Hi. -The bell's broken.
Come on in.
-Hi, Julia. -Hi.
You're saving our lives. We're late.
We're going to a friend's house for dinner.
They live out at the beach, so we won't be home until 11:30.
-ls that Ok? -Sure.
-Parents picking you up? -My brother.
He'll wait till I call him.
OK. We're late.
The kids are asleep already. Rememberwhere their room is?
I'll find it. How do I look?
You look late. Beautiful, but late.
I left the number on the fridge.
OK. Bye-bye.
Thanks again for coming on such short notice. Bye.
Bye.
Hello?
I think you have the wrong number.
You do have the wrong number.
Yes? Who is it? Hi.
Um, you don't know me. My car's broken down,
and I was wondering if I could come in and use the phone.
Who do you want to call?
The auto club. They'll send someone out to help me.
It'll only take a minute to come in and make one call.
I won't bother you again.
I'll call them for you.
I can do it. I don't want to trouble you.
You can trust me. It's OK.
What do you want me to tell them?
You'll have to write this down.
I'm back. OK.
My name's Stephen Dane. Mm-hmm.
Card number 245381420020.
It expires at the end of August.
OK. Tell them the street name.
I'm a block north of Franklin, and I may need a tow.
The car--it won't start.
Won't they need to know what kind of car it is?
Uh, it's a black Chevy lmpala, 1983.
License number NYZ-662.
Do you know the number of the auto club?
I think it's 555-6800.
I'll be right back.
Hello? Did you call them?
Yes. They said they'd be here in about an hour.
An hour? They always come in 30 minutes. What's going on?
That's what they told me. Maybe it's a busy night, or--
Yeah. Maybe.
OK. Thanks. I appreciate it.
Who is it? They didn't come.
It's me. The auto club hasn't come.
I'm sorry.
Listen, can I just come in and give them a call?
No. I'm sorry. I can't do that.
Would you call them again for me, please?
Sure.
OK. Do you still have all the information I gave you?
Yes. Hold on. I'll go call them again.
Hello, auto club?
Yeah. We called before, about an hour ago, and you never came.
What's the deal?
Well, we've been waiting here. Try and get a move on.
We haven't got all night, you know what I mean?
Yes. The name is blah blah blah.
Black Chevy lmpala, blah blah blah blah.
License plate, blah blah blah, card number, blah blah blah...
blah blah blah blah.
And, um, while you're at it...
Why don't you call my brother and tell him to come over?
I could use the company.
Please?
OK, I called them again.
Are you there?
Hello?
What do you want?
You never called the auto club, did you?
Yes, I did. Of course I did.
I don't believe you.
Why don't you go bother someone else on this block?
I have. Nobody else is home on this street.
Just you.
I can't see your car out the window.
You've been looking out?
Yes. I don't see any car.
It's down the block. Don't you believe me?
Look.
I've done what I could for you.
Why don't you just go away and leave me alone?
I'm sorry. Listen, I'm stuck here.
Could you do me one more favor and call my wife,
tell her what's happened and not to worry?
Would you do that, please?
All right.
Tell herto call the auto club.
Maybe she'll have better luck.
Do you still have the information I gave you?
Yes.
Good.
The number's 555-4370.
Did you call her?
Yes. There was no answer.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Are you Ok?
Yes.
All right.
Well, thanks. You've done what you could.
I'm sorry to bother you.
Go away! Leave me alone! Please!
Listen to me very carefully.
You don't live here, do you? You're just a babysitter.
Have you been upstairs in the last five minutes?
Why?
I don't think you're alone in this house.
Someone's upstairs.
I've seen them moving around through the windows.
You should get out of there...now.
Come out, Julia.
I never told you my name!
Don't stay in there.
I'm warning you. Where--
Where are you? What have you done with them?
I'm hiding...in the bushes.
Why? Why...
He's in there with you. Look into the living room.
Please believe me! I'm telling you the truth!
I've dealt with the police before.
I'm not making this up!
-What's going on? -I don't know.
She keeps talking about...
something that happened five years ago.
Is there a record on it?
Take a few days to get up here if it exists.
Should I put in a request?
No. Call the university.
Tell them we have a hysterical coed on our hands.
Have them send someone from the dean of women's office.
-OK. -Oh...anyone but Johnson.
OTHER Yes.
Hey, Johnson.
Thanks for calling. Didn't take me long, did it?
It's OK. She's calmed down quite a bit.
