something's come up with regard to the Ramirez case, the death of that poor Lorena Vasquez that I wanted to share with you, in private, as a professional courtesy.
You are familiar with the case? You mean the one in which your client, a notorious drug lord, was found at the scene of a murder and claimed with an absolute straight face that it was actually committed by a man that both Mrs.
Dubois and I watched being put to death earlier in the day? Vaguely.
Good.
Now, if you read my client's statement, you would have taken note of the fact that he snapped a picture with his phone of the late Ms.
Vasquez's, um behind only a minute or so before Rey Cerrera killed her? Oh, yes.
I was nearly brought to tears as I read about it.
Clearly, your client is quite the romantic.
Now, well, what he failed to mention was that he sent that picture via cell phone to a business associate.
Of course he did.
And I wanted to make you aware of the fact that I'm planning on introducing Mr.
Ramirez's cell phone records to establish the date and time of the photo's creation as well as its transmission.
Are you trying to tell me that a photo your client took of this woman's tush is somehow gonna convince me not to file charges? That's exactly what I'm telling you.
By the way, I'm glad you're involved with this case, Mrs.
Dubois, because I believe that your expertise in this area is going to prove most helpful to the District Attorney.
Go ahead, take a look.
It looks like a photo from Rumpshaker that didn't make the cut.
Look closer.
In the background.
All right, what's that? Don't you mean who's that? I took the liberty of having the photo enhanced.
Blown up.
Cleaned up.
Take a look.
This man is dead.
And I can personally attest to the fact that he had been dead at least 12 hours before this woman was murdered.
Pictures don't lie, Manny.
No, but people do all the time, and they've even been known to use pictures to do it.
This has been doctored.
It's obviously doctored.
It proves nothing.
Why don't you let your techs look at it, see what they have to say? In fact, why don't you send it to the FBI? We will.
Go ahead, tell him it's not a fake.
I don't know that.
Really? Well, then, you disappoint me, Mrs.
Dubois.
By the way, one piece of bad news: Somehow a copy of this photo got leaked to the press.
Those damn vultures.
Manuel, I'm going to let you take some time to mull things over.
Unfortunately, I need these back.
But don't worry, if you want to see them, you can just check 'em out on the front page of the paper.
Little boy, remember I told you I was gonna offer your mother a choice? And that if she made the one choice, it would be good for you, and if she made the other choice it would be bad for you? Well, I'm sorry to say, she made the wrong choice.
So, now, we have to change her thinking.
Now, this nice man is gonna hold you.
Now, don't get upset.
I'm not making this happen.
Your mother is making this happen.
- Come on.
- No! This will only hurt for a little while.
Besides, who needs a pinky anyway? What are they good for? - Let's count to three.
- No! One Two And his mom is so cool.
She camps! He says they've been camping all of their lives, and she said that maybe the next time they go on a camping trip, our families could go, too! Wouldn't that be amazing? What do you mean? Sleep on the ground? On the dirt? Ariel, I think I need to talk to you about something.
Uh, Al, I think I need to talk to you about something first.
Okay.
You had a dream the other night about a guy being kidnapped, right? Joe Ah, you went into work, no one was missing.
Joe Ah.
I'm trying to make a point here.
Any dreams last night? Actually, yes, there was a little boy What, murdered, kidnapped? Kidnapped, I think.
Funny, 'cause I didn't hear a word about a missing kid on TV just now.
Listen, well, maybe Uh, maybe it hasn't happened yet, maybe maybe the kid is just a symbol for something, and maybe just maybe you're wrong.
And maybe just maybe you're wrong about this Sean kid, too.
I saw your face out there.
You're convinced this is going to end badly for Ariel, and you're convinced that you have to do something about it.
So now you're reading my mind? Uh, no, Allison.
Actually, I'm pleading with you.
Just leave it alone.
Well, if I know But you don't know.
You don't know that she isn't going to break his heart.
You don't know that they're not going to win the science fair and have a friendship that lasts the rest of their lives.
You don't know that this boy and whatever joy-- and yes, maybe pain-- he brings, is going to contribute in some really important way to making Ariel who she's supposed to become.
What are you guys doing? We're talking.
Who's on the phone? It's, uh, Sean's mom.
She called for you.
Hello? Nice to meet you, too.
Coffee? After we take the kids to school? Sure.
Sounds great.
Ariel's a terrific kid.
Sean's really taken with her.
I haven't had a chance to spend any real time with him, but my husband wants to adopt him and my daughter wants to marry him, so there you have it.
I'm just happy Sean's made a friend.
We move around a lot.
Mostly because of my job.
And it's not always easy for him.
Well, who knows, maybe this time you'll be able to stick around for a while.
Oh, my God.
What is this? Are you all right? - Yes, Officer? - Good afternoon, ma'am.
