EVIL

Written by

Robert King & Michelle King

Network draft
January 4, 2019
 TEASER

An upscale house. For sale. Vacant. No furniture.

ORSON LEROUX (V.O.)

I like houses when they’re empty.

We glide seductively across its polished floors.

ORSON LEROUX (V.O.)

I like the quiet. The space.

The narration continues as we find a suited man sitting

peacefully cross-legged on the floor. ORSON LeROUX (38), a
real estate agent with an old world charm.

ORSON LEROUX (V.O.)

Sometimes I just sit there before
caravan arrives and I... I breathe
it all in. The silence.

KRISTEN BENOIST (V.O.)

So that’s why you killed them?

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

LeRoux looks up at the question. Now in prison, two weeks later,

wrists shackled to a table, two GUARDS watching. He smiles:

ORSON LEROUX
That’s a bit simplistic, isn’t it,
killing them because of the noise?

KRISTEN BENOIST (34) smiles back. A pretty forensic

psychologist with a sunny manner. A walking contradiction:
her personal life is Capra-esque, her work-life Lynchian.
Killers like her because she’s friendly, disarming:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Occam’s razor. Simpler is truer,
isn’t it?... So, let’s get the
timeline straight. Who did you kill
first: Mr. or Mrs. Gilbert?

Orson frowns at the question’s indelicacy, but we CUT TO...

INT. EMPTY HOUSE - (PAST) - DAY

...LeRoux slashing the throat of MR. GILBERT (28) who reaches

for his neck, blood spilling through his fingers, spreading
in a red pool on the polished floors. A nightmare image out
of Bosch. But quickly we’re back with...
 2.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

...an oddly pleasant LeRoux:

ORSON LEROUX
Who’s Lila?

Kristen looks up at the non-sequitur, then sees he’s eyeing

her recording IPHONE: a text alert from “Lila.” Kristen turns
the phone over, continues:

KRISTEN BENOIST
I thought you wanted my help, Orson.
So let’s focus. Who did you kill
first: the husband or the wife?

ORSON LEROUX
I said: I don’t remember killing
anyone.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Do you remember Mrs. Bentley?

Kristen slides a grisly crime scene photo in front of LeRoux.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Two weeks ago, you stabbed her ten
times, then raped her.

INT. ANOTHER EMPTY HOUSE - (PAST) - DAY

And we see the rape from across the room, hidden mostly
behind the kitchen island. An odd contradiction between the
beauty of the house and the ugliness of the crime.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

ORSON LEROUX
All I remember is her leaving me
the keys, that’s all.
You like flowers, Kristen?

He nods toward the back of her iphone, Styrofoam flowers

attached there. Ignoring that:

KRISTEN BENOIST
And the Lawrences? Their six-year-
old son, do you remember him?

INT. THREE EMPTY HOUSES - (PAST) - DAY/NIGHT

Flashes of awful and bloody crime scenes. Flesh severed to

the bone, possibly an exposed brain, blood on walls.
 3.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

Kristen places other grisly crime photos in front of him.

ORSON LEROUX
I blacked out. I already said. Do
you think I’m lying?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I think you murdered three families.
Including a six-year-old. I think
you want to avoid the death penalty
with an insanity defense, so, yes,
it’s possible you’re lying. But if
you want to convince me, I have a
test--

ORSON LEROUX
Oh god, here it comes--

KRISTEN BENOIST
(taking out a form)
These are 567 true or false
statements. Answer as honestly as
you can, and that will help me
determine how honest we are with
each other, okay?

ORSON LEROUX
Sure, you’re the doc.

KRISTEN BENOIST
True or false. “I like mechanics
magazines.”

ORSON LEROUX
Are you serious?
(she is)
False.

KRISTEN BENOIST
“I think I would like the work of a
librarian.”

ORSON LEROUX
False.

KRISTEN BENOIST
“I have diarrhea once or more a month.”

ORSON LEROUX
(laughs)
False, but thanks for asking.
 4.

KRISTEN BENOIST
“I like the sound of a woman
screaming.”
LeRoux. He stares at Kristen. His expression slowly darkening.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Orson?
But he’s offers nothing, continuing to stare. Murderously.
Like a light switch flipped in his soul. Kristen doesn’t look
away, intimidated but not showing it. A long pause. Then--

EXT. ORLEANS PARISH PRISON - DAY

--bang-- Kristen exits the downtown prison. Walks several

steps away, takes a deep breath. Clearing her mind. It takes
an emotional toll, suppressing her true feelings. A kindly
man passes:

KINDLY MAN
Are you alright?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yes, fine. Thanks.

The Kindly Man enters the prison as Kristen remembers: oh,

the text. She dials her phone, starting toward her car:

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Hi, Lila. What’s wrong? You texted.

INT. BENOIST APARTMENT - KITCHEN - DAY

INTERCUT with the Capra-esque part of Kristen’s life: LILA (10),

one of her four daughters, the artist in the family, standing on
a chair in her Catholic prep uniform, getting down flour:

LILA (THE ARTIST)

Lynn thinks I should do cupcakes,
but didn’t I do cupcakes last year?

Kristen smiles. Her daughters are a breath of fresh air.

Behind Lila is LYNN (13), Kristen’s oldest daughter, the
family scientist, always wearing a lucky baseball cap, trying
to be an adult. She yells toward the phone:

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

Cupcakes are easier, mom!

KRISTEN BENOIST
What does grandma say?
 5.

LILA (THE ARTIST)

She’s taking a nap.

Kristen sighs: that’s not a good sign, Grandma napping.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Let’s hold off on baking. I’m grabbing
a birthday cake on my way home. Love
you both. Now be good.

And Kristen hangs up, pauses, looks at the back of her phone.
The Styrofoam flowers. She peels them off, throws them away.

INT. ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL COURT - DAY

Courtroom. Old and decrepit. A lot of electric fans. No jury.

Kristen on the stand, testifying. A pre-trial hearing. She’s good:

KRISTEN BENOIST
After responding to 567 true or
false statements, the defendant
scored an 80 on the MMPI-2 validity
scale. That places him well within
the “deceitful” range.

LEWIS CORMIER (45), the showy, bow-tie-wearing D.A.:

LEWIS CORMIER
Which means we can’t trust his
insistence that he blacked out
during the crime?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Not with any degree of certainty.

LEWIS CORMIER
Thank you, Ms. Benoist. Nothing further.

He sits as the defense attorney pops up, loaded for bear:

TOMMY BOUTELLA (31), scrappy and sarcastic:

TOMMY BOUTELLA
You are a full-time employee of the
Orleans D.A.’s office, Ms. Benoist?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I am.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
They pay you well?

Kristen is calm, taking it all in stride: used to this:

 6.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Well enough.

A distracted Kristen sees a man entering court. DAVID DACOSTA

(37). Handsome, rugged. Could be an adventurer, could be a Zen
master, could be the “Most Interesting Man in the World.” New
to Kristen, she watches him sit in a pew behind the defense
table. He starts to take notes as Boutella approaches Kristen:

TOMMY BOUTELLA
How many times have you testified
for the prosecution, Ms. Benoist?

KRISTEN BENOIST
34 times. Over two years.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
And how many times have you
declared a defendant sane?

KRISTEN BENOIST
A forensic psychologist doesn’t
declare a defendant--

TOMMY BOUTELLA
(modifying his question)
How many times have you “determined
the defendant had the mental
capacity to be prosecuted?”

KRISTEN BENOIST
34 times.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
I see. So you’re basically a
mercenary for the prosecution?

LEWIS CORMIER
Objection.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
I’ll rephrase. If you didn’t testify
the way the prosecution wanted,
wouldn’t you be out of a job?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I would only be out of a job if I
didn’t tell the truth.

David DaCosta in the gallery leans forward: good answer.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
So let’s talk about the truth, Ms.
Benoist. Is my client possessed?
 7.

Kristen trades a look with Cormier who jumps up:

LEWIS CORMIER
I-- Objection. Relevance.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
I’d like to establish the
relevance, your honor.

JUDGE
Go ahead.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
Is my client possessed by a demon?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I-- Are you referring to demons
metaphorically or clinically?

TOMMY BOUTELLA
Here’s an affidavit from my expert
witness, Dr. Leland Houseman. He
claims the defendant has taken on
the voice and characteristics of a
demonic presence named Roy. Do you
refute this?

Kristen stares at the affidavit, surprised. News to her.

INT. ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL COURT - HALL - DAY

BAM-- Cormier charges out of court with Kristen following.

LEWIS CORMIER
How the hell did you miss that?

KRISTEN BENOIST
(incredulous)
Miss what? Possession? Are you
serious--?

LEWIS CORMIER
No. Psychosis. Any basis for their
insanity defense. The judge has given
us 24 hours, so question him again.
Shut this down.

And Cormier bangs through his office door. Gone.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - HALL - DAY

Kristen charges down a hall toward the prison interview room,

when she sees someone already inside talking to LeRoux. It’s
David DaCosta, the man she saw in court.
 8.

Kristen frowns, notices another man waiting in the hall,

scrolling texts. BEN SCHWEIGER (30s). T-shirt, a bit scruffy.
A cross between Patton Oswald and Penn Jillette.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Are you with him?

BEN SCHWEIGER
What?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Are you with the defense expert?

Ben eyes her oddly, then goes back to his texts.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Tell him coaching the defendant is
illegal. I’ve spent 18 hours with
LeRoux. He never once mentioned
demons or showed any signs--

But-- BZZZZT-- the cell door opens electronically, and

DaCosta exits. He stops, sees Kristen.