She was badly traumatized five years ago.
-What are you? Clairvoyant? -I got files. In there?
Julia...I'm Jill.
I'm director of the women's services here on campus.
How are you doing?
-I'm OK. -I was brought in on this late.
I don't know what you've already told these gentlemen.
Could you repeat it for me from the beginning?
How...how far back you want me to go?
Just the recent stuff here at school.
OK.
I came here two years ago...
as a freshman in the liberal arts program.
I stopped going home after the first summer.
I got an apartment off campus,
and I've been there for about a year and a half.
Almost four months ago...
I can give you an exact date.
I noticed that this book of mine, this book of poems--
it wasn't on the shelf where I keep it.
-Where was it? -lt was on the shelf.
It just wasn't in the place where I always keep it.
It had been moved.
Go ahead.
I didn't think much of it at the time.
I mean, I noticed it, I just didn't get...concerned.
Then, about six weeks ago,
I was suddenly awakened at 3:00 in the morning.
My alarm clock was going off.
I didn't set that alarm.
This afternoon, I came home to my apartment,
and I discovered hanging in my closet...
a shirt that doesn't belong to me.
It's a child's shirt.
I came here.
My door is triple-bolted. I live up on the third story.
-ls that all? -Don't you see?
Somebody has gotten in three times in the last four months.
Someone has been in my apartment,
and they have done things-- little things--
to let me know that he's there.
Didn't you say that you keep the door triple-locked...
and your apartment is three stories up?
Yes! Yes.
Yes.
Hell of an effort for someone to move a book.
Julia, would you mind stepping outside for just a minute?
You all heard the same thing I did, so what's to talk about?
Does she have a psychiatric record or something?
-Paranoid delusions? -What happened five years ago?
-Some sort of harassment thing. -Did they catch the guy?
Apparently not... but what do I know?
He's still running around in her mind, that's for sure.
I believe her.
-What? -I believe her.
The incident five years ago was more than harassment.
Two children disappeared,
and they haven't been found yet, dead or alive.
Yes, she does have a psychiatric record,
and a pretty extensive one.
She was responsible for those children,
and she barely escaped with her own life.
I would be willing to bet her apartment is pretty bare--
not cluttered.
You would know if a book had been moved.
You know how many socks you have in a drawer.
How many matches are in the box by the stove.
You don't mistake those things,
and the terrifying thing is, apparently...
He knows you don't.
Julia? Will you come with me?
Nice place. Thank you.
I'm not real comfortable with narrow corridors...
and small spaces, nooks and crannies.
Have a seat. I'll make us some tea.
Oh...want to call your parents and tell them what's happening?
-They're divorced. -I know.
How?
How do you know about me?
I've known about you since the day you set foot on campus.
It's my job.
Julia, when I was a girl,
I went through something very similar to your experience.
I was babysitting in a strange house.
And the children I was responsible for were murdered.
The police caught the man.
It was hard to get over it.
Couldn't be alone.
I don't think the police are going to get involved--
not at this stage.
I would like to call in someone to consult.
An old friend of mine. I haven't seen him in years,
but I think he will come if I ask him.
And in the meantime, I want you to know...
you can stay here with me until you feel...
you're ready to go back to your own apartment.
We'll get you through this.
MAN OVER P.A.: Bus 92 now loading at ramp seven.
It's me! John!
Julia, come here. Julia, come on.
This is John Clifford.
-This is Julia. -How are you?
John. Mmm...
There were two men? Yes. Two.
One of whom she only heard, never saw.
I saw him once through the window...
the first time he came to the door, but it was dark.
Which window? The living room.
The police found a window open only six or eight inches,
and there was never an explanation for it.
Is it possible that the man who was talking outside the door...
came into the living room through that window?
No. No. No, he was right outside the door.
I'd been listening to him there all night.
And when he said to look into the living room, I looked.
I didn't wait. I turned to my side,
and there he was-- the other one.
He was right there.
The police never believed there was a man outside...
because the doctor came home just then.
-Did they have another theory? -No.
I guess I didn't lock it when I left.
I was scared, and I just ran right to the police.
That's OK.
Anything changed?
No.
-Your hanger? -Yeah.
JULlA: Jill, I can stay here now.
You sure?
Yes. I mean, the next time could be tomorrow or next month.
It could be five years from now, couldn't it?
I want a life.
Crisis Center hotline. Wait a minute. Slow down.
Pencil.
Do you need the police?
Crisis Center.
