- PEGGY: Merry Christmas. (SLAP) - We lived every day in fear that this little bomb next to us that we loved so much was gonna go off and destroy everything. - Oh my God. (UPBEAT CHRISTMAS MUSIC) - # We've hung the ornaments with care. # It's Christmas time, my dear. (OMINOUS MUSIC) # The snow has fallin' now. # And it's finally time to tuck in the kids. # It's time to celebrate # All the blessings of this day. # Singing songs and spreading Christmas cheer. # Kissing under mistletoe. - (SHRIEKS) - # At least one thing is clear. # - (SCREAMS) (SCREAM ECHOES) (WHIMPERS) (MUSIC DARKENS) (FRONT DOOR CLOSES) - (BREATHES HEAVILY) W-What are you doing here? - DONOVAN: Caleb? Caleb. Caleb, it's the police. If you're in here, identify yourself. - OFFICER: Caleb! This is the police! Bathroom's clear! (POLICE RADIO CHATTER) (MELANCHOLY MUSIC) - Caleb? This is the police. (WET SLITHERING) (SLITHERING CONTINUES) Sheesh. Captions by Able. Captions were made with support from NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021 (FRONT DOOR CLOSES) - QUIETLY: Oh, God. - I never thought this through. - Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. - You haven't seen me in such a long time. - Yeah, I haven't seen you since Katie died. - I didn't leave because of you. - Well, I killed Katie, and then you left, so yeah, yeah, I think you did. - I never blamed you for Katie's death. - Really? Really? - Ever. - Then, why did you leave? Hm? Why did you leave? - Because I couldn't stay. - Oh you... You couldn't stay. Well, there's that. (SCOFFS) - Jenny. Jenny. Hey. - Don't. (BREATHES SHAKILY) - Do you know that when you were a baby, you had colic. For the first six months of your life, you never slept for more than 45 minutes. I rocked you, and I held you, but the only thing that would ever soothe you was when Gord would take you in the car and drive up and down the highway. He always had this magic with you. He could always make sunshine out of the darkest day. But after Katie died, I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't look after myself, let alone you. I thought that you were better off with your father. Can you forgive me? - It's cold outside. Go in. - (EXHALES SHARPLY) - Please, go in. - Hey! - Hey. - Oh. Gordon didn't tell you I was coming. - No, but, um` - (CHUCKLES) I'm so sorry. I thought you knew it. He invited me for the day. - Yeah, it's fine. Actually I'm, uh... (SNIFFS) I'm kinda glad you're here. It's a bit of gong show right now. Sorry. - Hey, Liam! - Hey! - You made it. That's great. Oh... I gotta introduce you to somebody. I want you to meet Peggy. - Hi. - Jenny's mom. It's a little awkward, OK, I know, but it's fine. We're all here. We're gonna have a fantastic feast. Just wanna know one thing ` do you like gravy? - I love gravy. - OK, plenty of gravy, I guess. (VEHICLE APPROACHES) - Who's that? - It's work, I think. Hey, Clark. What are you doin' here? - Here. Uh, my mama never let me come empty-handed, so... happy holidays. - Sorry` Did my dad invite you? - No, no, no, no. I have some news. - Oh. - Donovan didn't wanna call you, but I thought you'd like to know. Caleb Browning escaped from the hospital. - What? When? - This morning. - Wow. OK. Um... - I just wanted to make sure you're OK, you know, after what happened to you yesterday. - Oh, right. Um... Yeah, no, I'm OK. I'm OK. - I got your voicemail. - Right. Um... Yeah, uh, sorry. I just` - It's OK. It's OK. I'm not asking for anything from you now. OK. If you ever need me, you know where to find me. - Thanks. Thanks. (ENGINE STARTS) (CELL PHONE VIBRATES) Well, this is the longest tapeworm I've ever seen. - DONOVAN: This is the first tapeworm I've ever seen, and it's more than enough for me. - So... Any idea where Caleb is? - No. Still trying to piece together how he got out of the psych ward. Hey, so the tapeworm wriggled out of her wound? - Yeah. Looks like she was stabbed. The wound cut her intestine, which is where tapeworms attach to their host. - Makes sense. The knife drawer was raided, and... - Yeah. - She