DAVID DACOSTA
Hello.

BEN SCHWEIGER
She’s accusing us of coaching him.

KRISTEN BENOIST
It’s not gonna’ work.

And Kristen starts in when David stops her:

DAVID DACOSTA
Ms. Benoist.

Kristen turns, sees DaCosta has his hand out, offering her
something.

KRISTEN BENOIST
What?

DAVID DACOSTA
Take this.

It’s a ROSARY with a crucifix. Kristen looks at it oddly.

DAVID DACOSTA (CONT’D)

To protect yourself. Do you know the
“Our Father”?

Kristen frowns, ignores him, pushes into the cell.

 9.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

We’re again mid-interview. A bland LeRoux.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Again, there is no demonic possession?

ORSON LEROUX
No. My wife believes in that stuff;
I don’t.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Why is the defense saying you’re
possessed by a demon named Roy?

ORSON LEROUX
I have no idea.

KRISTEN BENOIST
It’s your testimony that you blacked-
out during the killings and that’s
it?

ORSON LEROUX
Yes.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Good.

Kristen turns off her recording iphone, waves to the GUARD

just outside: she’s done. He rings a buzzer. Kristen gets up,
but she has a new thought, a last one.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Are you Catholic, Orson?

ORSON LEROUX
No. My wife is. Why, are you?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Not anymore.

ORSON LEROUX
Good, I thought I liked you.

She considers this, takes her finger and draws a large cross
in the dusty desktop, venturing:

KRISTEN BENOIST
What does that mean to you?

Orson. He just stares at it. Kristen eyes him, whispers:

 10.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

“Our father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom--

But that’s all she gets out, because-- WHAM!-- LeRoux lunges
at her, grabbing her arm, yanking the metal fastener from the
tabletop, and knocking them both to the ground, hissing:

ORSON LEROUX
--edebo in monte conventus et in
lateribus septentrionis--

A startled Kristen tries to get away, but LeRoux is too strong,

face twisted into a demented mask:

ORSON LEROUX (CONT’D)

--ego autem Dei ponam sedem meam
super sidera--!

WHAM-WHOMP-WHAP-- the charging Guards hit him with their

batons, but LeRoux yells, saliva dripping from his mouth:

ORSON LEROUX (CONT’D)

ORBEM TERRARUM ERIT! I WILL ASCEND!
I WILL ASCEND!

Finally, a GUARD chokes LeRoux with a baton-- and he goes

slack, unconscious, falls to the floor, out, as Kristen
crawls away, stumbling, appalled! She’s never had anything
like this before!

INT. ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE - NIGHT

A shaken Kristen, still a bit pale, sits in Cormier’s office,

in front of the D.A. and two of his assistants:

KRISTEN BENOIST
I can’t support this.

LEWIS CORMIER
Excuse me?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I can no longer support an analysis
of narcissistic-paranoia--

LEWIS CORMIER
You think this guy’s possessed--?!

KRISTEN BENOIST
No. But there’s a chance he’s on
the schizophrenic spectrum. I need
to test for hallucinations,
delusions--
 11.

LEWIS CORMIER
The judge wants your analysis
tomorrow--

KRISTEN BENOIST
And my analysis is we need more
time. This is a death penalty case--

LEWIS CORMIER
I need you two to step out.

The two Assistants nod, exit as Kristen sighs, knows what’s

coming. Cormier pulls a chair up across from her:

LEWIS CORMIER (CONT’D)

You’ve had a shock, Kristen. I
understand your ambivalence. But
you’re not at an University. You’re
here cashing our checks.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I’m here to tell the truth.

LEWIS CORMIER
Which is: at 10 am tomorrow, I need
you on the stand to confirm your
earlier testimony, or we’ll have to
look for someone else. Understand?

Kristen stares at him, disgusted.

EXT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT

Boom. Thunder. Rain.

Kristen returns home. Conflicted. She pauses on the stairs of

her middle-class Creole townhouse. Just above a brightly-lit
24-hour market. In the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. A
few touches of Bourbon Street, but far from French Quarter
elegance. Tourists end up here by accident, then turn around.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

EVERYONE
MOMMMMM!

A roar goes up from her four daughters as Kristen enters.

They’re constantly overlapping, chattering. We’ve met Lynn
(13), Lila (10), and now we meet LEXIS (8), a piano player,
and LAURA (7), a joke-teller. (Don’t worry if we don’t get to
know them all in a rush here. We’ll get to know them later.)

Kristen smiles, loves coming home, hiding the bakery box

behind her back:
 12.

KRISTEN BENOIST
DAUGHTERS!! Where’s grandma? Have
we eaten her?

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST) LAURA (THE COMIC)

She’s in the kitchen. On the What have you got behind your
phone. back?

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

No, no, no. Nothing’s behind my
back. What’s going on here?

She looks up at a spider web of yarn hanging from the ceiling,

stretching from room to room, cardboard stars attached. There
are always new projects in the works.

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

Science. The distance between
stars.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Of course. What was I thinking?

LILA (THE ARTIST)

I was making a rocket ship.

Lila, standing on a stepladder, attaches a hand-drawn rocket.

LEXIS (THE MUSICIAN)

What happened to your arm?

The bruise on Kristen’s wrist from LaRoux. Kristen hides it:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Nothing. How far off is dinner?

SHERYL BENOIST
Ten minutes. The oven is out. We’re
getting Grubhub instead.

Her mom, SHERYL BENOIST (59), in the kitchen door. Not

exactly grandma. She’s an ex-Iron-Maiden groupie. Hates that
she’s a grandma. Kristen starts toward her:

KRISTEN BENOIST
What’s wrong with the oven?

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - SMALL KITCHEN - NIGHT

SHERYL BENOIST
It’s old, like this apartment. But
luckily your husband sent a check.

Sarcasm. Sheryl holds up an envelope with foreign postmarks.

 13.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Good thing you opened it, mom. Can
I read it please?

SHERYL BENOIST
(hands it to her)
$500. That’s how much Andy thinks
you need this month. What a good
father.

Kristen rolls her eyes, reads, but Sheryl can’t wait:

SHERYL BENOIST (CONT’D)

He says he’ll be back in June.
Because that’s when he’ll be done
climbing. Isn’t that nice of him?

KRISTEN BENOIST
(trying to read)
Mom--

SHERYL BENOIST
He wants to make sure you have all
the help you need here, but you
won’t be able to contact him in
Nepal for a month. And he forgot
Laura’s birthday.

KRISTEN BENOIST
He didn’t forget. He wrote this
three weeks ago.

SHERYL BENOIST
Why do you defend him?

“Pizza’s here, mom! Time to eat! Let’s go!” The daughters

call from the other room. Kristen whispers, nods toward them.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Don’t poison them against their
father, okay? Ever.

SHERYL BENOIST
I don’t have to. He does it to himself.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Thanks for the help, mom. Good night.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - DAUGHTER’S ROOM - NIGHT

Bedtime. Quiet. Just one warm light on the floor as Kristen

reads from PRINCESS BRIDE, her daughters flopped all around
her, some on her legs, others cuddled against her. Ripped
wrapping paper all around from opened presents.
 14.

KRISTEN BENOIST
“...The man in black was hanging in
space, clinging to the sheer rock
face. The Sicilian watched fascinated.
(doing his voice)
‘He will be dead long before he
hits the water. The fall will do
it, not the crash--’”

LEXIS (THE MUSICIAN)

Is that true: you die from the fall
not the crash?

KRISTEN BENOIST
(always honest)
No, it’s the crash.

LILA (THE ARTIST)

Have you ever fallen, mom?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Have I? No... Once.

Kristen turns back to the book but the four jump in: “WAIT!
What--?” “Tell us--!” “What happened?”

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

You don’t want to hear this.

The four yell: “Are you kidding--?!” “MOM!” “You have to tell
us now.” “Tell, tell, tell--!”

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Not just before bedtime. You’ll
have nightmares. Ask me tomorrow--

LILA (THE ARTIST)

But we’ll forget tomorrow. We’re
not very smart.

Kristen laughs, kisses them on the foreheads:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Then you’ll need your sleep.
(”Noooooo!” “Mom!”)

LILA (THE ARTIST)

What happened to my flowers?

Lila points toward Kristen’s phone.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Oh, I had to take them off for work.
 15.

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

Why?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I don’t like people knowing
anything about me.

LILA (THE ARTIST)

Why?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Because some people are bad and
they shouldn’t know about us. Now,
time for bed. Isn’t that a great
way to tuck you in? “Some people
are bad; sweet dreams.”

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

What about the question of the day?

Oh, right. Kristen looks at her kids, always honest with them.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Okay. My boss wants me to say something
on the stand I’m not sure I can.

LILA (THE ARTIST)

What?

KRISTEN BENOIST
That something is true, and I’m not
sure it is.

LAURA (THE COMIC)

You want us to talk to him?

KRISTEN BENOIST
(laughs)
Wouldn’t that be great?

They all ad-lib: “We will!” “Call him, Mom! “Get the phone.”

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

No, no, tomorrow. Time for sleep.

She finishes kissing them when Lynn stops her, whispers:

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

Mom, you loved your job because they
let you tell the truth. If they don’t,
you shouldn’t do it anymore.

Kristen eyes Lynn, nods-- good point. She tucks her in.
 16.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM & KITCHEN - NIGHT

“$456.00.” “$1,900.50.” Numbers. On bills.

A dispirited Kristen keeps opening more mail. Slumps at each

new amount. More money she doesn’t have. She looks toward...

...the envelope from her husband. The $500 check enclosed.

