Dark Places

Mom...

I love you, Libby.

I love you, ladybug.

Don't you ever forget that.

Libby, what you're about to tell us is very, very important.

Did Ben kill your mom and your sisters?

You were in the house when it happened.

So tell us. It was Ben. He killed them, right?

I have a meanness inside me.

Real as an organ.

It's the Day blood.

Something's fuckin' wrong with it.

I was 8 the night they were killed and suddenly I was famous.

The little orphan girl of the Kansas Prairie Massacre.

So, strangers send me money. Just enough for me to do nothing.

Which was exactly what I did.

How much is left?

Do you read the reports I send you?

Sometimes.

Have you at least listened to my messages?

How much?

There is $482 and 12 cents left in your fund.

- Now as I have mentioned before... - Jesus.

...had you been able to replenish it with any kind of regular income,

we'd have been able to keep it afloat.

You're also 2 months behind on your rent.

What about the book? That should have made more money.

- I know. - Any new donations?

13th anniversary is coming up... You know, I could...

People have short attention spans, Libby.

And there's always a new murder, I'm afraid.

They want to help other little girls.

And the truth is, you're not a little girl anymore.

I'm not ready for this.

But in a way,

it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

And lead you into an exciting new phase of your life.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Are you fucking kidding me?

In the past Jim Jeffries used to hand me bulging shoe boxes full of mail.

Most of them letters with checks inside.

In return, donors would receive a form letter in my blocky handwriting that read...

"Thank you for your donation.

"It's people like you who let me look forward to a brighter future.

"Yours truly, Libby Day."

Hello?

- Hello? - Is this Lyle Wirth?

Yeah, who's asking?

It's Libby Day, you wrote me.

Oh, holy cow! Really? Libby Day? Are you in town?

What do you mean, which town?

Well, you're in Kansas City, that's where you live, right?

Hello?

Hello?

Yeah, I live in Kansas City. Listen, your offer, is it serious?

Lyle Wirth looked like a serial killer.

Which probably meant he wasn't one.

Lyle?

Libby?

Yeah, what? You were expecting someone else?

Libby Day.

- I'm so excited to finally meet you... - Okay, just fucking relax.

- There's no reason to be scared. - I'm not scared of you.

I'm just trying to figure out what kind of a person wants to meet in a laundromat

in the middle of the fucking night.

Oh, no, it's not what you think. I own this place.

I own two of them. I'm an entrepreneur.

- Can I offer you something? - Like what?

- Detergent? - I was thinking maybe a coffee...

- Just take a fucking step back, man! - Sorry.

- What is it with you and personal space? - All right.

Tell me about this club.

You know how some guys collect baseball cards?

Or women who read gossip magazines and know everything about some celebrity.

Like their baby's name or the town where they grew up?

You know, this is like that, only it's about murders.

We call it the Kill Club.

- It's not as weird as it sounds. - It sounds pretty fucking weird.

It's like a bunch of people who like true crimes and mysteries.

You know, everyone has a case that they are passionate about.

You and your family are very special. Huge with the club.

I mean, it's a real tragedy what happened.

Your brother in jail, going on 28 years.

Look...

if you and your little club want to convince me that Ben's innocent,

- you're wasting your time. - Just come along, it's like a...

like a convention.

- How much? - 500 dollars.

And there'll be a lot of collectors there, so bring any souvenirs from your childhood

I want a thousand.

I can give you 700. And you let us pick your brain about what happened that day.

Fine.

- Yeah? - Yeah. Deal.

I betcha can't!

Come on, let's go!

Hey! What about breakfast?

It's a little warm out for that hat, don't you think?

Settle down, girls. Settle down.

Hey, Ben.

- Hey, Libby. - I like your salt mountain.

Oh, yeah?

Mom, Ben and Libby are making a mess at the table.

Sweetie, it's fine. Michelle, can you make sure everyone has juice.

Mom! Libby took my pancake off my plate.

Libby, Ben... eggs?

Mom, Ben's wearing a hat inside. It's not even cold. Duh!

Michelle, you're right. Ben, you need to take off your hat.

