The X-Files

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy,

and Grandma and Grandpa LaPierre,

and Grandma and Grandpa Jackson, and...

OK. OK, Amber Lynn. Bedtime. Come on.

You grab Mike. OK? Hop in.

Let's get you cosy-cosy, toasty-toasty.

Snug as a bug.

- Night-night, Lynnie. - Night, Daddy.

- Night, Mommy. - Night, love.

Bedlights out, Amber Lynn.

Good girl. That's a good girl.

Stop right there!

- Weapon on the floor. - This is great.

Billie?

Oh, sweet angel!

Billie! Amber Lynn!

Amber Lynn LaPierre, that's right.

A federal investigation is underway.

For the kidnapping in Sacramento, California.

- Why are you here? - I want this case.

I'm certain I've got enough competent agents in here.

- I can see that. - This is a kidnapping, Agent Mulder.

A little girl snatched from her bedroom. Basic FBI work. It's not an X-File.

I'm aware of the facts.

We're ruling out possibilities before making any statements.

That's what I'm talking about.

I can't just give you the case. I have to follow protocol.

Behavioural gets first crack, then the people down at NCMEC.

Two, three, fours hours, this case is gonna be a circus.

Every star-struck attorney is gonna wanna represent these people for free.

If somebody doesn't ask the right questions right now, they may never get asked.

You've got till noon.

Mulder...

The agents in my office... they have a pool going.

They think she's dead.

Don't bet on it.

Excuse me. Have they found the girl?

Is she dead?

Sorry, no press allowed inside.

Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI. I'd like to speak to Mr and Mrs LaPierre, if I may.

My clients have nothing to say.

Harry Bring. How can I help you?

Mr Bring, your card says real-estate law and conveyances.

Have you ever handled a murder case?

- This isn't a murder case. - It might as well be,

once the facts about Amber Lynn's disappearance get out.

My clients are not murderers, and I resent any such accusation.

If you really want to help your clients, Mr Bring, get them a real lawyer.

It's OK, Harry.

Billie and I got nothing to hide.

Mr and Mrs LaPierre, my name is Fox Mulder. I'm a special agent with the FBI.

And I have a lot of experience with crimes like the one that took place here.

You've made a statement, but I'd like to ask you about that.

And I'd like you to answer in as much detail

as you and your lawyer are comfortable with.

I want to ask you about the note you found.

Where did you find it?

- In my daughter's bedroom. - When?

When I went to check on her.

- And do you know what time that was? - Nine thirty, I think.

It was right about then.

- I was watchin' TV in here. - What were you watching?

I never heard of it before. It was good.

What about you, Mrs LaPierre?

- I was in bed already. - Were you asleep?

Half.

Is that Amber Lynn's bedroom that I saw down the hallway there?

Yes.

Do you always look your doors at night, even if you're home?

Yes.

You know most of your neighbours, I bet. You're on good terms with them?

Most of them, yes.

Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt Amber Lynn?

- (Billie) No. - (Harry) That's enough questions.

They've been very helpful, but I think you can see

that these folks have nothing to hide.

I want you to understand something,

because this is gonna get very confusing from here on in.

But whatever else the FBI says or does,

they will try their damnedest to find your little girl.

OK.

Thank you.

Agent Mulder, do you think they will?

Find her?

I hope so.

Yeah... I really do.

It's open.

Mulder?

Come on in.

What are you doing?

- Thinking. - About?

Amber Lynn LaPierre.

- Mind if I turn on a light? - Yeah. I do.

Skinner is royally pissed.

At you.

- I'm sure he is. - He expected a report at noon.

He waited. And now he's sent me to find you to get it.

- I don't have a report. - They had to move on the case.

The media got wind of the police findings. They're gonna broadcast them.

- The parents are being held for questioning. - They're not guilty.

The facts would say otherwise.

There's no sign of a break-in. Both parents were at home when the girl disappeared.

They lied about where they found the note.

- Why? - That's what I've been thinking about.

Is it the media, or just our own morbid fascination with the killing of an innocent?

She's not dead, Scully.