Not a great help. She eats a half-eaten piece of birthday
cake, and goes to...

...the kitchen, pops open a canned Margarita cocktail. A

guilty pleasure. Drinks heartily. Then she hears...

...bzzzt. A buzzer. Odd. A little late. She looks toward a red

kitchen light blinking over a hand-written sign: “Office.” She
crosses to the back door. Peers out and down from...

EXT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT

...the exterior back porch toward a downstairs door.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Hello?

The man looks up. David DaCosta. Handsome under the light:

DAVID DACOSTA
Oh. Sorry. Your work gave me this
as your office address.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(surprised to see him)
It is. My home too.

DAVID DACOSTA
I was going to leave a note. I
heard about your encounter with Mr.
LeRoux. I’m sorry. Are you alright?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yes, fine. Thank you.

DAVID DACOSTA
I also need a minute of your time--
if you don’t mind. To discuss a job.

Kristen eyes him.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - DOWNSTAIRS OFFICE - NIGHT

Kristen flicks on the light of her small downstairs office, a

sort of female version of a man cave, letting DaCosta in:
 17.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Sorry, I don’t get much heat down
here.

Oops-- Kristen sees her work clothes strewn on her chair:

dress, blouse, bra. She quickly stuffs them into a drawer, as
David smiles, turns away:

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

That’s okay.

Looking away, he sees dozens of photos on the walls. Photos of

a woman climber. Free climbing in Yosemite. Ice climbing.
Bouldering. Mountaineering.

DAVID DACOSTA
Is this you?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yes.

DAVID DACOSTA
You’re a climber?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I was.

David studies them, admires them. Kristen is clearly proud of

her past life. David sees a line of five prominent photos on
top, all on different summits. Kristen in snow gear with a
numbered sign on each: going from “1” to “5.”

DAVID DACOSTA
The Seven Summits?

Kristen looks at him, surprised he knows.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yes.

DAVID DACOSTA
I count five.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I gave up.

DAVID DACOSTA
Why?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Children.

Oh. David nods, eyes her appreciatively, then looks back

toward the last photo.
 18.

A man with his arm around her, ANDY BENOIST. Strong. Bearded.
Grinning. He has three fingers raised while she has five.

DAVID DACOSTA
Your climbing partner?

KRISTEN BENOIST
My husband.

DAVID DACOSTA
Ah, you’re ahead of him?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I was. Just one left for him.
Everest.

DaCosta nods, looks back toward the photos.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

So, I have to get back upstairs.
Thank you for the job offer, but I
really don’t work for the defense.

DAVID DACOSTA
I don’t either.

KRISTEN BENOIST
You--? I don’t understand.

DAVID DACOSTA
I work for the Catholic Church.

Kristen blinks. Not what she expected.

KRISTEN BENOIST
You’re not the defense expert?

DAVID DACOSTA
No. David DaCosta.

He offers his hand. She shakes it.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Why were you in with LeRoux?

DAVID DACOSTA
I was interviewing him to see if he
was possessed.

Kristen eyes him oddly.

KRISTEN BENOIST
You’re a priest?
 19.

DAVID DACOSTA
No. An assessor.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I don’t know what that is.

DAVID DACOSTA
The church has a backlog of 500,000
requests for exorcisms and miracle
appraisals. I’m hired by the church
to investigate unexplained phenomenon
and offer a recommendation whether
there should be an exorcism or
further research.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I didn’t know that was a job.

DAVID DACOSTA
It is.

Kristen stares at DaCosta. A long confused moment.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Okay, I’m sorry. It’s been a long--

DAVID DACOSTA
We were asked by Mrs. LeRoux to
assess her husband, Orson. She thinks
he’s possessed. Unfortunately he
won’t talk to us anymore. But he will
talk to you.
(off Kristen’s look)
He seems to like you. So we want to
hire you to help us assess him.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Just to be up-front with you, Mr...

DAVID DACOSTA
DaCosta.

KRISTEN BENOIST
DaCosta. I don’t believe in all
that... devils and possession.

DAVID DACOSTA
That’s okay. The trouble with my job
is possession looks like insanity,
and insanity looks like possession,
so we need someone who doesn’t
believe-- someone to help us figure
out which is LeRoux.
 20.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I-- the thing is, Mr. DaCosta: I
have a job. I’m with the D.A.’s
office.

David pauses, clears his throat, clearly he knows differently.

DAVID DACOSTA
I’m sorry. I thought you knew. I
was in court when the D.A. said he
was bringing in a new psychologist.

Kristen stares at him. Blinks.

INT. ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE - NIGHT

Lewis on the phone with Kristen. Ten minutes later.

LEWIS CORMIER
I was going to give you until
tomorrow, Kristen. But I was afraid
you wouldn’t be convincing in court
so I decided to go with someone else.
Anyway, consider this your two week
notice. Thanks for your service.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - DOWNSTAIRS OFFICE - NIGHT

A stunned and angry Kristen on the phone with him:

KRISTEN BENOIST
You’re welcome. And go to hell.

Bang-- she slams the receiver down as David smiles

appreciatively. Kristen takes a deep breath. Turns to David.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Mr. DaCosta. You just need me for
this one case?

DAVID DACOSTA
That’s right.

KRISTEN BENOIST
When would I start?

DaCosta turns to her, smiles.

END OF TEASER
 21.

ACT ONE

INT. KITCHEN - LEROUX MANSION - (PAST) - NIGHT

We move down a dark hall toward a yellow-ish glow in the

doorway at the end.

EMILY LEROUX (V.O.)

I woke up in the middle of the
night, and Orson wasn’t in bed. So
I went downstairs...

The narration continues as we turn the corner and find Orson

LeRoux in pajamas standing in front of the open refrigerator
with a zombie stare. (This is an echo of the Teaser opening.)

EMILY LEROUX (V.O.)

He was talking to himself. I shook
him. But he didn’t wake up.

DAVID DACOSTA (V.O.)

Do you remember what he said?

INT. STUDY - LEROUX MANSION - DAY

EMILY LEROUX (37), a gentle but nervous woman, looks up.

EMILY LEROUX
No, but he seemed to be agreeing
with himself, deciding something.

Present day. DaCosta sits across from her in the beautifully

decorated LeRoux mansion. Garden District. An incredulous
Kristen sits further back. Ben in a corner.

DAVID DACOSTA
And this was how long before...?

EMILY LEROUX
The arrest? About three weeks.

David nods, takes notes as Kristen looks up at the photos in

the study. A happy family: Emily with Orson and their two sons.
On vacation. At a school play. Odd and a bit disturbing to see
the serial killer in such Norman Rockwell circumstances.

DAVID DACOSTA
And that’s what led you to believe
he was possessed?

EMILY LEROUX
No. He would sometimes talk to
himself, but this time... someone
talked back.
 22.

Kristen looks up.

DAVID DACOSTA
I’m sorry, what do you mean?
Someone human?

EMILY LEROUX
I don’t know. That’s why I called
your parish.

BEN SCHWEIGER
What did this voice sound like?

EMILY LEROUX
Quiet. Sort of a whisper. I recorded
it if that helps.

David and Ben trade a look. A recording? That’s unusual.

DAVID DACOSTA
Yes, it does.

EMILY LEROUX
(taking out her iphone)
This was a few nights in a row, so
I recorded the last night.

Ben moves closer to listen. David leans over the iphone. As

Kristen hangs back. This is all too weird for her. Too X-Files.
We stay on her as she listens, hearing... low static, then some
iphone fumbling. Then a clear voice. Emily whispering:

EMILY LEROUX (ON RECORDING) (CONT’D)

...Orson...?

INT. KITCHEN - LEROUX MANSION - (PAST) - NIGHT

Emily, in the flashback, tries to wake her husband standing

in front of the refrigerator:

EMILY LEROUX
...Baby, what’s wrong?...

But suddenly she stops, hearing something... a whisper in the

kitchen. A quiet whisper. Creepy. Scary. Emily looks freaked
out, looking around, as...

INT. STUDY - LEROUX MANSION - DAY

...Kristen, in present day, looks freaked out too, despite

herself, moving closer to hear the iphone...
 23.

Light intense mumbled whispering. Low and bass-ey. It gets

angrier and angrier. The words all mixed together. Could be
Latin. Could be nothing.

Kristen can’t help it: the hairs on the back of her neck
stand up. While...

INT. KITCHEN - LEROUX MANSION - (PAST) - NIGHT

...Orson turns to see his wife. His eyes intense. A flash of

something deep and frightening. Emily touches his arm, trying
to shake him out of it:

EMILY LEROUX
Orson. It’s me.

But he looks down, sees the recording iphone in her hand:

ORSON LEROUX
Turn that off. I need your log-in--

He reaches for the iphone, and--

INT. STUDY - LEROUX MANSION - DAY

--click-- the recording ends. Back in present day, David and Ben
trade a look. Kristen looks between them: the new interloper on
this team. After a moment...

DAVID DACOSTA
Emily, can you show us where this
happened?

INT. KITCHEN - LEROUX MANSION - DAY

Ten minutes later. Kristen, reluctant and sidelined, slowly

starts down the mansion hall, wondering what she’s gotten
herself into, when she finds... Ben alone in the kitchen,
sliding a SMALL DEVICE along the walls.

KRISTEN BENOIST
So this is what...
(sounds ridiculous)
...a haunting?

BEN SCHWEIGER
An infestation.

KRISTEN BENOIST
What’s that?

BEN SCHWEIGER
A haunting.
 24.

Kristen eyes him. A man of few words.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I thought this was about possession.

