Página PrincipalInternal dating: There are several references to it being winter. Presumably, that's winter 1998. Episode aired February 1998.
The girl's mother (Melissa Turner) opens the passenger side door and almost seems to be pleading with her daughter that she needs to get groceries and that it won't take long. The daughter (Polly), gives her mother a cold glare and otherwise does not respond.
Melissa and Polly begin walking towards the Super Saver grocery store, with Melissa looking nervously about her all the while. A tall older woman wearing severe clothing, eyeglasses and a short hair cut glares at them as she passes, then seems to mutter some thing to herself as she moves on. Polly looks back at the woman (Jane Froelich) as Melissa continues on into the grocery store.
Once inside the store, Melissa sets Polly into the kiddie seat of the grocery carts though it is patently obvious she is almost too big for it. A woman stares as they pass her, Melissa pushing Polly in the cart.
As they walk past the fresh meat section, Dave the butcher emerges from the back carrying a plastic tub full of wrapped meat. Melissa shoots him a hunted glance. Dave seems surprised to see her. Polly glares at Dave and tells her mother she doesn't like this store and that she wants to go home. Her voice is low and hard and demanding.
Melissa tries to soothe Polly. Dolly's eyes spring open. We hear a voice--presumably Dolly's--saying; "Let's have fun."
Melissa is pushing the cart past the frozen foods aisle at this point--rows of upright freezers with clear, glass doors. She suddenly sees Dave, seemingly trapped behind one of the doors. We can see through him, so presumably Melissa is having a premonitory vision. A knife is protruding from Dave's right eye, blood is covering his face. He is pleading for Melissa to help him.
Horror-stricken, Melissa rushes on. "We're going home, Polly. Please...don't do this to Mommy," she begs as she lifts the child and her doll from the cart and prepares to leave the store. She has not had time to pick up a single grocery item.
The sound of breaking glass is heard. Melissa turns and sees the woman who stared at them after they entered the store. The woman has dropped her plastic shopping basket and is striking herself in the head, clawing at her own eyes.
Melissa glances at Polly who is watching what is happening. There is very little expression on the child's face. Melissa heads for the door as suddenly every person in the store except them begins to hit and claw at their own eyes and faces.
Dave the butcher comes out and just has a chance to see the mayhem before he too begins to exhibit the same bizarre behaviour. He is wearing chain-mail butcher's gloves, but still manages to scratch himself up pretty well. He staggers to a phone and dials 911, exhorting the dispatcher to; "Send whoever you've got on duty." The skin around his eyes is deeply abraded. As he hangs up the phone, he sees what appears to be the reflection of a doll in the stainless steel door of a meat locker and he hears a voice saying; "I want to play."
He drops the phone, unsheathing a knife from a holster he is wearing. He holds the knife straight out, his eyes wide. His hand turns until the knife is pointed at his face. It is obvious he is not doing this of his own volition and he fights and struggles as some force moves his hand and the knife he is holding inexorably towards his eye. He screams as the camera pans back to the reflection of the doll in the meat locker door.
Where's a Cabbage Patch Kid when you need one, huh?
Credits roll. The truth is out there.
Ammas Beach, Maine; a seaside town in winter. We see a dark blue Mustang convertible rolling down the street and pulling into a gas station. The top is down. Scully emerges from the car and begins to fill the tank with gas. She is dressed in a short-sleeved white crew-necked T-shirt bearing the logo; "Maine: The way life should be", black jeans and is wearing sunglasses with gray-green oval-shaped lenses.
She hears her cell phone ringing. In order to answer it, she has to unlock the trunk of the car and dig the phone out of an outside pocket of her grey tweed suitcase with leather trim.
The caller is (surprise!) Mulder. Scully reminds him; "I thought we had an agreement; that we were both going to take the weekend off."
Scene flashes to Mulder who is dressed for the office in a tie, coloured shirt (aubergine?), no suit jacket. The tie is loosened and his shirtsleeves are rolled up. He is standing or leaning with one foot on the rollers of an office chair, doing a kind of up and down fidgety thing that's hard to describe. He continues to do this throughout the conversation, as if he can't sit or stand still.