was here cleaning. - Why did she come back to the house, let alone to... clean it? None of this makes any sense. Yeah, look, um... Caleb escaped from the hospital. - I know. The police called me. Did they find him? - No. Uh, and his surrogate sister was just found dead. - (EXHALES HEAVILY) That's awful. - (SIGHS) I don't think` I don't think that he would... - You're having trouble reconciling your instincts about Caleb. - Yeah. Look, I just... I really believed that he had lost his memory, but if he... killed Flora... - Someone can be both a victim of trauma and an abuser. Maybe we saw one side of him and his family sees the other. - OK, but why cover for him if you're Flora? Why clean up after him if he just killed two people that you love? - Because they love him. They're protecting him. - They were trauma bonded, Donovan. I mean, it's when an abused person forms a strong emotional attachment to their abuser. - Flora and Caleb? - Yeah, think about it. I mean, Flora, had been abused by Caleb for years. She even took the family's hush money. - So she goes to clean up after the murders? - Well, maybe in her mind, she was cleaning up after him, you know, protecting him, like she has all these years. - She might not be the only one. - What? - We can't get hold of Aaron Browning, and the address he gave us is fake. - OK, um, I'll call you if I find anything. (SOFT MUSIC) - RIVER: The tapeworm head is still attached to her intestine. - I'd place her time of death as early this morning. - I just wish we had more to go on. - There's this. (OMINOUS MUSIC) - Flora had liver cancer? - I found the same masses on John Browning's liver. I thought cancer too at first, but... - Then we got the results back from the lab. They're cysts from the tapeworm larvae. - They both had tapeworm? - We'll send these out for biopsy. - Or we could just do this. (SQUELCHING) - Ugh. - OK, yeah, looks like anchovy paste. Oh, it's a classic descriptor for tapeworm cysts. - Even I find that disgusting. - Did she have any cysts in her brain? - No. - Um... Look, you guys go home after this, OK? - We will. Happy holidays, Jenny. - Happy holidays, Jenny. - Happy holidays, guys. - Sorry, what? - John Browning and Flora both have cysts from old tapeworm infections. - And? - What if the whole family had tapeworm at some point? Tapeworm larvae can travel to your organs and your muscles, and they can cause cysts. So I'm thinking that Caleb Browning has tapeworm cysts in his brain. And if it's in his frontal lobe, then that would explain why he can't control his emotions. - All right, then why wouldn't the rest of the family be violent? Why wouldn't Aaron be? - Because it's incredibly rare for the cysts to travel to your brain. - Hold on for a sec, Jenny. - We got a list of properties the Brownings own, places where Caleb could be hiding out. Closest is some land north of Pickering. - All right, thanks, man. Hey, Jenny? I think we might have a lead on where Caleb might be hiding. - OK, I need to come with you. - (SCOFFS) Jenny. - Yeah, Donovan, I know he's dangerous, but he's also sick, and if I can explain that to him, I think he will accept help. - All right, fine. I'll text you the address. - OK, thank you. I'll meet you there. - OK, thank you. I'll meet you there. - What if I never left? - Hm? - What if I had been there for Jenny when she got her period, she went on her first date, when she got married. All those things, all those milestones that I missed. And she doesn't want me here. - What? You can't give up. I mean, you've gotta just, you know, keep on trying with her, keep on knocking on that door. She's tough because she's fragile. - (CHUCKLES) Well, that daughter of yours never got that right hook from me. She has your temper. - Oh, no. Not mine. - Oh, definitely. Runs in your side of the family. You did a good job, Gord. - I really tried, but I felt like I didn't know what I was doing half the time. - This isn't what I pictured, you know. When we used to lie out on your old Ford Mustang, imagining what our life was gonna look like. We were so young. - Oh, sweetheart. - (SOBS QUIETLY) - There's absolutely never been anyone for me but you. Not anywhere. - (SNIFFLES) - Just... It's just always been you. You know, I've imagined you every single day. - Oh well. - You look so good. - I'm here. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) - Do you wanna go upstairs? - (CHUCKLES) Gord. - You can say no if you want to. Come on. Gimme your hand. OK. - (CHUCKLES) - MALIK: The Brownings own 100 acres up here. Doesn't look inhabited at all. - DONOVAN: Yeah, no sign of camping or squatting. - What would you even do up here? - Swim? - Ha! You see a lake? - (LAUGHS) Smell that? - Oh, man, that is the smell of death. (OMINOUS MUSIC) Ugh. - It's a feral hog, judging by the tusks. It was snared. Aaron said that their dad took Caleb hunting. - Well, that's what you do up here. You kill things. - Hey, Jenny. There's no sign of Caleb. We found the carcass of an old pig. Nah, there's no point. Might as well turn around and head back home. Go be with your family, all right? (TYRE POPS, AIR HISSES) - (GROANS) Damn it! (SIGHS) - # Oh, Christmas tree. # Oh, Christmas tree... # - So, um... Hey, massage is cool, huh? - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, I don't know. It just, um... It really appealed to me. - Mm-hm. - Um, this is kind of... meh. Do you wanna get some rum? - Oh, no. No, no, no, don't. Please. I don't drink anymore, so. - Oh. - Yeah. - OK. Well that's good. Right? - Yeah. (CELL PHONE RINGS) - Oh, wait. Hey. - Hey. I am, uh... I'm kind of in the middle of nowhere, and I just got a flat tyre. - (LAUGHS) OK, I'll come get you. Just, um... Just send me a pin of where you are, all right? - I'll send you one right now, OK? I'll, uh... I'll see you soon. Thanks. - It's your mom. She has a flat tyre. - Oh. I guess that's good news that she called you. Romantically speaking. - (CHUCKLES) Yeah. Hey, it was good talking to you. - Yeah, you too. - See you soon. (WIND HOWLS) - Oh, hey, Donovan? I was heading home, and I got a flat tyre, but I'm standing in front of the strangest thing. - DONOVAN: What is it? - I'm looking at a sign that says 'Holiday Cheer Factory', and on it is a picture of the angel that we pulled out of Mr Browning's ear. - Are you sure it's the same one? - Yeah, 100%. Hey, still nothing on Caleb? - Provincial Police did a flyover with infrared. They didn't find any sign of life either. Hey, are you gonna go check it out? - I mean the Browning's did have a lot of ornaments; maybe had something to do with the factory. I'll meet you up there. I'm going up Concession Road 7. (QUIRKY MUSIC) (CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS) (MUSIC CONTINUES) (DISTANT CRASH, CROWS CAW) - Jenny? (EERIE MUSIC) (OBJECT CLATTERS) - Hey, Donovan, uh... I am inside. I'm by what looks like, um... like a bunch of offices. Just meet me in here? (DOOR SLAMS IN DISTANCE) Hello? (RUSTLING) - (GRUNTS) - Caleb. JENNY: Caleb, I think I can help you. I think you have a condition. - Yeah, I'm a murderer. That's my condition. - I think you have a tapeworm that may have caused cysts in your brain. - What? - It would make sense on why you're violent. We found cysts in your father's body, in Flora's. I mean, this runs in your family. - No, that doesn't make sense. You're not making sense. - Yes, it could because it could be from the wild pigs that you ate, or it could be in the sausage. - I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat sausage. I don't eat meat at all. - But you hunt. - I don't hunt! Aaron hunts! My dad hunts! My dad started taking Aaron when he was 13 years old! Started shooting pigs! - He took Aaron here. - Please just go. Go. Please. Please. - OK. - Flora's gonna come now, and she's gonna get us, just like she's always done, ever since we were little kids. We were like the Lost Boys, and she was like Wendy, so it's all fine now, so just please go. - Caleb, Flora's dead. (SOFT, SOLEMN MUSIC) - No, she's not dead. - She's dead. Do you not...? It's Aar` It's Aaron