BEN SCHWEIGER
The theory is this: an infestation
leads to a possession. First the
demon takes over the house, then
the person. Supposedly.

Kristen eyes his “supposedly.”

KRISTEN BENOIST
You don’t believe in it?

BEN SCHWEIGER
I believe it pays the rent.

Kristen eyes him, then eyes the little tool he’s running
along the wall, a red light on it:

KRISTEN BENOIST
What’s that?

BEN SCHWEIGER
A proton accelerator.

Kristen raises her eyebrow. But he grins:

BEN SCHWEIGER (CONT’D)

That was a GHOSTBUSTERS joke. It’s a
stud finder.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(ah, she eyes him)
So you’re not a priest?

BEN SCHWEIGER
No, a contractor.

Before she can ask more, a yell comes from off:

DAVID DACOSTA (O.S.)

I think you should see this, Ben.

Ben nods, exits leaving Kristen alone. She looks around,

feeling useless. She sees some “Get Well” cards taped to the
fridge. “Get better.” A cartoon man with a ice pack. Another
with a sniffling bear: “Sending you bear hugs. Get well soon.”

EMILY LEROUX
I saw you in court.
 25.

Kristen turns, sees a tense Emily entering:

EMILY LEROUX (CONT’D)

You wanted my husband to be executed.

KRISTEN BENOIST
No. I was asked my expert opinion--

EMILY LEROUX
Orson never raised his voice, never
drank. He was a good husband. What
happened wasn’t him.

Kristen eyes Emily. Considers it.

KRISTEN BENOIST
These cards, these “Get Well”
cards, they’re for...?

EMILY LEROUX
He fell down some stairs at work.
He was out for a few weeks.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(turning it over in her mind)
Did he have any seizures
afterwards? Psychological effects?

Emily eyes Kristen, not thrilled where this is headed:

EMILY LEROUX
It’s not a medical condition. The
doctors released him. He was fine.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yes, but he was in the hospital?

EMILY LEROUX
He was fine. It’s not physical. It’s
something outside of him. Something
demonic--

DAVID DACOSTA
Emily, can you play the video?

An interrupting David in the door: the peacemaker. Emily shoots

a look at Kristen then exits. A tense Kristen exhales.

DAVID DACOSTA (CONT’D)

You alright? It’s weird, I know.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I don’t know what it is.
 26.

DAVID DACOSTA
You’re doing great.

Kristen chuckles: are you fuckin’ kidding me?

INT. GARDEN DISTRICT MANSION - MASTER BEDROOM - DAY

DaCosta and Kristen enter the master bedroom to see Emily

playing an infra-red recording on a flat-screen TV. Ben eyes
her set-up, impressed:

BEN SCHWEIGER
What is this, infra-red?

EMILY LEROUX
Yes, the “Bayou Best” people set it
up... There.

Emily points toward the video of her sleeping alone in bed.

But above her a small shadow moves near the ceiling. Just a
few inches. Nothing spectacular. Dismissive:

BEN SCHWEIGER
That’s just a shift in the heat--

EMILY LEROUX
No... There.

And suddenly something very weird happens: the shadow unfolds

from the wall, becoming more defined, floating aggressively
toward the camera. Scary. Ghostly. Kristen’s mouth opens,
startled. She whispers:

KRISTEN BENOIST
What is it?

EMILY LEROUX
That’s what inhabited my husband.

They watch the figure becoming more defined. A body-like

shape dipping down toward Emily’s sleeping body, then back to
the ceiling again. And again the hairs on Kristen’s neck
rise.

EXT. RUBY SLIPPER CAFE - DAY

Kristen is still bewildered sitting at an outdoor cafe with

David and Ben.

BEN SCHWEIGER
It could be faked. This is a woman who
had “Bayou Best” set up her system. It
could even be a defective digital
chip.
 27.

DAVID DACOSTA
Can you find out?

BEN SCHWEIGER
I’ll set up my own cameras and have
something tomorrow.

Ben leaves. David eyes Kristen deep in thought...

DAVID DACOSTA
I don’t want to keep asking “are
you alright” but are you alright?

Kristen pauses, considers it. Looking up at him:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Why do you want me doing this?

DAVID DACOSTA
I want your honest opinion. I want
your skepticism.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Okay. Then... You’re leading her on.
(off David’s look)
She’s desperate for these killings
to have some supernatural
explanation. But what if her
husband is just... bad?

DAVID DACOSTA
(smiles)
Is that a medical term, “bad?”

KRISTEN BENOIST
He murdered seven people. That’s
not because there’s knocking and
whispering in his house.

DAVID DACOSTA
Then we’ll find that out.

KRISTEN BENOIST
You keep saying that, but I don’t
need to check every broomstick to
know broomsticks don’t fly.

David smiles, eyes her...

DAVID DACOSTA
Do you think science can answer
every question?

Kristen thinks about it. Realizing as she says it...

 28.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I do... Just not all at once.

DAVID DACOSTA
So there are no mysteries? No miracles?

KRISTEN BENOIST
A doctor creates a hearing aid for a
deaf man who hears music for the
first time. That’s a miracle. The
Philae probe lands on a comet 100
million miles away, a comet traveling
at 11,000 miles per hour. That’s a
miracle. They just happen to exist.
They’re real. But ghosts and demons.
That thing, whatever it was, in her
video. I don’t know what to do with
that.

DAVID DACOSTA
Study it. Ten years ago, I decided
to travel the world; and the further
I got from America, the more I
realized how little I know. I saw a
shaman in Kyzyl transfer his soul to
a dying child. I saw a woman in the
Indus Plain come back to life after
drowning for twenty minutes. Science
is only good with repeatable
phenomenon, and most of life, the
most interesting parts, doesn’t
repeat. It only happens once. So
science doesn’t recognize it.

Kristen studies him, then gets up to go.

DAVID DACOSTA (CONT’D)

You think it’s medical?

Kristen takes a considered moment. Then...

KRISTEN BENOIST
He had a fall that put him in the
hospital just before the killings.
That was news to me.

DAVID DACOSTA
Meaning?

KRISTEN BENOIST
There are injuries to the frontal lobe
that can result in violent behavior.
 29.

DAVID DACOSTA
And seizures that look like possession?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I don’t know. I’m checking into it.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM & HALL - NIGHT

A FEMALE PATIENT rolls on the floor of a hospital screaming:

FEMALE PATIENT
...EGO NON-SUBJACE-BIT PEONA--!!

Speaking in tongues? Possession? It’s a youtube video (a real

one) playing on Kristen’s laptop. She watches it in the quiet
of her living room. Kids asleep. A description under the
video: “Patient during Encephalitis Seizure.”

Kristen makes a note. It sure does look like possession. The

patient’s mouth foaming. Then she brings up another google
search prompt. She starts to type in: “Types of seizure--”
But she stops, erases it, and on a whim, types:

“David DaCosta.”

She places a finger on “return,” hits it, then reads the first
link... “DaCosta, A.P. Photographer.” Kristen clicks on it, pops
the top of a canned Margarita, drinks, as a video pops up. A
younger DaCosta in a desert setting. Bearded. Grizzled. Hip.

DAVID DACOSTA (ON SCREEN)

The most dangerous situations are
never the ones you think. It’s
never the Mexican drug war or being
embedded in Afghanistan. It’s the
food poisoning in Pakistan.

Kristen smiles, watching this creature from another time. The

kind of adventurer she understands. When...

...there’s a whisper. Eerie. Hushed. Kristen looks up. What

was that? She listens. Silence. A light rain on the roof. She
peers around the living room. No one there. She starts to
turn back to the video when...

...there it is again. Two whispers. Like two ghosts in a

garden. Where’s it coming from? Kristen looks around. The
hall. She gets up, and starts toward it, goes to...

...her daughter’s door. Sees light leaking around the edges.

She puts her hand on the doorknob, slowly opens it, finds the
four are sleeping peacefully. A warm night light. They’re not
the ones whispering. Kristen closes the door, shakes it off,
whispers to herself...
 30.

KRISTEN BENOIST
...this is stupid...

And she heads toward her bedroom.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

The dark bedroom. Kristen lies on her side in bed, under the
comforter, peering out through a small tent-shaped slit. The
room silent. Just the sound of a rain on the window. When...

...the whispers again. Quiet, ghostly. What is it? Kristen

doesn’t move, but her eyes dart around, looking out from her
triangular-shaped view of the room. When...

...a black shadow moves on the wall. SHIT!! Kristen stares,

unblinking, frozen, uncomprehending. Is it part of the
flowered wallpaper? A standing lamp?

(This is where we place the first Easter egg for DVR viewers:
a subliminal glimpse of a morphed number woven into the
wallpaper: the number 108.)

Kristen sees-- there! The shadow moves again! The edge of a

human arm? It can’t be! Not in her room. Maybe it’s one of
the girls! But then...

...the figure steps into view! A black hole in human form! No

clothing. Maybe fur, hard to tell. The only light is its red
burning eyes! Kristen whispers to herself, under her breath:

KRISTEN BENOIST
...it’s not real... just a dream...

But the figure sees her, grins! Large feral teeth. Face
nothing but teeth and red eyes. It approaches, leaning down
into Kristen’s face, whispering in a frightening, low voice:

DARK FIGURE
...your eyes are open, bitch.
That’s a weird way to dream...

Kristen stares at this nightmare creature. In a wide shot, we

see it leaning over her bed: massive and overwhelming.
Thinking it through, Kristen whispers to herself:

KRISTEN BENOIST
...it’s a night terror...

DARK FIGURE
...of course I am. Tell me, can a
night terror do this?...

