The Poison Rose

My name is Carson Phillips.

I'm a P.I.

I like to drink.

I like to smoke.

I like to gamble.

Sometimes a little too much.

But you know what they say, everything in moderation.

Including moderation.

I figured I could'a taken these guys,

but last time I had uninvited guests, they trashed my place

and frankly Raymond, my cat, still hasn't gotten over it.

Nuh-uh!

I'm holding a cat.

- What? - You hold it.

Agh! Damn it!

I've been working in L.A. for over 20 years.

Whoever named this place the City of Angels certainly had a

terrific sense of humor.

Behind all the Hollywood glitz and glam, it's just like any

other city, except when the Santa Ana wind blow hot off

the desert, the unimaginable suddenly turns real.

People get a little more jumpy.

Their skin starts to crawl.

And parties end with dead bodies.

But I guess that's entertainment.

Most of my jobs are pretty routine.

Cheating spouses, deadbeat dads, missing persons.

But every once in a while, a case becomes something

I never saw coming.

You brought Raymond to work. Who's after you this time?

Well, you only bring Raymond in when someone's after you

and you gotta hide out.

Aren't you cute when you're not minding your own business.

Take him for a few days.

Sure thing, Carson.

By the way, someone's in your office.

I can see that.

Mr. Phillips?

You seem surprised.

I was just expecting you'd look much older.

You almost look like you could suit up right now.

You must know a little bit about my past. Have a seat.

I grew up in Galveston.

Oh, well.

I thought I caught a little bit of East Texas in there.

You were something to watch.

Flattery...

it'll get you everywhere.

I'm yours. How can I help you?

Well, Mr. Phillips, my aunt, Barbara Van Poole

is in a sanitarium just outside of Galveston.

Pleasant Meadows?

Mmhmm, I remember Pleasant Meadows.

A few years back, she had a complete nervous breakdown

and she just hasn't been well ever since.

I used to call and speak with her regularly, but now when I

phone, I just get the runaround.

All I get are some letters in the mail.

Well, you see, I don't typically do out-of-town jobs, so...

Well, it's just that I don't wanna hire anyone from there

'cause I don't know if I can trust them.

How do you know you can trust me?

Hey, Carson.

I think it might be a good idea for you to get

out of town for a few weeks.

We're talking about Galveston here.

What's wrong with Galveston?

Not a thing. Just not for me.

Name your price, Carson.

A beautiful woman with a sob story has always been one of

my weaknesses.

Along with her having an open checkbook,

she became irresistible.

The road has always been a fascinating place for me.

The drone of the tires against the asphalt becomes this

hypnotic chorus taking me back to places I rarely go.

There I was back in Texas,

the land of cowboys, beautiful women,

72 ounce steaks-

You won't be disappointed in these steaks.

And the holiest of holy.

A lot has happened since I left Texas.

The Beatles and Vietnam had come and gone.

Armstrong walked on the moon

and I drank enough bourbon to fill the Cotton Bowl.

Maybe I drank enough to finally face the shame of my past.

I ran out on Jayne, the only woman I've ever loved,

faster than I ever ran on the field

after I disgraced myself in that fateful final game.

Hello.

We've been expecting you.

You have?

You're here as an observer from the Institute, aren't you?

Nope. I'm just here to visit a patient.

A friend?

What's your position? Are you a doctor or something?

No. Paranoid schizophrenic.

There she is.

I have a cat that's paranoid.

- It's time for session. - Sorry, sir.

It's fine, it's fine.

Bingo at 3:30 in the sun room.

Now, don't forget everyone.

Howdy.

Howdy. Can I help you?

Yeah. Well, I'm here to see a patient of yours

by the name of Barbara Van Poole.

Don't forget, bingo at 3:30 in the sun room.

Something wrong?

No.

The name don't sound familiar. Can you describe her?

Well, she lives here.

I think you'd do a better job than I can.

She's probably in your files there. Just check them.

I'll get Dr. Mitchell.

All right.

He's really busy right now.

If you don't mind having a seat.

All right.

Y'all do electric shock treatment here?

Not to visitors.

Well, that's good news.

He's here to see Barbara Van Poole.

Group meditation on the main lawn in 15 minutes.

Group meditation on the main lawn in 15 minutes.

It's nice to see you again, Mr. Carson Phillips.

Excuse me?

Oh, you don't remember me.

Long time ago.

I was a freshman warming the bench.

Still got splinters in my backside from that.

Playing football. You were out on the field.

You were a senior. You...

Scoring. Setting records.

We went to a couple of classes together.

That is, whenever you showed up.

Miles. That's your name? Miles?

Dr. Miles Mitchell.

A lot of years ago. A lot of years ago.

- True. - Yeah.

You really could have been one of the greats.

Well, you sure did well for yourself.

This is a beautiful place you got here.

Thank you very much. We take pride in

creating a serene environment for our clients.

We service all the greater Galveston area.

All over Texas.

The entire nation, you know.

So, you're here to see Miss Van Poole?

Yes, I am.

Right this way.

All right.

Well then how do you know Miss Van Poole?

You know, just a friend of the family.

I came back to my hometown.

I'm just visiting.

No problem, I trust.

Hey, you're the doctor, you tell me.

No. No. Of course not.

It's just that she doesn't get many visitors.

You rarely see the family.

Well, here I am visiting.

Yeah.

I don't like to neglect a promise so

I told her I'd go visit Barbara and make sure she's all right.

Maybe even cheer her up a bit.

'Course. 'Course, I understand completely.

It's just that you can't see Barbara right now.

She's in a group therapy session.

So, how long are you in town?

Well, I'll wait.

Well, the session goes on all afternoon, and we don't like

to interrupt them.

You see, of course we give them breaks and such

but we need to keep them focused.

But I will call you when she's up and around.

Where are you staying?

Well, why not just come back this evening?

She'll be exhausted, poor thing.

We do like to give the patients time to reflect upon...

- What? - What the group has said.

You know.

They didn't tell me about this group therapy stuff.

I'm curious about that.

Miss Van Poole's a very private person.

On top of that, she is

considerably wealthy, and she has this belief that...

Everybody wants her money.

Well, I can assure that ain't the case.

So, why don't we do this?

I'm staying at the Lone Star Motel.

Why don't you give me a call when Barbara's ready,

and I'll come back.

In the meantime, I say, thank you for your time

and have a great day.

I felt the invisible tug of my short hairs when I left

the good doctor, so I thought I'd follow a different tug.

Hey, you.

I assume you can still get bourbon here, no?

Yes, sir.