May I please see your license and registration? Everything's all right, Officer? I wasn't breaking any laws? Broken tail light.
Be back in a moment.
License and registration, please? Thanks, Melissa.
You two wouldn't happen to have been anywhere near Hollister today, would you? I don't even know where that is.
Had a robbery in a pharmacy over there.
You wouldn't know anything about that now, would you? No, sir.
That your boyfriend there? You want to wake him up? Not sure I can.
Pretty trashed, huh? God, you're good looking.
Stay right there.
I'll be back in a moment.
Wake up! Wake up! Oh, my goodness.
We have a problem, Melissa.
Big problem.
Seems this car comes fairly close to matching the description of the vehicle used in that robbery in Hollister.
Now I explained to them that I had just interviewed you, and I convinced them to give me sole discretion on whether or not to detain you.
But I am going to need you to step out of the car.
Melissa, I'm gonna need you to turn around and put your hands on top of the vehicle.
What are you doing? This is called a pat down.
What's the matter? My hands cold? Do me a favor.
Just bend over a little more.
Can you do that for me, please? Oh, my God, what is that? What do you think it is? Don't pretend that you've never had one of those back there before.
Listen, I'm eight weeks pregnant.
All the more reason for me to conduct this investigation from behind.
Now how about you undo your jeans? My God.
Now give me my keys.
Take it easy.
Let it go, girl! Sarah, you have a spotless record, so I'm gonna let you go with a warning.
But let's get that light fixed pronto, okay? Absolutely.
Thank you.
I need to see him.
Now is not a good time.
Good morning.
Says you.
Did I ask you to come in today? No.
I You happen to see the morning paper? No.
My daughter's friend's mother called and that's what I'm here to talk to you about.
Catchy headline, don't you think? The Mayor's Office and the police department are being flooded with calls.
People are suddenly claiming to have seen the ghost of Reynaldo Cerrera all over town riding in cabs, eating in restaurants, power walking in the mall.
You didn't happen to see him on the way over, did you? Well, let me ask you a crude question.
If all these other people are seeing him, why aren't you? I don't see people just because they're dead.
They have to seek me out.
The only other time it happens is if I'm at a funeral or if I'm at the grave site and the spirit happens to be there.
Would you like me to visit Cerrera's grave? Doesn't exist.
Family cremated him.
Any way I could go back into the prison? On the other side of the glass? Where he was actually executed? Maybe I could get something there.
Let me make a call.
Hey.
That's a cool yo-yo you got there.
So what happened to your finger? Can I help you? I didn't speak to her, Mom.
I didn't speak to the stranger.
I know.
Go inside.
Can I help you? That's okay.
Just trying to find my way out of this maze.
What's he yammering about? Food.
He wants food.
Tell him no.
There's no food.
We can't feed him 'til we know what Cerrera had to eat.
Tell him to show me the tattoo.
It's healing very nice.
You have very good taste.
Buenas noches.
You were doing it again.
The Spanish thing.
I'm sorry.
I was dreaming.
Me, too.
You were Salma Hayek.
Please, Joe, this is serious.
I saw that guy again.
The one that was kidnapped? They were giving him Cerrera's tattoos, making him eat what Cerrera ate.
It was it was as if they were getting him ready to be Cerrera.
You know what you need? You need to talk to Cerrera's ghost.
That'd be nice, but he's not talking.
And what do I do about Ariel's friend? I don't know that there's anything to do.
His mother killed a cop.
A bad cop, but the fact is, she killed him.
No wonder she's such a good camper.
No wonder she's always moving them from town to town.
I hate that I know this.
I hate that I have to do something about this.
Well, as long as we're talking about hates I hate that I have to remind you that you don't know this, you think it.
Until you know it, you don't have to do anything about it.
In fact, you probably shouldn't.
Can I make a suggestion? You talking to me or you talking to Salma? Before you go to the authorities and turn this woman's life upside down, not to mention destroy a friendship that's pretty damn important to your daughter, isn't there some subtle way that you could broach the subject with the woman herself? Just test her reaction before you go running to the D.
A.
I suppose so.
Melissa! Melissa Banks? That's your real name, isn't it? I'm sorry to ambush you like this, but we have a problem.
I know who you really are.
I know what you've done.
And I work for the District Attorney's office.
It might actually be a blessing, you know not having to move around, getting it all out going to trial.
I'm betting that when people hear your side of the story Yeah? Yeah, put her through.
Yes, Allison? I need to discuss something with you.
It's about a crime that happened over a decade ago.
Well, if it held for a decade, it's just going to have to hold a little while longer.
If it's not about the Cerrera case, I don't want to hear it.
I just got the DNA back from the murder scene.