And it goes into a corner and starts to pee. Laughing:

 31.

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

...don’t mind me. Hey, love the
hardwood floors. Are they original?...

KRISTEN BENOIST
(to herself)
...close your eyes... press your eyes
shut, you’ll wake up...

DARK FIGURE
...not yet... keep them open...

And he shakes out the last drop, goes to her, sits on the
edge of the bed, pulls the comforter from her head.

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

...that’s better... pretty girl...

He runs his black clawed fingers through her hair as Kristen

can’t move, can’t close her eyes, staring up at it, horrified.

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

...hi, I’m George, good to meetya’...
Are you wearing any panties...?

George grins and sinks below the covers! Oh my god. Kristen’s

eyes widen. She struggles to open her mouth to scream, but
can’t.

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

Hey, you gotta’ scar down here. What
is that, from a cesarian? Here, let me
kiss it, make it better...

Kristen is appalled. Struggles again to open her mouth. An

act of will. She strains, strains, and finally... screams...
silently, her mouth open wide, mutely. But all she hears is
the figure laughing and kissing. Mocking...

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

“David, please kiss me. I want you
inside me... That’s why I googled
you...”

But-- bang-- the bedroom door is thrown open and Lynn is there:

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

Mom?

The other three daughters following.

DAUGHTERS
Mom, are you alright?! Wake up,
Mom? You’re dreaming!
 32.

And they’re on the bed now, shaking Kristen who gasps,

blinks, breathing hard. Awake now. (There is no end point
between the night terror and reality.)

LAURA (THE COMIC)

You were screaming. You woke us up!

KRISTEN BENOIST
I just... Sorry. Oh my god, it was
a nightmare. What a horrible...

But Kristen pauses, thinks about it, and looks toward-- the
corner of the room. Seeing a puddle there. Oh my god!

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

What’s wrong? What is it?

But Kristen jumps out of bed, crosses to the puddle,

horrified! Is it real?! Was George real?! But then she sees
the bedroom window slightly open, rain dripping through. Oh.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Nothing. I just-- I left the window
open. Stupid me.

She closes it. Grabs a towel from the bathroom, drops it on

the puddle.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Go back to bed, guys, I’m alright.

LYNN (THE SCIENTIST)

No, I’m sleeping here.

DAUGHTERS
Me too. I’m sleepy. Good-night,
mom. Go to bed.
(pretend snoring)
...kewww-shooo, kewww-shoo...

They start doing more pretend-snoring as Kristen smiles:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Okay, one night.

She gets into bed, letting her daughters cuddle against her.
Too Capra? Sure, why not? Sometimes it’s earned. The four
start to drop off to sleep, and Kristen closes her eyes too.
A second of contentment. Then, after a second...

...her eyes open again, and she stares off into the dark.

END OF ACT ONE

 33.

ACT TWO

INT. DR. BOGG’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE - DAY

DR. KURT BOGGS

A night terror?

DR. KURT BOGGS (62), a bearded teaching psychiatrist, who

likes being considered the “cool teacher.” He looks up from
his note-taking at a nodding Kristen.

DR. KURT BOGGS (CONT’D)

Have you ever had a night terror
before?

KRISTEN BENOIST
No, never.

They sit in Dr. Bogg’s small, book-lined university office.

Tulane visible outside his window. A therapy session.

DR. KURT BOGGS

How do you know it wasn’t just a
nightmare?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Sleep paralysis, eyes open, a shadow
figure. In the literature, there’s
talk of a shadow figure.

DR. KURT BOGGS

An incubus?

KRISTEN BENOIST
(considers it)
He took off my underwear, talked
about my cesarian and my relationship
with my boss, so... yes.

DR. KURT BOGGS

Your boss at the D.A.’s office?

KRISTEN BENOIST
No, a different job.

DR. KURT BOGGS

What job?

KRISTEN BENOIST
(embarrassed)
I’m working with someone who’s
looking into demonic possession and
its effect on crime.
 34.

DR. KURT BOGGS

(incredulous)
Really? How does that work?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I’m not sure. I’m doing it temporarily.

DR. KURT BOGGS

(writes a prescription)
Okay, look, it’s very odd for night
terrors to start in your thirties.
My guess is it’s a momentary
disruption in N3 sleep cycles. This
is for sleeping pills if the terrors
persist.

EXT. GARDEN DISTRICT MANSION - DAY

Kristen. She studies the prescription, then peers up at the

LeRoux mansion. Beautiful Greek Revival. Hesitant. Not sure
whether to stay or go, night terror still bothering her, when
she sees David approaching. Smiling:

DAVID DACOSTA
All good?

Kristen eyes him. Likes his smile. An echo of the man she saw
in the google interview:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Good enough.

He nods, heads in. And Kristen decides. She follows.

INT. GARDEN DISTRICT MANSION - KITCHEN - DAY

EMILY LEROUX
I don’t understand. You’re saying the
dishwasher caused the whispering?

Ben has the dishwasher open, pulling out a filter. Peering

over his shoulder are DaCosta, Emily, an intrigued Kristen.

BEN SCHWEIGER
I’m saying when the soap clogs the
filter, it creates an embouchure hole.
(off Emily’s confusion)
That’s like a flute. When the hole
becomes narrower, it creates a sound.

Ben runs water through it, and the filter’s pitch becomes
higher, higher as he increases the water pressure, finally
becoming, yep, like a whisper. (Oddly, this is a real
phenomenon. Science can be weird.)
 35.

Kristen eyes this, feeling better. She likes logic. It makes

her feel grounded. Emily on the other hand frowns.

INT. GARDEN DISTRICT MANSION - MASTER BEDROOM - DAY

An infrared camera. Ben closes the drapes in the master

bedroom, flicks it on...

BEN SCHWEIGER
So this baffled me until I realized
you taped this “ghost” during the
summer months.

DAVID DACOSTA
Why’s that matter?

BEN SCHWEIGER
Air conditioning.

He flips the switch on an air conditioning unit. And Kristen,

David, and a reluctant Emily peer over Ben’s shoulder at the
camera’s fold-out viewer screen. A shadow descends from the
ceiling. A blob.

BEN SCHWEIGER (CONT’D)

I shoved extra fluff into the air
conditioning unit. See-- the infrared
gives it definition. And when it comes
toward the lens, it looks bigger.

And there it is. The object. Swirling about, looking like a

ghost. (Another true phenomenon.) Kristen looks toward Ben,
impressed. He’s like Mr. Wizard crossed with Bob the Builder.

EMILY LEROUX
So I don’t understand. Why is my
husband possessed if that wasn’t
supernatural?

BEN SCHWEIGER
Because maybe-- whoa-- he’s not
possessed--

DAVID DACOSTA
Okay, thanks, Ben. I’ll see you
outside.

EXT. GARDEN DISTRICT MANSION - DAY

Kristen joins Ben on the sidewalk, smiles...

KRISTEN BENOIST
You killed Santa Claus for her.
 36.

Ben looks over at Kristen, starting to like her:

BEN SCHWEIGER
They never like it. None of them.

KRISTEN BENOIST
You do this a lot?

BEN SCHWEIGER
More since GHOST HUNTERS.
(off Kristen’s look)
The TV show. People watch it and
jump at every sound.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yeah. I never heard whispering in
my apartment until last night.

BEN SCHWEIGER
The power of suggestion. There’s a
solution for everything, but people’d
rather believe in ghosts and demons.

Kristen eyes Ben, starting to like him too.

KRISTEN BENOIST
So how did you get connected to this
job?

BEN SCHWEIGER
DaCosta. I was a contractor at the
rectory, and he asked me to help.

KRISTEN BENOIST
And why’s he do it?

BEN SCHWEIGER
David? He’s the believer. He’s
bought into it all: angels, devils,
Satan. He’s training to be a priest.

Kristen looks at him, surprised.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Really?

BEN SCHWEIGER
Yeah, two years into a five year
program.

Kristen looks toward David finishing with a depressed Emily.

 37.

BEN SCHWEIGER (CONT’D)

I know I should be annoyed, but I make
an exception with him. He makes me
laugh. Well, not laugh, because I
don’t laugh. But I acknowledge when
something is funny. Plus, I think he
can be converted. We just need to
double-team him. Tell him about the
joys of being a lapsed Catholic and an
atheist.

Kristen smiles as David comes up to them...

DAVID DACOSTA
Good job, Ben.

BEN SCHWEIGER
Will she recover?

DAVID DACOSTA
Not right away. She’s going to miss her
ghosts.
(stops, looks between them)
What?

BEN SCHWEIGER
Nothing.

DAVID DACOSTA
You two have been talking.

BEN SCHWEIGER
About your religion. And how you’ll
come to your senses one day.

DAVID DACOSTA
You wouldn’t want that. I’m not a good
person when I don’t have a cause.

BEN SCHWEIGER
Where next?

DAVID DACOSTA
Prison. LeRoux.

BEN SCHWEIGER
Ughh, you two can take care of him.
Not a big fan of people.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

Orson LeRoux. Guards lead him in, cuff him to the table. He
sits staring across at David and Kristen.
 38.

ORSON LEROUX
I don’t know if I like this, you
two working together. I feel ganged
up on.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(an edge)
Too bad.

ORSON LEROUX
Wow. You’re in a bad mood?

KRISTEN BENOIST
No, I’m just not working with the
court anymore, so I don’t have to
pretend to be your friend.

Orson smiles, likes this side of Kristen, as DaCosta eyes

her, surprised by this harder attitude.