that had the fits. It's him. He` He did this, and he let you believe that it was you. - That doesn't make sense at all! You're not making sense because I'm his brother. He wouldn't hurt me. - He was the one who took advantage of you, OK? What you're going through, Caleb, this amnesia, this is a real thing. OK, what you witnessed? I mean, your brain, it just couldn't compute it, so it made you forget, but it did that because of what you saw, Caleb, not because of what you did. He did this. - Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up, OK?! OK?! Help me remember. You know... You know... memory stuff. Right? Just help me remember, please! - OK. It's OK. - Please help me. - Yeah. (CROW CAWS) (OMINOUS MUSIC) (BRANCH SNAPS, WINGS FLUTTER) - DONOVAN: Police. Identify yourself. (WHOOSH) (WHOOSH, BRANCH SNAPS) (MUSIC FADES) (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) (SHOUTS IN PAIN) - READS: Checking out the Christmas factory. Be back soon. (OMINOUS MUSIC) - (GRUNTS) (SHOUTS IN PAIN, GROANS) (BREATHES HEAVILY) (GRUNTS) (GASPS) I have a hole in my spine? Oh! (SHOUTS IN PAIN) I don't understand. I thought the radiation was supposed to help. (GROANS) - Dr CHENG: There's a small chance, however, if we operate, that it could affect your ability to walk. - (GRUNTS) - (BREATHES SLOWLY) - How'd you get your memory back? - Someone tried to kill me. And it, uh... it triggered my memory. - Of what? - I accidentally killed my sister. I pushed her down the stairs when I was little. And that's what my brain was hiding from me. Look, I feel like if you, um... If you can use this panic, you know, if you can... if you can take the panic that you felt on that day when you saw what you saw. Right? And don't run from it. I mean, that's... Cos that's what I did. Um... But if you can sit in it right now, if you can sit in that panic and you can use it, maybe it will... help you remember what actually happened. (SOFT, TENSE MUSIC) If you just like... I'm right here. - Yeah. OK. (BREATHES DEEPLY) (DISTORTED SHOUTING) (SNIFFLES, GRUNTS) (EXHALES HEAVILY) (TOY WHIRRS) (SOBS) - # We've hung the ornaments with care. # (DRAMATIC MUSIC) - (SOBS) (SCREAMS) I can't do it! (EXHALES HEAVILY) I didn't do it. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. God. (SNIFFLES) Oh God. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. Oh my God. (SOBS) (AARON SCREAMS) (AARON SCREAMS) (DARK MUSIC) I don't` I can't` I don't` (SOBS) - It's OK, Caleb. It's OK. - (CONTINUES SOBBING) - LIAM: Jenny? - Whoa, hey, hey. Liam! Liam. Hey. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. - It's OK. It's OK. - Who's this? - This is Caleb, OK? Caleb is a` is a friend. - Where's Aaron? I wanna talk to Aaron right now. - Liam doesn't know your brother. - Just drop the knife, and we'll sort it out. - Look, I don't wanna hurt you, man. I don't wanna hurt you. Come on, just stop. - No, hey! No! - (GRUNTS) - Oh! Stop. Liam, hey! OK, it's OK. It's OK. It's OK. - You all right? - Yeah, I'm OK. Whoa, hey, hey! Hey! No! No! Stop! Stop it! Stop! - Back up! Back up! Get in there! - Calm down. Calm down. - Put your phones on the ground right now! Right now! - Caleb? OK. - OK, back up! Back up! - OK. - OK. - Back up! (LOCK CLICKS) - Are you OK? - Uh... - You OK? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah? - (GRUNTS) Yeah, I'm OK. Hey, Jenny... - Yeah? - Come here. - Hey. Hey. - (GRUNTS) - Caleb! Caleb! - You keep trying the door, like it's gonna change. - Yeah, I know. Are you hurt? - No, no, I'm OK. - No. He really hurt you. Let me take a look. - No, no, no, no, no. That's nothing. - I'm just gonna look, OK. - (SIGHS) OK, Doctor. - Your skin's weak where the stitches were. It's weeping a little. - Maybe it's sad. That's a joke. - Yeah, I don't love the way it looks. Can you just keep pressure on it? - Yup. (SOFT MUSIC) - I mean, I'm bad for you. - I'm bad for myself. I mean... I was out of that rehab for an hour when I... took a drink, crashed my truck, and lost a horse. I got it all back, but, uh... Then... I came straight to you. - (SIGHS) I mean, I... I always thought that, you know, we needed to... heal and then we could be together, but maybe it's just... Maybe we be together and then... And then we can heal. - I'd like that. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) (WINCES) Sorry. - You OK? - I am. - OK. Donovan should've been here by now. Hey, Caleb? (POUNDS ON DOOR) (LOUD ELECTRONIC MUSIC) - AARON: Hey, come on. Let's go. Huh? - (SNIFFLES) - What's wrong? What is it? - The coroner said that you were the one who hurt Mom and Dad. Aaron, she said it was you. - Whoa, whoa, whoa. Come here. Come here. Come here. Hey. Come on. - (SOBS) - It's OK. Hey, it's you and me. Forever. Just like always. - OK. And Flora, right? - She said she didn't wanna come. Guess she doesn't love us anymore. - (SNIFFLES) You killed her, right? Aaron, you killed Flora? - It's just you and me now. Lost Boys for life. - I remember, Aaron! I remember! I saw it! I saw you hurt Mom and Dad! I know! - Do you know what he did to me when we were hunting? He'd hunt me. Send bullets whizzing by my ears to toughen me up. Mom knew. We're better off now. We're free. - (POUNDS ON DOOR) Caleb, let me out! - What, she's in there? (TENSE MUSIC) - (GROANS, WHIMPERS) (GRUNTS) - Come on. (CELL PHONE VIBRATES) - Mm. Mac! Mac, you read my lonely mind. - Malik! - Mac, you OK? - (CHUCKLES) Trace my phone. Trace my phone. I can't move. - Mac? - I'm not far. - Mac, are you there? - It was me. I wrote it. 'Justice... 'for Dean Breyer.' My first week on the job, Dean wouldn't shut up. They took him in the back. - Mac, stay with me. - (GROANS) I had a bad feeling. - Come on. - He died in his cell. W-What if I haven't lived right? What if I... stepped off the path? - Hey. Hey, Mac. Mac, you're cutting out. Mac. You're cutting out. You` - (GRUNTS) (GROANS IN PAIN) (GRUNTS) (SHOUTS IN PAIN) (GROANS) (SOFT MUSIC) (CELL PHONE RINGS) - OK. (GROANS) (EXHALES SHARPLY) OK. (BREATHES HEAVILY) Hang on. I'm coming. (GRUNTS) (GROANS IN PAIN) (GRUNTS) - (GRUNTS REPEATEDLY) (GROANS) - Hey, hey, hey, hey. - (GRUNTS) - You OK? - Yeah. Those bars, they're pretty rusty. I think we can pull a few off. - Liam, you're burning up. - No, no. - You're burning up. Oh God. I think your rib pierced your intercostal vein. - Don't worry about me. - No, no, you're in shock. Here. It's not clean, and it won't last long, but I need you to apply pressure, OK? I need you to hold this right here. - Yeah. - OK. - Yeah. Hey, Jenny. - Yeah? - I love you. - (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) I love you too. - Mm-hm. - K? - Mm-hm. - Hey, Liam? Liam. - Hey. - Hi. - I'm not going anywhere. - Keep the pressure on, OK? (GRUNTS) - Hey, Caleb! (POUNDS ON DOOR) Caleb, let me out! Hey, Caleb! Caleb, let us out! (CONTINUES POUNDING) Caleb! - AARON: You want out, Dr Cooper?! - CALEB: There's someone else in there, you know. There's a guy in there too. - Does he have a gun? - No. - I'm not afraid of you, huh? I'm not afraid of you. Come on out. Open the door. - Caleb, open the door! - Open the door, huh? - I need you to open this door! Caleb, open the door! (LOCK CLICKS) Call an ambulance. Call an ambulance! - No, we're not calling an ambulance. - Seriously, call an ambulance. - Nobody's going anywhere. We're not calling anyone. - Come on, just call an ambulance for her. Seriously, man. - What a trio we are, huh? I won't hurt you, you won't hurt me, you won't hurt her. - Call her an ambulance, you psycho! (SCREAMS) - (GRUNTS) (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (GRUNTS) Come here. Call 911. - What's happening to him? - He's having a seizure. Donovan, it's him! It's Aaron! - Aaron, what are you doing?! - All right, back it up. Back up! Call the ambulance! Now! (OMINOUS MUSIC) (SIREN WAILS DISTANTLY) (SOFT MUSIC) (MUSIC CONTINUES) - I'll see you soon. - Definitely. All right. - Take care of my boy. - (CHUCKLES) Thanks. (BREATHES CALMLY) (MUSIC CONTINUES) (DOOR OPENS) - (INHALES SHAKILY) Captions by Able. Captions were made with support from NZ On Air.