He agrees with Scully while continuing to do the chair dance thing, then tells her he's received information about a case; "a classic X-File--classic. I wanted to share it with you."
Scene flashes back to Scully whose expression is one of; "this is not happening" as she firmly tells her partner; "Mulder, I'm on vacation. The weather is clear, I'm looking forward to hitting the road and breathing some of this fine New England air."
"You didn't rent a convertible, did you?" is Mulder's dry response.
Puzzled, Scully asks why.
Still chair bopping, Mulder assumes a scholarly tone and asks her; "Are you aware of the statistics on decapitation?"
"Mulder, I'm hanging up. I'm turning off my cell phone. I'm back in the office on Monday," is Scully's response.
STILL doing chairobics, Mulder tries again. "You shouldn't talk and drive, either. Are you aware of the statistics--"
He is talking to dead air at this point. Scully, true to her word, has hung up.
Scully looks resigned. She shakes her head slightly and puts her phone away.
She drives into the Super Saver parking lot just as Melissa Turner backs out of her space, forcing Scully to brake rather suddenly to avoid hitting the other car. Before Scully has a chance to react otherwise, the Turner car takes off.
Scully looks around and sees an elderly man emerging from the store, the skin around his eyes bleeding. Scully pulls on a short, black jacket and approaches the man, asking him what happened. He tells her; "I think we need a doctor."
Scully enters the store and sees the aftermath of Melissa and Polly's visit. We can hear people softly crying. All of them have bloody eyes and appear stunned and shocked.
Scully is accosted by the store's Assistant Manager who asks her who she is. She explains that she is an FBI agent and asks him what happened. He says he doesn't know, but; "Dave the butcher...I think he's dead." Scully goes off to take a look at Dave. I'm no expert, but he looked very dead to me.
Scene changes back to Mulder who is still at the office. He is watching something on television. We can hear soft moans and cries. An empty tape box on his desk bears the title; "Alien Probe". This viewer makes no assumptions on what the probes might have involved.
His telephone rings. It's Scully. When Mulder says; "I though you were on vacation," Scully's response is; "I am. I'm up in Maine."
Mulder toys with her. "Oh...I thought you said you didn't want to be disturbed, that you wanted to get out of your head for a few days."
We hear Scully's voice only at this point. "I don't...I mean, I do." She pauses. "What are you watching Mulder?"
"It's 'The World's Deadliest Swarms'. Um...you said you were going to be unreachable. What's goin' on?" He fumbles with the VCR remote and as Scully begins to answer, he manages to get the sound muted or pause the tape--it isn't clear what he does at this point.
Scully tells him she's at a market and that she's trying to give local police; "a handle, here." When Mulder asks her what she's trying to help with, she confesses that she is not certain how to describe it as she did not personally witness events. She then goes on to describe events as she views them on the store's security video. She tells Mulder about the manner of Dave the butcher's death--apparently self-inflicted. She does not use the word "suicide".
Mulder suggests the cause may be witchcraft or sorcery. Scully replies that she doesn't think so, as she's had a look around and hasn't found any evidence to support such a theory.
While she is talking to Mulder, Chief of Police John Bonsaint is looking at her rather strangely, no doubt due to the calm and rational manner in which she is talking about the things she is. Bonsaint exchanges a glance with his deputy, Buddy Riggs. The two men aren't looking too sure about asking for Scully's help at this point.
In response to Mulder's rather patronizing; "Maybe you don't know what you're looking for," Scully shoots back without so much as a pause for breath; "Like evidence of conjury or the black arts or shamanism, divination, Wicca or any kind of pagan or neo-pagan practice...charms, cards, familiars, bloodstones or hex signs or any of the ritual tableaux associated with the occult, Santeria, Voudoun, Macumba, or any high or low magic?"
His eyes glazing over, Mulder's response is a deadpan; "Marry me."
Without skipping a beat, Scully says; "I was hoping for something a little more helpful."
Mulder tells her; "Short of looking for a lady in a tall, pointy hat, I think you've got it pretty well covered, there." He hangs up.