DAVID DACOSTA
Kristen said you spoke Latin last
time--

ORSON LEROUX
Actually, Kristen has a tendency to
exaggerate. I don’t speak Latin.

DAVID DACOSTA
She said you claimed “I will ascend.”

ORSON LEROUX
(to Kristen)
Really? What did I mean by that?

DAVID DACOSTA
You tell us. Or have Roy tell us.

ORSON LEROUX
Who’s Roy?

DAVID DACOSTA
The demon that speaks through you.

ORSON LEROUX
Never heard of him.

DaCosta takes out his rosary beads, places it on the table.

DAVID DACOSTA
Do you remember this from last time?

Orson eyes it, transfixed (actually pretending to be

transfixed). He opens his mouth, sticks his tongue out, and...
 39.

ORSON LEROUX
Boogie-woogie-woogie.

A parody of possession, LaRoux laughs, making fun of their

expectations:

ORSON LEROUX (CONT’D)

How was that? Scary enough?

Kristen slides a piece of paper and pencil across the table.

ORSON LEROUX (CONT’D)

Now what? More testing?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Write out the alphabet until you
get to the fourteenth letter.

ORSON LEROUX
Why?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Humor me. Or don’t, and we’ll just
go home early. You like having an
audience. The worst thing for you
would be to lose your audience.

LeRoux considers it, challenged by Kristen. He takes the

paper, starts writing the letters...

EXT. ORLEANS PARISH PRISON - DUSK

DAVID DACOSTA
And what does this tell us?

Kristen, leaving the prison, studies Orson’s letters:

KRISTEN BENOIST
There is some drooping in the
penmanship since his fall. That
could be from inflammation or
nothing.

DAVID DACOSTA
You think he needs an MRI?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I think if it’s Traumatic
Encephalopathy, it won’t show up. I
need more tests.

DAVID DACOSTA
Okay, I’ll arrange more time with
him. Good work.
 40.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Thanks.

They head toward their cars when Kristen thinks about it.
Eyes David.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

So you’re training to be a priest?

DAVID DACOSTA
I am. Does that surprise you?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I don’t know. You don’t seem like
the type.

DAVID DACOSTA
I kicked around the world a lot. It
felt like time to commit to something.
(considers it)
And you? You don’t seem like the
thrill-seeking type.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(eyes him)
I’m not.

DAVID DACOSTA
That’s not what “Climbing” magazine
says.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(smiles)
Oh. You did a little googling?

DAVID DACOSTA
It says you’re the first woman to
climb El Capitan’s “Dawn Wall” in
one day.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I wanted to get down fast.
(DaCosta smiles)
And you-- you don’t like the food
in Pakistan I hear.

DAVID DACOSTA
(laughs)
God, that interview. I was so full
of myself.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Good beard though.
 41.

The two smile. A long moment. Then...

DAVID DACOSTA
We’re just two retired adventurers,
aren’t we?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Better than being two dead ones.

They smile. After a long second....

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Anyway, tomorrow.

DAVID DACOSTA
Tomorrow.

And they awkwardly get into their cars.

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - BATHROOM - NIGHT

The prescription sleeping pills. Kristen shakes two out into

her hand. Then stops. Reconsiders. She plops the pills back
in the bottle. She doesn’t need them. Instead, she grabs...

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

...a sharpie pen, and writes on a piece of construction paper

in very big block letters: “CAN YOU READ THIS?”

INT. MASTER BEDROOM - FOUR HOURS LATER

An alarm clock. It reads 4:12. Kristen is in bed, her eyes

closed. But we feel an energy shift in the room-- a growing
Lynchian hum. Kristen feels it too, and slowly opens her eyes
as the hum gets louder, louder. (Another Easter egg: the
number 6 woven into the wall.) Kristen looks up and sees...

...the DARK FIGURE leaning over her! Terrifyingly close. His

mouth open, revealing white teeth, dripping saliva like
Alien. A whisper:

DARK FIGURE
Did I wake you? It’s George.

Kristen can’t move, staring up at it:

KRISTEN BENOIST
...you’re not real...
 42.

DARK FIGURE
(faux therapist)
...I have 567 true or false
statements. Answer as honestly as you
can. And just to make this fun...

He yanks up her right hand and holds a LARGE CARVING KNIFE to

her pinkie finger:

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

...one finger for every wrong answer...

Kristen, trying to ignore him, repeats a mantra:

KRISTEN BENOIST
...these are my thoughts. I’m
scaring myself with my thoughts...

DARK FIGURE
“I like mechanics magazines.”

KRISTEN BENOIST
...you’re not here... I’m scaring
myself...

DARK FIGURE
Kristen, you have to answer. “I
like mechanics magazines.”
(Kristen stays silent)
Okay.

And he cuts lightly into her finger, blood flowing! Kristen’s

eyes widen:

KRISTEN BENOIST
False!

He stops cutting, dabs at the blood.

DARK FIGURE
Good. “I have diarrhea once or more
a month.”

KRISTEN BENOIST
False.

DARK FIGURE
“I was flirting with David DaCosta
today-- even though I’m married...”

Kristen pauses until the Figure starts to cut.

KRISTEN BENOIST
True.
 43.

DARK FIGURE
“I did this because I’m lonely and
want him inside me.”

KRISTEN BENOIST
False.

DARK FIGURE
...sorry, Kristen, wrong answer...

And-- snip-- he slices off her pinkie finger! Kristen cries

out horrified in pain as George makes fun of her--

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

...boo-boo, my finger’s gone, boo-
hoo...

He takes the dismembered pinkie, places it on her chest, as

Kristen stares at it, in immense pain, crying. George
continues:

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

“David DaCosta makes me wet between
the legs...”

He moves his knife to her ring finger as Kristen cries, in

agony:

KRISTEN BENOIST
True.

DARK FIGURE
Good. “Tomorrow, I plan to seduce
David away from the priesthood.”

Kristen pauses, eyeing George when she suddenly sees past his
shoulder... the construction paper sign she taped to the ceiling.

DARK FIGURE (CONT’D)

...Kristen?... come on...

KRISTEN BENOIST
I can’t read it.

DARK FIGURE
...what?...

KRISTEN BENOIST
The sign I taped up there. I can’t
read it.

She nods up toward the “CAN YOU READ THIS?” sign. We see it’s
been taped to the ceiling, but there’s no words there. Just a
mess of dream-like squiggles in the same sharpie pen.
 44.

DARK FIGURE
You really won’t be able to read it
when I take out one of your eyes.
(holds the knife to her eyes)

KRISTEN BENOIST
...Wernicke’s Area is a region of
the brain responsible for
interpreting language, and it’s
dormant during sleep. That’s why
you can’t read text in a dream...

She nods again toward the dream-like sign, concluding:

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

This is a dream, and you don’t exist.

DARK FIGURE
Well, if I don’t exist, then this
won’t hurt.

And he raises the knife high, bringing it down into her left
eye. But...

...Kristen wakes up. Startled. Staring at the ceiling. Awake.

Or is she? She looks again toward the homemade sign. She can
read it. “CAN YOU READ THIS?” Yep, she’s awake. Her hand
intact and eyes intact.

Kristen exhales: good. She whispers triumphantly:

KRISTEN BENOIST
...good-bye, George... science
wins...

And she closes her eyes again, ready to truly sleep.

END OF ACT TWO

 45.

ACT THREE

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - HALL - DAY

Kristen. She strides down the prison hall. More optimistic,

more determined. The world making sense to her again. DaCosta
sees her approach:

DAVID DACOSTA
You look happy today.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I guess I am.

DAVID DACOSTA
Did you solve it?
(off Kristen’s confusion)
LeRoux?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Oh. Not yet. Only a matter of time.

BZZZT. The prison door is opened electronically.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

A silent and grim Orson LeRoux sits arms crossed, just

listening. A hostile look on his face. Kristen has a piece of
paper and pencil in front of him:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Take your time. Just reproduce the
drawing as best you can.

A simple picture of a dog. But LeRoux just stares straight

ahead, surly. Kristen and DaCosta eye him.

DAVID DACOSTA
We’re here to help you, Orson.

But LeRoux just stares at them. Not moving.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Okay, we can always go home, but
then you’ve lost your audience.

LeRoux just stares at her. Kristen and David nod, call his
bluff, collect the pencil, paper, starting to stand when--

--Orson chuckles. Menacing. Guttural. A return to his demonic

personality. Kristen starts to respond when DaCosta touches
her arm, stops her. Something has changed in LeRoux. A dark
ghoulish grin.
 46.

DAVID DACOSTA
Roy?
(nothing... silence)
Is that you, Roy?

Then from a very quiet and very dark place...

ORSON LEROUX
Dic ad ferreo canis exprimamus.

DAVID DACOSTA
Be polite or we’ll leave you right
now.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(whispers)
What’d he say?

ORSON LEROUX
Suus 'non iustus a me. Sexaginta
sunt nobis.

DAVID DACOSTA
He says there are sixty of them.
(to LeRoux)
In English, or we’ll leave. Sixty,
other than yourself?

Orson grins, nods. Demonic:

ORSON LEROUX
And you know one of them.

DAVID DACOSTA
I do?

ORSON LEROUX
No. Not you, idiot. Her.

He nods toward Kristen. She eyes him, unmoved:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Really? That’s too bad. Because I
don’t believe in demons.

ORSON LEROUX
Well, they believe in you. Especially
the one last night.

KRISTEN BENOIST
What’re you talking about?

ORSON LEROUX
“George.” How was he?
 47.

