Medium

"But deliver us from evil.

"For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory

forever and ever." Amen.

You done?

What was that? I think it was Marie.

What is it, sweetie? What's wrong?

Daddy, Daddy, there was a man out there.

What? What?

It's okay.

The guy's name is Matt Mulhearn.

Did you know him?

Not really.

I'd see him around from time to time.

I'd wave at him or his wife.

Oh, my God, his wife, his kids.

They're fine.

Everyone except Mr. Mulhearn here

was in Chandler with one of the grandparents.

Wife's on her way back now.

This is the third

home invasion murder in the past month.

The first two happened in the Western Precinct so, uh,

their homicide squad's handling the investigation,

but this matches the M.O. Exactly.

Someone pried open the back door,

forced your neighbor here to open the family safe,

and then put a bullet in the back of his head.

I know. I dreamt it last night.

Th-The last part of it anyway.

But you mean you didn't come all the way out here to say hi?

So, uh... give me a description of the shooter.

I can do one better than that.

I can give you an eyewitness.

Hey, Mommy, what happened?

What's with all the cop cars outside

in the middle of the night?

Our neighbors, the Mulhearns--

somebody broke into their house.

Are they okay?

Well, it could have been worse.

Only Mr. Mulhearn was home.

Sweetie--

honey, the police are going to want to talk to you tomorrow

about that man that you saw.

Is he going to come back?

No, honey.

The people that I work with, they're going to catch him.

They're going to put him in jail.

Okay, but can I please sleep with you guys tonight?

Of course you can.

Wait a second. Well, then who's going to sleep with me?

Remember how when we first moved in here,

I'll call tomorrow.

I'm interested in Southfork

because it combines the advantages of a small school

with the benefits of a large public university.

The ratio of teachers to students is low,

which is something I'm definitely looking for.

Okay.

What do you think?

Does it sound weird talking about ratios?

Maybe I should just say, like, "Class sizes" Or something.

I don't think it matters.

I mean, you already rocked your SATs.

You really think this interview is that important?

It's for Southfork.

I mean, they're sending someone all the way down here to do it.

World themes is calling.

You ever read Beowulf? Uh-uh.

Yeah, me either, and I'm about to have a test on it.

Later.

Good luck.

Southfork, huh?

That's a good school.

Tough to get into, though.

That's what I hear.

Did you know that less than ten percent of the people

who applied there last year got in?

Those are brutal odds.

Excuse me, do you work here?

Are you a-a teacher or something?

No.

Okay, so then what are you doing here?

Why are you hanging around a high school library?

People are trying to study.

Oh, don't worry, nobody can hear us. Honest.

Honest!

You're...

Yeah, as a doornail.

Almost three months now.

Heart attack.

Tenth mile of a training run.

My name is Alan Hahn, Dr. Alan Hahn.

I was a... A professor of romantic literature at Southfork.

Tenured professor.

Head of the department actually.

Okay.

Well, then it's, um, it's really nice to meet you, I guess.

Well, it's nice to meet you, too.

Rhonda, Rhonda... RHONDA: I'm sorry.

Ariel...

I think I can help you get into Southfork.

In fact, I can pretty much guarantee

that you'll get into Southfork.

Really?

Mm-hmm.

How can you be so sure?

Well, when I was alive, I was married to a woman

named Sondra Hahn-Barker.

Sound familiar?

She's interviewing me tomorrow.

Mm-hmm.

Yes, Sondra is a very successful attorney.

She's one of Southfork's must active alumni.

She's on the board of directors.

She's raised god knows how much money for that place

If you get her stamp of approval,

you are in- it's as simple as that.

And I can tell you exactly how to do it.

If you listen to me,

you will give the interview of Sondra's life,

'cause I know just what she wants to hear.

Okay, but...

Why would you do that for me?

A very good and canny question.

It is, after all, a rather large favor.

In return for which, I'm asking only a small one.

At the interview, Sondra will have a laptop.

It was mine.

There's a file on there I'd rather she not see.

When an opportunity presents itself--

and I know that one will--

all you have to do is just delete the file.

How do you know

that she'll leave me alone with that computer?

Oh, the same way I know

that you're going to pass this interview with flying colors.

Yes, it's one of the few perks of my current condition.

What else do you need to know?

What's on this file that you want me to delete?

Uh, it's personal.

It's, uh, no big deal.

It's just-- it's embarrassing.

Honestly, there's just some, uh,

material I'd rather, you know, my wife not know about.

Some Web sites I was visiting, you know.

I think you-you understand what I'm talking about.

Yeah, I got the idea.

Hello.

Your security system is ready for activation.

Cool. It talks.

Sure does. The 2100 will even react

to the sound of your voice,

if your hands are full and you can't punch in your code.

Okay, um...

Your security system is armed.

Once it's armed, and the sensor's been tripped,

you have 20 seconds to turn it off

before the alarm goes off.

Your security system is disarmed.

What else does it say?

Excuse me?

The alarm.

What else does it say?

Uh, pretty much just " Armed" And "Disarmed."

I can set it up to tell you

which alarm sensor's been tripped if you want.

Can it say our name?

Not quite there yet.

Maybe next year's model.

All right, well, the alarm is set.

Don't open a window unless you want the police here.

Good to know.

You've been, uh, in there for 45 minutes.

What have you been doing?

I was making the Mulhearns lasagna.

I'm going to drop it off in the morning.

Oh, that poor woman.

I think her name is Amy.

I can't even imagine what she's dealing with right now.

Losing her husband suddenly like that?

Mommy?

I can't get tired.

I'm still too scared.

You know we've got an alarm now, sweetie, right?

It's on and everything.

I know.

You want to sleep with us again tonight?

Hmm? All right.

Come on, you little one.

Your security system is armed.

Your security system is disarmed.

Your security system is armed.

It's all right, Marie.

The house is safe.

You heard me. I said you're safe.

You could talk?

I sure can, Marie.

My name's Sal, and I'm here to protect you.

And I hope that you and I are going to be very good friends.