It's not polite to wear a hat at the table.

Ben.

Mom, Ben looks like some ghoul from one of his metal band posters.

Why?

It's just hair, Mom. Don't freak out.

I'll be back later.

It wasn't the first time I'd been offered money for conferences or meetings.

I'd been offered all sorts of twisted deals over the years.

Want some sweets, little girl?

Libby!

- Welcome to our club. - What?

I said, "Welcome to our club!" You want me to show you around?

I want my money.

Come on. I'll show you upstairs.

The Kill Club, or "KC," as we call it,

is basically for solvers and fans of famous murders.

- Everyone from Fanny Adams to the killer... - Who's Fanny Adams?

She's an 8-year-old who got chopped to bits in England back in 1867.

That guy you passed with the sweets downstairs,

he was playing the role of her murderer, Frederick Baker.

Jesus Christ! You guys need to get a life.

Yeah, we've been trying to push the role players out, but...

too many guys are into that. Plus, it's a good source of income for us.

- Us? - The solvers.

We're a serious-minded organization.

Among our ranks are ex-cops, private and insurance investigators, lawyers.

We solve crimes. It's what we do.

Lyle. Who's your young friend?

Bob Bredella, this is Libby Day.

Whose family was at the Kansas farm house massacre.

If you had a cock you would be in pieces in my garbage right now.

Parts that I didn't use for chili.

Get your fucking hands off me, you freak!

- I'm kidding. I'm sorry. I'm only kidding. - You think that's funny? You fat fuck!

That wouldn't have been the first fight at Kill Club,

but it would've been the weirdest.

- You know what? I'm outta here. - No, no, no. Libby, please.

I don't want to do this anymore.

No, no. I can understand why you wouldn't like it so far.

Okay? But we're not all like that.

Look, just give me a chance. Look at this in here.

A bunch of PI's who think they've identified a serial killer.

They're about to catch some guy who has been crossing states.

You know, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, to help kill people.

- What do you mean help? - They call him the Angel of Debt.

They think he's like a Jack Kevorkian for people with bad credit,

good life insurance and no way out.

You'll like our group. It's serious, no costumes.

Hi, everyone. It's my honor to present our special guest,

and the star of this year's Kill Club.

Libby Day.

Around 2:00 a.m. on October the 13th, 1985,

a person or persons killed 3 members of the Day family

in their farm house in Kinnakee, Kansas.

The youngest child, Libby, escaped the killer

through a window in her mother's room.

The oldest child, Benjamin, never produced an alibi

and was extremely uncooperative with the police.

Libby testified, she saw Ben commit the murders.

Despite Libby's confused testimony,

and young age,

and despite a startling lack of physical evidence,

Ben Day was convicted.

Based largely on rumors that he was involved in Devil worship.

- You done? - I think the general consensus

is that Runner Day, her father, did it.

I mean, he goes to Patty, tries to bully her for money,

as usual gets nothing, and he goes haywire.

- I mean, the guy was crazy, right? - Right. I don't know...

Look, I didn't know him, he left when I was, like, two.

- Where is he now? - I don't know.

There was a blood stain on Michelle's bed sheets.

Different blood type than anyone in the family.

But since the sheets were from Goodwill,

prosecutor says that blood could've come from anywhere.

Yeah, we were poor. A lot of our shit came from Goodwill, okay?

Do you remember anything out of the ordinary

- happening that day? - Like what?

Like, how your mother reacted to the Krissi Cates scandal.

- Who? - Krissi Cates.

I don't know who that is.

- You mentioned her in your book. - I didn't write that book.

- I didn't even read it. - What about Trey Teepano?

What about Ben Day? You want to hear what I have to say about him?

Please, this is the grossest miscarriage of justice ever.

What is this woman's deal?

Magda here is very involved in the effort to free your brother.

He's a wonderful man. He draws, he writes poetry.

You should get to know him, Libby.

You really should. In 3 weeks, that window is going to close.

- What? - In order to solve this crime,

we need to compile new evidence and...

if you were inclined, you could recant your testimony when we file for habeas corpus.