- Mulder. - (woman) Fox, it's me.

Mom? Hi.

I'm watching the news. That little girl in California. You're out there, aren't you?

Yes, I am.

- Are you OK, Mom? - When are you coming back here?

Well, I'm not sure, you know? I don't know.

- Call when you get back, Fox. - OK, I will.

You take care, Mom. You hear?

From the note, we have determined several facts.

There is a threat of violence but no demand for money or ransom.

The note is short and written on a torn piece of paper, suggesting haste and no planning.

The paper's a type used by dry-cleaners to protect laundered garments.

The torn piece that the note was found on

matches exactly a piece that was found in the garbage of the LaPierre home.

The ink matches a felt-tip pen that was also found in the garbage.

One set of prints were found on it- Billie LaPierre's.

Is it her handwriting?

That's difficult to prove, due to the pen and the quality of the paper,

which tends to cause bleeding, makes the handwriting indistinct.

It also looks like there's been an attempt to disguise the writing.

In Mrs LaPierre's handwriting, we see dominant letter forms.

The S in "strangle", "stray dog", here in "Santa Claus",

matches up with the S's in...

"Dollars", "Seven" and "cents".

- Enough to make a connection. - But not an indictment.

Do you have information you'd like to share with us, Mulder?

Bud LaPierre says he'd been watching TV

and had gotten up to go to bed when he found Amber Lynn missing.

But, according to the police report, the TV set was still on

when the first officers arrived.

By his own account, both parents put Amber Lynn to bed

and were never more than 20 feet from her room.

The LaPierres know all their neighbours in the street, are on good terms with them.

But no one saw a stranger, on a Friday, at a fairly early hour,

enter into a locked and lighted home and remove this little girl undetected.

- Husband's lying for his wife. - I don't think so.

Why?

Because that doesn't explain what happened to this little girl.

- What are you doing? - I've seen something in that note before.

That's not what I mean.

You're personalising this case. You're identifying with your sister.

My sister was taken by aliens. Did I say anything about aliens, Scully?

There are a lot of good agents who do not have the patience for this.

What did I do? I provided a logical counterpoint.

You told them that they were wrong, Mulder.

And they are.

Pocatello, Idaho. 1987.

Look familiar?

- Kathy Lee, the visitors are here. - Can you let them in, please?

Ms Tencate, my name is Agent Mulder. This is Agent Scully.

Can we have a seat?

It's not the Ritz.

We just have a few questions.

We've reviewed the facts of your case, and they seem to speak for themselves.

Your six-year-old son Dean was taken from his bed while he slept.

A note was found threatening his life, later determined to be written by you.

You pled innocent at trial, but you were convicted and sentenced to 12 years,

even though your son's body was never found.

Yes, that's right.

Your story is that on the night your son disappeared

you had a vision of him dead, but you thought it was your mind playing tricks.

But when you checked on him, he was missing from his bed. Is that accurate?

Yes.

After seven years of incarceration you changed your story

and confessed to the murder of your son in a fit of insanity, a psychotic break.

- Yes, that's right. - Why did you do it?

I don't know. I was full of rage.

I have a copy of the note that you wrote.

Do you mind if I show it to you?

Now, there's a phrase, down here at the bottom.

"No one shoots at Santa Claus."

Can you explain what that means to me?

It means that, when someone promises you something, a gift, like Santa Claus,

that no one would do anything for fear of not getting the gift.

A little girl disappeared from her bed three days ago.

This is the note that was left at that scene.

Can you take a look at that and tell me what it says at the bottom?

The same thing.

Neither note makes a specific demand.

In both cases there is no evidence of foul play or a break-in.

As in your son's case, there's no body to be found.

- I told them where the body was. - Yes, you did. But it wasn't where you said.

- I can't explain it. - You can.

I can't!

You can't explain it because you didn't do anything.

You didn't kill your son and you didn't bury him.

You're not guilty of anything other than a lie. Just like these people.

The only reason you changed your story was to get outta here,

because you knew the parole board might buy the story of a psychotic break,

but they would never let a woman out of jail