The skin under Lorena Vasquez's nails, the tiny remnants of saliva on her neck, the stray hairs on her body they all belong to the late Reynaldo Cerrera.
Did you ever heard of that? A ghost leaving DNA behind? No, I can't say I have.
I think I'm going to have to withdraw the charges against Ramirez.
The only question is, who do I file them against, a dead man? I'm sorry.
I feel like I've really let you down on this one.
Well, it's not you.
Something crazy happened at that house that night, and maybe we'll never really know what.
Listen, would it be possible for me to go out there? Well it's a crime scene.
I'm sure the police are still there.
Just mention that you're with my office.
Why? What are you thinking? I don't know.
It seems like everyone's running into that ghost but me.
Maybe it's time I made a house call.
You, uh, looking for anything specific? No.
Just helpful to see where it all happened, soak it in.
Excuse me.
Do you mind if I use this phone? You think it's okay to use this phone? Yeah, I think it's all right.
Thanks.
It's a safe room.
A panic room.
See this phone? It connects only to one person.
My brother.
There's enough food and water to live in here for almost two weeks without having to come out.
And if anyone manages to get in the house, you'll see them on one of these TV screens.
See this? Eight inches thick.
No bullet can get through the door or the walls.
Plus, no one-- and I mean no one in the world-- knows about it.
The man who designed it and built it for me, he met with an unfortunate end shortly after finishing it.
But I don't get it, baby.
Why are you showing me this? I got a lot of enemies.
And I'm going to prison for a very long time and maybe never coming back.
I want to know that if someone tries to get to me through you, you've got somewhere safe to be until help is on the way.
Well, actually I did make contact with a ghost.
It just wasn't Cerrera's.
Well, what would you like me to do? Should I send backup? Do you need more cops down there? No, actually, I was hoping to persuade you to do the opposite, maybe get everyone out of here.
Freeze! I know you're a ghost, so this will sound silly, but drop that briefcase and put your hands on your head or these men will gladly kill you a second time.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to counsel.
If you are unable to retain counsel, counsel What is what is Pancuronium and Adenosine? Pancuronium and Adenosine? When injected in the right combination, they would stop both the lungs and the heart, but only for a few seconds at a time.
Of course.
You only need a few seconds to be pronounced dead.
Okay, so the trick would be to find someone you really trust to substitute the drugs and administer them.
And suppose that people in your organization are holding someone's little boy hostage.
Well, then you could trust that they're gonna do what you want.
So that got you out the door.
How did you get to the drivers? Come on.
Tell me.
What do you have to lose at this point? When someone makes $40,000 a year and you offer them a million to give you a shot of adrenaline, you can be reasonably assured you're going to get your shot.
Well, then who did the Medical Examiner examine? Who did the Coroner perform an autopsy on? I don't know.
I couldn't tell you.
It's not like he had a whole lot to say when we met.
His Honor is going to like this headline.
Well, good.
We aim to please.
Terrific.
This is so much better for tourism than a ghost on a killing spree.
I'm sure it is.
So, you want to tell me about it? About what? This crime that happened over a decade ago.
What? Big date? Fifth grade science fair.
You know what? It's held for over a decade.
It'll hold one more night.
Make no mistake, parents-- these are our future Thomas Edisons - these are our future Madame Curies - Ariel? Be still, honey.
What are you looking for? Sean.
I don't see him, and I don't see his mother.
Well, I'm sure they'll be here.
is awarded to Ariel Dubois and Sean Bertoni for their extraordinary rocketry diorama.
Thank you.
And, um thank you from my partner, Sean.
We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed.
Please check the number and dial again.
Did you speak to his mother? Is he okay? Does he know I have his ribbon? Uh, no, I didn't speak to his mother.
I didn't speak to anybody.
Uh, their phone's been disconnected.
What do you mean? Broken? No.
Shut off.
That's what you do when you move.
What do you mean? Sean wouldn't have moved.
He just got here.
Honey, I think maybe he did.
At least maybe his mommy did, and Ariel I think he's gone.
Baby Mommy Mommy, why? Why? Define "irony.
" Oh, you know.
Not steely.
Not brassy.
Just kinda Irony.
Got it.
Why don't you define "irony"? Thinking a little nine-year-old boy is going to break my daughter's heart and then discovering that despite all my special gifts, all my privileged knowledge, I am still not smart enough to see-- not smart enough to know-- that it's actually destined to be me me that's going to break my daughter's heart.
She's so sad, Joe.
She's so upset.
And it's my fault.
Today.
It's your fault it happened today.
But it's not your fault it happened.
You're not that important.
And you know what else? Her heart will heal.
It will.
I don't want this anymore.
I want to give all this special-ness back.
Hmm, doesn't work that way.
It's all part of the Allison package.
And we're all just stuck with it.
Thank God.

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