Nightshade

Unlock the door.

Come on, baby. Unlock the door.

Let me open the door. Okay?

Daddy's protecting you. Mommy is not a nice person.

Honey, honey, open the door!

Sorry.

No offense, I just,

I didn't love the whole hypnosis thing last time

and I'm not sure I can do this again.

I- I-I know it can be intimidating,

but it's actually the most affective way

to access those issues that are rooted deep

inside the subconscious mind.

You know, why don't we just catch up a little bit.

I mean, it's been a while since our last session.

Maybe we can try that a little later.

How is Lucy?

I think she's doing pretty good.

She does a lot of yoga,

and she spends an absurd amount of time

in the garage painting, but.

Well, the loss of a pregnancy is difficult

for a woman at any point,

but in the second trimester, it's really difficult.

Just remember to keep treating her gently.

I will.

Well, I'm happy to hear that.

So just the work related stress then?

Being a homicide detective must be tough.

Are you still experiencing insomnia?

Well, no, not really.

I mean, I guess I sleep now.

I've been having these intense dreams.

I wake up feeling exhausted,

like I hadn't slept at all.

Well, sometimes the subconscious mind uses dreamscape

as a way to filter out issues,

and that can be exhausting in and of itself,

even though you're technically just laying in your bed.

Right.

I try to separate work from home, you know,

but lately I can't escape it.

I go to bed thinking about all the details

of these murder cases and they follow me to my dreams.

Okay.

Well, we can of course discuss the more disturbing aspects

of your job and that will help,

but I really think we should continue with the hypnotherapy.

Sleep depravation can be very dangerous

for someone in your line of work,

so, really, hypnotherapy is your best bet.

All right.

If it helps me get regular sleep,

then, let's just do it.

Okay.

Lets get some of those disturbing

images out of your head.

Do I have your permission to start?

Yup.

All right.

Focus on my voice and picture the numbers

in your head as I say them.

20, 19, 18,

17, 16, 15.

Ben, what's your favorite color?

Ben, if you could pick a favorite color, what would that be?

Blue.

Blue.

And does the color blue make you feel happy?

Yeah.

Ben, why don't you tell me the details

of the murder you're tracking.

He was shot in the back.

All his fingerprints were torched.

- -

Yoga again?

Weren't you doing that last night too?

You can never have too much yoga. It cleanses the soul.

Come do some yoga with me before you go.

Come on, it'd be fun.

Ugh, I'm starving, I need to eat.

Slept like shit again last night.

More dreams?

Yeah.

Well, how'd your doctor's appointment go yesterday?

Not sure. I don't really remember.

Yup. Send me the address right now.

I'm en route, I'll meet you there.

Is everything alright?

There's been another murder.

Don't forget your tea.

Oh. Thank you.

Bye.

Why can't people ever fucking die in the afternoon?

That way we can discover them in the early evening,

and I can actually have a decent morning with my wife.

Good morning to you too.

You look like a piece of shit.

Drink your coffee

and put a smile on your face for me.

It's tea, asshole.

I told you, I hate coffee.

So what do we got?

Ah, older male, Caucasian,

floating in the pool with multiple gunshot wounds

and a bag around his head.

So why would someone shoot him,

suffocate him, and then drown him?

Sounds redundant.

Right?

Homeowner seemed pretty freaked out too.

Says she's never seen him before.

Of course she's never seen him.

His head's in a bag.

It's the same killer.

His prints are torched off.

Holy shit.

All right. Listen up.

Nobody touch anything.

Let's get the forensics team back here ASAP.

And somebody get me an ETA on the medical examiner.

I don't know.

I feel like I'm losing my mind.

How so?

Well, I woke up standing on my front lawn the other night.

You woke up outside standing?

Yep. I have no idea how I got there.

My sprinklers came on

and I woke up standing there soaking wet.

My neighbor thinks I'm nuts, I'm sure.

So you've progressed into sleepwalking?

Yeah.

I wouldn't call it progress, though,

I'd call it fucking crazy.

Have you ever lost time like that before?

Not that I know of.

And how does your wife handle your sleepwalking?

Lucy sleeps like a rock

so I don't think she's even noticed,

and I haven't told her about it.

Why's that?

I don't know. I don't want to freak her out.

Ben, you guys are a team and she's your partner.

Don't you think that she would want

to know if you're struggling?

Yeah, I guess. It's just that she's still so fragile.

I feel like we're just coming out of

that dark place we were in.

Why would I want to worry or upset her?

Do you love your wife?

What? Of course I love my wife.

Listen, I-I just, besides the sleepwalking,

I don't know, I'm starting to worry

about myself a little bit.

Okay. I want you to try not to worry so much.

If you want to do a little research,

there's a great shop downtown called the Cult Of Gemini.

They have a large selection of books about the mind.

It might help you to maybe learn

about your dreams and see how your mind processes stress.

So should we get started?

Do I have your permission?

Fine.

Okay.

Focus on my voice and picture the numbers as I say them.

20, 19, 18,

17, 16, 15.

Ben.

Don't stay up all night spying on the neighbors.

- Morning. - Morning.

Can I help you find anything?

Uh, I'm not sure.

I've driven by this place for so many years,

I figured I'd just stop by and check it out.

Great. Well, take a look around.

My name is Dawn.

Thanks, Dawn.

That's a good one if you're looking to read palms.

Sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you.

You interested in telling the future?

Aren't we all?

Is there a real reason you came in

to check us out today?