Situations do arise where no one is around to help you,
and you have to defend yourself by whatever means necessary.
You cannot say that you don't believe in violence...
unless you also say you don't believe in living.
They just came up along with these old reports.
It's eerie, isn't it?
Why the five years, do you think, between then and now?
Guy could have been doing time for something else.
Could have gone away, lost track of her, or lost interest.
Could have gone off with these children alive.
Mm-hmm. There can be a thousand reasons with a psychopath.
I'm assuming that one of them had training as a locksmith.
It's possible. It's not hard to open a lock if you know how.
What about the shirt? Nothing yet.
No prints on the hanger, and he didn't leave anything traceable.
-Why do you keep saying "him"? -I doubt there were two men.
-Why not? -It's a feeling.
You know...I kind of wish it is two men this time.
-Twice as easy to find? -Not just that.
If it is only one,
then he's got something going for him we can't even imagine.
Hello?
-Julia, what's the matter? -I saw somebody in the window!
I heard this noise. It woke me up, and I looked--
Where in your apartment are you?
-I'm on the bed. -Are there any lights on?
-Just the lamp beside my bed. -What do you see?
-Nothing. -What do you hear now?
Nothing.
Is yourwindow closed? Yes.
Locked? Yes.
And the door?
I can't tell. It must be.
Julia, listen to me. Don't assume anything.
Put the phone down and secure the apartment.
Look into the kitchen, then the bathroom.
Turn on the light. Look inside. Then the closet.
Then go to the front door and make sure it's locked.
OK.
I want you to talk to me the entire time.
Tell me exactly where you are, what you're doing.
All right? All right.
I'm going into the kitchen now.
There's nothing there.
Now I'm going towards the bathroom.
I'm turning on the light.
Julia?
Julia!
I'm back. Good.
The doorwas locked.
All right. Now I want you to turn off the light.
OK. Look out the window.
I don't see anything. Are you sure?
Yeah. I probably imagined this whole thing.
It's possible, but please do call me...
if you're concerned about anything else, anytime.
OK.
Thank you.
John, it's me. It's Jill. Julia just phoned.
Julia...do you own a gun?
Keep it pointing down.
Every night, I go to bed...
hoping that tomorrow, somehow, things are gonna be different.
That I'm gonna be somebody else.
With a different life.
Somebody with friends.
A person with a future.
Who isn't alone. A person who maybe has someone.
Then I wake up.
Julia, don't let the future close in on you.
Mr. Clifford...
Do you think that I'm doing the right thing?
I mean, I could-- I could run away.
Try and disappear.
Maybe they wouldn't find me.
I can't make that choice for you. I'm sorry.
Crisis Center.
-lsn't she supposed to be here? -Has anyone seen Julia?
Not at her apartment.
Why wouldn't she call? Maybe she's avoiding you.
Jill, are you sure she hasn't...
created something that isn't there?
-What do you mean? -A book? An open window?
Explanations are getting pretty hard to come by.
John, what is happening to Julia is real.
Then it's too much for her. She's coming apart.
I don't think she should confront it this way.
What choice does she have? What choice do any of us have?
Is she back at her apartment...alone?
I made her promise she'd stay at my apartment.
The women at the Center will check on her.
Mr. Clifford? Yes.
Suzie Hart. Jill Johnson.
You must have some pull with the police.
I appreciate your cooperation.
SUZlE: Glad to be of help. Close the doorwhen you're finished.
Thankyou.
This is the window.
It was open six inches.
That made 15 feet.
Fifteen feet. That's an easy distance.
He manipulated his voice so that she believed he was outside.
And he never was, not at the end.
That's why the doctor never saw anyone.
He was inside the house with her.
This is gonna sound crazy, but...
We're looking for a ventriloquist.
Got the kitchen door open.
It's Julia.
She shot herself.
The bullet entered the skull above the right ear,
Ieaving a number of lead fragments.
Extensive powder burns indicate close range.
It exited here.
What was the weapon?
We got the forensic report on the slug.
They dug it out of the ceiling.
It was from a gun registered in her name.
We found it right beside her.
Yeah. It's amazing she's still alive.
Can she talk? - No.
Will she be able to someday?
Do you believe in God?
I've seen lots of these cases.
I used to work in Miami.
Old people checked themselves out all the time.
When did it happen?
About 2:00 in the morning.
I should have been home with her.
Don't you know? She was in her own apartment.
Why? Why would she come back here?
John.