Kristen’s mouth opens, startled. DaCosta looks over at her:

something’s wrong, as LeRoux just laughs, seeing the effect
on her:

ORSON LEROUX (CONT’D)

Yes. David doesn’t know about George,
does he? But I do! Your little late
night visitor. Kissing your little
cesarian scar. Your panties. How cute.

Kristen is startled, horrified.

ORSON LEROUX (CONT’D)

And he’s going to be with you
tonight and every single night.

Kristen stares at him as LeRoux laughs ghoulishly:

ORSON LEROUX (CONT’D)

Exacuere vade ad eum suffigi et
filiae tuae.

EXT. ORLEANS PARISH PRISON - DAY

Bang-- Kristen rushes out of the prison, out of breath, her

mind reeling. Baffled. How could he know? DaCosta exits
behind her:

DAVID DACOSTA
What was that about? Who’s George?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I don’t-- How could he have known?

DAVID DACOSTA
What?

Kristen sees some guards passing. She steps away, whispers:

KRISTEN BENOIST
I had night terrors the last two
nights-- waking nightmares--

DAVID DACOSTA
I know what they are. I get them too.
(off Kristen’s look)
Hazards of the job.

KRISTEN BENOIST
A shadow figure was in my dream who
called himself George. He talked
about my underwear, my... scar.

DaCosta stares at her, realizes that’s what Orson referenced.

 48.

DAVID DACOSTA
Did you tell anyone about this?

KRISTEN BENOIST
No. No one. What did he say in
Latin? At the end, what did he say?

DAVID DACOSTA
Exacuere vade ad eum suffigi et
filiae tuae.

KRISTEN BENOIST
What does that mean?

DaCosta pauses, worried how she’ll react.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Tell me.

DAVID DACOSTA
“George will slash the throats of
your daughters.”
(Kristen gasps)
Sometimes the devil just says
things to provoke--

But Kristen gets in her car, starts it, but she stops,
reconsiders. DaCosta at her window.

DAVID DACOSTA (CONT’D)

What is it?

KRISTEN BENOIST
It doesn’t make sense. Look, I know
you believe in this stuff. I don’t.
How could he have known what was...?

But a thought hits Kristen. A certain thought. Not a good one.

DAVID DACOSTA
What?

KRISTEN BENOIST
I think I know what happened.

INT. DR. BOGG’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE - HALL - DAY

Kristen charges down a university hallway, intent and

passionate. She pushes through a door into...

INT. DR. BOGG’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE - DAY

...Dr. Boggs office where he’s seeing a student...

 49.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Who did you talk to?

DR. KURT BOGGS

Kristen. Excuse me. If you could
come back. I’m seeing a student--

KRISTEN BENOIST
I need to know now. Who did you
talk to about my session yesterday?

INT. DR. BOGG’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE - FILE ROOM - DAY

Boggs leads Kristen into a file room, and closes the door:

DR. KURT BOGGS

I’ve never told anyone about our
sessions. That would be breaking--

KRISTEN BENOIST
Someone knew what I told you: about
the shadow figure, my thoughts on my
boss. You’re the only one I told--

DR. KURT BOGGS

It didn’t come from me. Kristen, I
take pride in doctor-client--

KRISTEN BENOIST
You take notes. During our
sessions. Where are they?

DR. KURT BOGGS

They’re locked in my filing
cabinets, Kristen. They always are--

KRISTEN BENOIST
I want to see them.

DR. KURT BOGGS

That’s not really necessary--

KRISTEN BENOIST
Kurt, let me see them now!

Boggs exhales, crosses to a filing cabinet. Starts to unlock

it when he pauses, sees the lock is broken, bent.

DR. KURT BOGGS

That’s weird.

Kristen slumps, sees it too. Fuck, fuck! Intent...

 50.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Let me see my file.
(before Boggs can object)
Kurt.

Boggs nods, reaches in, finds her file, opens it. It’s empty.

DR. KURT BOGGS

This makes no sense. Who would take it?

INT. KRISTEN CAR - DAY

But an intense Kristen is driving away, even faster. And...

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - HALL - DAY

...Kristen charges down the hall when she sees a GUARD:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Randy. Who else visited LeRoux in
the last two days?

GUARD
Why?

KRISTEN BENOIST
Because someone slipped him stolen
information.

GUARD
No one. Just you two.

KRISTEN BENOIST
We have to sign in every time we
see him. Who else signed in?

GUARD
I can’t show you that.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Well, I have to sign in again.

The Guard stares at her, sighs. And...

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - GUARD BOOTH - DAY

...a SIGN-IN BOOK is flopped opened. The Guard hands Kristen

a pen, and she reaches to sign, but she actually runs her
finger up the column toward the earlier names. Impatient:

GUARD
Seriously?
 51.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Almost done.

She sees her name. David’s name. Then a new name. “L. Houseman.”

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

Who’s “L. Houseman”?

GUARD
I couldn’t tell you even if I knew.

Kristen considers it. A new thought hitting.

INT. ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL COURT - HALL - DAY

BAM-- Kristen shoves through a courthouse door, crosses through

a crowd of lawyers, everything faster now. She pushes into...

INT. ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL COURT - DAY

...the courtroom, standing at the back, seeing an expert

witness on the stand being questioned by the defense:

TOMMY BOUTELLA
And you’ve seen this demonic possession
when you interviewed my client?

LELAND HOUSEMAN
On three occasions.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
And what did he say?

LELAND HOUSEMAN
He said--

But the defense expert pauses, seeing Kristen at the back.

LELAND HOUSEMAN (42), kindly, trusted, handsome, a twinkle in
his eye (until there isn’t).

LELAND HOUSEMAN (CONT’D)

He said that a demon named Roy
committed the murders.

TOMMY BOUTELLA
We’ve already seen your report, but
if you could summarize your
conclusion, Dr. Houseman.

Kristen looks up at the name: “Houseman.” Houseman looks

toward Kristen, meets her eye. Kristen recognizes him as the
Kindly Man who asked her if she was alright while entering
the prison in the Teaser.
 52.

INT. ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL COURT - HALL - DAY

Kristen is out in the hall, on her cell:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Kurt, do you know a forensic
psychologist named Houseman?

INT. DR. BOGG’S UNIVERSITY OFFICE - DAY

INTERCUT with Kurt in his office:

DR. KURT BOGGS (O.S.)

No. Wait, one second.

He turns to his tattooed secretary, ROBIN (26):

DR. KURT BOGGS (CONT’D)

Robin, do we know a Dr. Houseman?

ROBIN
No. Is that the guy who was here
yesterday about an appointment?

DR. KURT BOGGS

Kristen, there was a man who wanted to
pay for a session, but he left before
we could get his contact info.

Kristen looks up, seeing Leland Houseman exiting court,

checking his texts. Appalled, angrily to Dr. Boggs:

KRISTEN BENOIST
He broke into your filing cabinet
and took your notes, Kurt. He has
everything I ever told you--

DR. KURT BOGGS

Why would he do that--?

But Kristen hangs up, frustrated. She inhales deeply, starts

toward Houseman, as a rush of memories flood her mind--

INT. DR. BOGG’S OFFICE - (MEMORIES OF PAST SESSIONS) - DAY

Remembrance of therapy sessions past. Snippets overlapping:

KRISTEN BENOIST
My daughters are everything...
(later)
...I’m not sure if I have crush on
someone because he’s unobtainable...
(later)
(MORE)
 53.

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT'D)

...I worry my husband will never
return...
(later)
...sometimes I wish I never gave up
climbing...

INT. ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL COURT - HALL - DAY

And Kristen grows angrier, realizing her secrets have been

exposed to a serial killer, coming up to Houseman:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Dr. Houseman?

He turns, sees her, puts his phone away, prepares himself:

LELAND HOUSEMAN
Ms. Benoist, my loyal opposition,
we’ve never met. Hello.

KRISTEN BENOIST
(ignoring his offered hand)
Why’d you do it?

LELAND HOUSEMAN
Why? I’m being paid by the defense.

KRISTEN BENOIST
No, why’d you give my therapy notes
to a serial killer?

Houseman eyes her. A long pause. Then his face twists. No

longer a kindly man. Something in his eyes. Not a twinkle,
something dark. (Easter egg: the alchemic symbol for sulphur
is woven into the background.) Houseman leans in, whispers:

LELAND HOUSEMAN
You’re in way over your head, Ms.
Benoist. Why don’t you just leave
it to the professionals?

KRISTEN BENOIST
And who are the professionals?

LELAND HOUSEMAN
Your boy toy, DaCosta. LeRoux. The
sixty.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Who are the sixty?

LELAND HOUSEMAN
People who know who you are now.
“Therapy session notes number 37.”
(MORE)
 54.

LELAND HOUSEMAN (CONT'D)

(mocking)
“Oh my god, I’m going to be an old
maid. Oh no. I want a man. My husband
is off climbing mountains...”

Kristen eyes Houseman who grins. A frat boy grin. Kristen

leans in, grows intense...

KRISTEN BENOIST
I’m bringing charges against you
with the APA--

LELAND HOUSEMAN
Oh my god, not the APA! They’ll have
to write me a letter of censure.
(chuckles darkly)
Here’s the thing, Ms. Benoist, you
don’t know real power. There are
sixty people on line right now who
I could order to go to your house,
cut out your heart, and eat it.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Go to hell.

LELAND HOUSEMAN
With pleasure.
(whispers grinning)
In fact, I’ll make room for your
daughters.

Kristen stares at him when-- WHAM-- someone punches him in

the face. Kristen turns to see it’s...