This is dated last night.
"It's dark. I can't see. No phone. Jill, where are you?"
I don't think it proves anything.
What do you think, then?
Instincts will only take you so far.
Then you have to rely on evidence, and there isn't any.
-This is evidence. Read it. -I've read it.
Read it again. "It's dark. No phone."
What do you think that means-- "No phone"?
It was taken out, like five years ago.
-The phone is working. -Today. What about last night?
"It's dark." What do you think that means?
Does it say in there why she went back to her apartment?
Does it?
-Jill... -Mmm...
-She tried to kill herself. -What if you're wrong?
There's nothing more I can do.
And even if I'm wrong, he won't be around anymore.
He is out there somewhere. He will go after someone else.
I'm sorry. I'm going home.
I don't know why he didn't just finish the job and kill her.
Jill. Jill!
Julia?
It's me. It's Jill.
I'm with you.
And you're getting better.
I know it.
Those stupid doctors, they don't believe it, but...
they don't know you like I know you.
Julia...
We'll get him.
Somehow, I promise you...
I will get him.
Hello, Jill.
I said hello, Jill.
Hey, Edgar Bergen is dead.
Charlie McCarthy...nobody wants acts like that anymore.
There must be others. Where would I look?
I don't know. Burlesque theaters, bar mitzvahs...
You could try those places around 159th Street.
Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart.
Wanna go out, honey?
Put your hands together forThe Great Landis.
Can you just hold the spot--don't move it?
How many times have you looked in a mirror...
and asked yourself, "Who am I going to be today?"
What face will I show the world?
It is said that God created man in his own image.
I looked in the mirror this morning.
This is what I saw.
There are other mirrors...
besides the one above your bathroom sink, aren't there?
The woman sitting out there knows the truest one,
the mirror that most reflects the person she wants to be,
despite all the makeup she uses, and hairstyles and clothes...
...is in the eyes of the man who loves her.
And maybe, for the college boys,
the truest mirror is the toilet bowl staring back at them...
the morning after a toga party.
I don't know. We live our lives in a land of mirrors, don't we?
Everyone we meet, everything we see and feel,
from the ceiling above our heads to eyes averted on the street...
to the close, sweaty smell of rooms like this.
-They tell us who we are. -That's enough!
Without them, you become like me.
Cut it! That's it!
I'm not a reflection of anything. I'm not an illusion.
I am the truth.
Tony! I'm invisible.
Unknowable. You people are the real illusionists.
You people are the real illusionists!
Yeah!
What the fuck was that? What? You crazy?
-I'm gonna get you arrested. -Please.
Fuck you.
-Look, I need the money. -You need money?
-You can lick the toilet. -Wait--
There's your plumber!
Jesus! Toilet's over here.
Hasn't worked in three days.
Yeah! Legs like that...yes!
Did you see her? Huh?
Yeah, baby! You can do it! Oh, yeah!
Yee-haw!
I liked it.
I liked your act.
Nothing's an act.
Just get the hell out of here. Come on! Out! Out!
Landis?
They told me about your act.
I missed it.
Where are you going?
I want to talkto you.
I want to hire you.
Wait!
Can you tell me if Mr. Landis lives down there?
William Landis. He's a ventriloquist.
-He's gone. -What do you mean?
-Moved out. -For good? When?
Poor guy. Come out here... children that died.
Wanted to find their mother, tell her about it.
Did he find her?
I think so.
Thanks.
-Jill? -Yeah.
-You all right? -I just need some time to think.
I'm fine. Thank you for asking.
-You sure? -I'm fine.
Operator.
Can you dial a local number for me, please?
-What is the number? -555-2348.
-Let me try it for you. -Thank you.
I'm sorry. There seems to be a problem with that line.
-What sort of problem? -I don't know, sir.
A crossed line or a temporary disconnect. I'll report it.
Jill.
How does it feel?
We're all alone now, Jill.
Help me, Jill.
It's dark.
I can't see.
No phone.
Jill, where are you?
-Jill. -I'm here.
I'm here.
Jill.
Where... where are you?
I'm here, Jill.
Where are you?
It's dark, Jill. I can't see!
Jill!
Aah!
Jill!
Where's the gun?
Thank God.
Jill. Jill.
Jill.
Jill?
Jill.
You're Ok?
Is he dead?
He's dead.
OK.
They were gonna give you a private room.
I figured you'd get better faster...
if you had somebody to talk to.
Hmm?
Julia?