...David, intervening with a powerful punch. Houseman is on

the ground, grabbing his bleeding nose, gasping, looking
intensely at David:

LELAND HOUSEMAN (CONT’D)

Ah, the priest-in-training. Don’t
you have altar boys to rape? And
what happened to non-violence?

DAVID DACOSTA
It’s provisional.

LELAND HOUSEMAN
Ah, is that what Jesus said?

Leland grins as a pissed David turns and marches out of the

courthouse. Kristen eyes Leland and follows.

END OF ACT THREE

 55.

ACT FOUR

INT. SIDEBAR NOLA - DAY

Minutes later. A bar across from the courthouse. Decrepit

charm. DaCosta drinks as Kristen comes up to him:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Now it’s my turn. “Are you alright?”
(off David’s smile and nod)
Who is he? You know him?

DAVID DACOSTA
I’ve seen him. In other... guises.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I don’t-- What does that mean?

David eyes her, considers how to start.

DAVID DACOSTA
There are people in the world who
are... connectors. They influence
people. They have day jobs: teacher,
stockbroker, and even, expert
witness. They pretend to be normal,
but their real pursuit is...
(no other word)
...evil. Encouraging others to do evil.
(off Kristen’s sigh)
You don’t need to believe in the
supernatural to know there are
people who do bad things, and
encourage others to do bad things,
for the sheer pleasure of it--

KRISTEN BENOIST
Sociopaths?

DAVID DACOSTA
Right. That’s where our beliefs
overlap. Because that man is a
sociopath who feels less alone when
he encourages someone else to do
what he does--

David nods toward the BAR TV where there is the usual cable
news buffet of killings, wars, politics...

DAVID DACOSTA (CONT’D)

The world is getting worse because evil
is no longer isolated. Because bad
people talk to each other. They’re
connected.
 56.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Through social media?

DAVID DACOSTA
Yes.

KRISTEN BENOIST
You think Houseman connected with
LaRoux on-line?

DAVID DACOSTA
And encouraged him to rape and kill.

KRISTEN BENOIST
But the police had LeRoux’s
computer. There was nothing there.

David considers it.

DAVID DACOSTA
What did LeRoux say on the recording?
(off Kristen’s confusion)
The one his wife did?

David hops up, starts out, Kristen following.

INT. GARDEN DISTRICT MANSION - DAY

Emily’s iphone. Emily plays it again (the recording from the

top of Act One) for David and Kristen who listen intently:

EMILY LEROUX (ON RECORDING)

Orson. It’s me.

ORSON LEROUX (ON RECORDING)

Turn that off. I need your log-in--

And-- click-- that’s it. Kristen and David look up:

DAVID DACOSTA
What did he mean, “your log-in?”

EMILY LEROUX
That has nothing to do with possession.

DAVID DACOSTA
Orson used your email password, didn’t
he?
(Emily frowns, looks away)
Emily, we think someone was in
touch with Orson, encouraging him
to commit these crimes.
Something... demonic.
 57.

Kristen shoots a look toward David at “demonic.” Emily sees

the look.

EMILY LEROUX
You think this too?

Kristen. On the spot. She pauses, considers it.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I think, I can’t find a medical
reason for your husband’s crimes,
Emily. So I think it’s probable
that someone influenced him. It
would be helpful to find out who.

Emily eyes her, considers it. And...

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - HALL - DAY

...Kristen and David march again toward the prison meeting

room. One last meeting with Orson.

INT. PRISON INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

Orson is led in by two Guards. He grins as he sees David and

Kristen waiting for him:

ORSON LEROUX
Ahhh. Just the woman I want to see.

But Kristen keeps it official, objective:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Good afternoon, Mr. LeRoux, I have
567 true or false statements---

ORSON LEROUX
Really? Are we back to those? I
liked the dog picture better.

DAVID DACOSTA
It’s your last test.

ORSON LEROUX
Good to see you too, David. You
should probably know what Kristen
thinks about you all the time.
Dirty disgusting sexual fantasies--

KRISTEN BENOIST
True or false? “I wake up every
morning refreshed and optimistic.”
 58.

ORSON LEROUX
(leans in, whispering)
She wants to feel your hands on her
breasts, in her vagina-- that’s what
she tells her therapist. I can quote
from the therapy notes if you like--

KRISTEN BENOIST
True or false. Answer it, or we’ll
leave.

ORSON LEROUX
True. But I preferred the questions
about diarrhea.

KRISTEN BENOIST
“I used my wife’s e-mail account to
avoid detection.”

LeRoux looks up, startled by the new statement. He looks

toward Kristen, not what he expected.

DAVID DACOSTA
True or false, Orson?

ORSON LEROUX
Where are you getting this?

DAVID DACOSTA
From your wife’s computer. She gave
us your password.

ORSON LEROUX
False!

KRISTEN BENOIST
“I logged onto the dark web where I
collected snuff photos of rape and
murder.”

ORSON LEROUX
False!

David places xeroxed photos in front of an appalled Orson. We

see just glimpses: bloody, exposed bone, screaming faces.

KRISTEN BENOIST
“Here are some of the photos from my
secret stash.”

ORSON LEROUX
None of this is true!
(to the guard)
I want back in my cell.
 59.

KRISTEN BENOIST
“The dark web is where I met Leland
Houseman who encouraged me to use my
job to gain access to people’s homes.”

ORSON LEROUX
GUARD! GUARD! I want my cell!

KRISTEN BENOIST
Get used to that cell, Orson. You
didn’t black out. You knew what you
were doing. You just wanted to get
away with raping and killing--

ORSON LEROUX
(to the guard)
I SAID I WANT OUT!

KRISTEN BENOIST
You’re never getting out. You’re 38
years old, and prisons have good
health care, so you’ll die when
you’re 80. That’s 22,630 sunrises
and sunsets, and you’ll miss every
single one of them--

ORSON LEROUX
You’re a bitch.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Oh boy, do you have that right.

Orson stares at her as the guards come forward and lead him
out. Gone. The door slamming. Kristen and David stare at the
closed door together. David looks over at her. A long second.
She doesn’t look back, responding:

KRISTEN BENOIST (CONT’D)

I’m sorry, I said things about you
in therapy.

DAVID DACOSTA
It’s okay. We’re good.

Kristen looks over at him. He smiles. She smiles back.

INT. ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE - NIGHT

The snuff photos and emails are placed in front of an

impressed Lewis Cormier.

LEWIS CORMIER
Where are these from?
 60.

KRISTEN BENOIST
His wife’s account. You’ll also find
emails from the defense expert,
Houseman, coaching LeRoux on how to
win an insanity plea: how he could
use Latin to fake possession.

Cormier nods, nods, looks up at Kristen.

LEWIS CORMIER
So this proves I was right then? I
was right and you were wrong?

Kristen eyes him, smiles. What an asshole.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yep. Good job.

Kristen starts to leave, but Cormier stops her:

LEWIS CORMIER
You’ve got your job back, Kristen.
We miss you here. Come back.

Kristen turns, eyes him. And...

EXT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT

...two cars pull up to Kristen’s nighttime apartment. Kristen

gets out of one. David the other. The two start toward her
office door. She opens it, and...

INT. KRISTEN’S APARTMENT - DOWNSTAIRS OFFICE - NIGHT

...yelps, startled to see Ben in her office, feet up on her

desk, flipping through a file:

BEN SCHWEIGER
God, it’s cold in here.

KRISTEN BENOIST
I thought the door was locked.

BEN SCHWEIGER
It was. Your mother let me in. I
handled your whispering problem
upstairs. It was the gas to the oven.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Thanks.

BEN SCHWEIGER
The pilot light went out. And I was
bored. These are awful.
 61.

He holds up a canned Margarita.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Yes, but they’re quick.

BEN SCHWEIGER
So is amyl nitrate. Why are you back
here anyway?

David trades a look with Kristen...

DAVID DACOSTA
We wanted to talk.

BEN SCHWEIGER
Well, good. You’ve got cute kids.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Thank you.

BEN SCHWEIGER
They showed me their constellation.
I adjusted the distance to Proxima
Centauri.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Lynn must’ve loved that.

BEN SCHWEIGER
She took it well. So this.
(the file)
The next assessment. It’s not a
demonic possession.

DAVID DACOSTA
What is it?

BEN SCHWEIGER
A miracle. And there’s video.

DAVID DACOSTA
There’s video of a miracle?

BEN SCHWEIGER
Supposedly.
(nodding toward Kristen)
Is she joining us?

DAVID DACOSTA
I don’t know.

BEN SCHWEIGER
Are you joining us?
 62.

KRISTEN BENOIST
Wasn’t I just investigating LeRoux?

BEN SCHWEIGER
DaCosta has a way of latching onto
people and not letting go.

DAVID DACOSTA
Would you like to do another
assessment? Can you do another?

KRISTEN BENOIST
The D.A.’s office wants me back.

BEN SCHWEIGER
You don’t want to go back there.
You’re just a mercenary there.

KRISTEN BENOIST
And what am I here?

DAVID DACOSTA
Our resident skeptic.

Kristen smiles. Likes that.

BEN SCHWEIGER
I handle construction. You handle
science. He handles religion. All we
need is a ninja and we’ll be set.

Kristen laughs, looks between them. This is insane.

DAVID DACOSTA
You said you liked challenges. This
is a challenge.

They both look to Kristen. She looks back at them. Takes a

second, considers it. Then answers:

KRISTEN BENOIST
Sure. Why not?

And we CUT TO BLACK. But just before the credits, we get a

quick subliminal flash of the sigil (actual spelling) of
Lucifer: the symbol of the Sixty (more about that later).

END OF EPISODE