Chief Bonsaint and Deputy Riggs have been watching Scully and looking at each other throughout her whole conversation with Mulder as if wondering whether they should have asked for her help so quickly.
Frustrated, Scully continues to watch the security camera video. She sees Melissa Turner, carrying Polly and Dolly and running from the store.
In response to her queries, Deputy Riggs tells her Melissa's name. Scully points out that Melissa seems to have been the only person unaffected by the outbreak of violence in the store.
"What's your point?" asks Riggs. He seems to be regarding Scully warily.
"You might want to talk to her," Scully suggests, making it sound like; "Well, duh."
Chief Bonsaint says nothing to Riggs, though he does follow Scully when she leaves the room, presumably so she can get started on this vacation of hers.
Bonsaint, after making sure that Scully is staying in Ammas Beach, goes on to tell Scully that people had accused Melissa Turner of being a witch and that he had chalked up their talk to the fact that Melissa, being single and attractive, was perceived by some as a threat.
Scully tells Bonsaint that she is not much of a believer in witchcraft and while he concurs, he also tells Scully that Melissa had been involved with Dave the butcher who was the only fatality, and so Bonsaint figures it will be difficult for people not to believe that some form of witchcraft had been involved in his death.
Scene changes to Deputy Riggs who calls Melissa on the phone. In the background at the Turner home, we can hear the first of what will be many renditions of the song "The Hokey Pokey".
When Melissa answers the phone, Polly demands to know who it is. Melissa doesn't tell Polly; she just leaves the room Polly and Dolly are in.
There is a tense exchange between Melissa and Riggs. Riggs tells Melissa he knows she was at the Super Saver. Melissa protests that she has no idea what Riggs is talking about. Polly orders her mother to hang up the phone. Melissa withdraws from Polly and keeps on talking to Riggs. Riggs goes on to tell Melissa that there is talk of her being involved in the events that transpired at the Super Saver. Melissa protests that she is not involved in anything. Riggs says that he wants to help her but that they'll have to be careful or they'll both be answering a lot of questions. It's fairly apparent that Riggs is carrying a torch for Melissa at this point.
In the background, we can hear Polly shouting for her mother. Melissa, using a cordless phone, is in her backyard by now. It is at this point that Riggs tells Melissa that Dave the butcher is dead. Though shaken, Melissa is not really surprised, having seen the "preview" in the glass freezer door earlier.
Riggs goes on to say that he wants to see Melissa because; "You need a friend more than ever." Melissa, hand fluttering at her heart, protests that he can't.
Scene changes to Polly's bedroom. "The Hokey Pokey" is still playing on the record player. Dolly's eyes spring open. We hear her say; "Let's have fun."
Back to Melissa who is still in the yard and who is telling Riggs he can't come over and that she can't see him. When he asks why, she tells him she cannot explain. He insists he's coming over and that Melissa shouldn't be alone.
The camera pans back and away from Melissa. The back yard is strung with lines which are covered with laundered bed sheets. We can clearly see the silhouette of Dolly behind one of the sheets. Apparently, Melissa is *not* alone.
"The Hokey Pokey" is still playing as the scene fades.
Melissa Turner residence. 2:08 PM
Chief Bonsaint and Scully arrive. Scully is looking less than thrilled. She is wearing her sunglasses again and the same clothes as before.
The Chief knocks on the front door. There is no answer. Scully looks through a window and sees that the back door is wide open.
She and Bonsaint go to the back of the house. Bonsaint observes that the sheets are still wet. Bonsaint and Scully enter the Turner home. Scully goes into Polly's bedroom and calls Bonsaint in when she notices that Polly's window is nailed shut from the inside. Scully surmises that Melissa was afraid of something. Bonsaint doesn't seem to know how to react to that.
In answer to Scully's; "Do you know her?", Bonsaint tells Scully that Melissa is a local; born and raised in Ammas Beach and that she had even married a fisherman. Camera pans to a photograph of the Turner family, taken when Rich Turner was still alive.
Bonsaint goes on to tell Scully that Melissa was widowed the previous year when Rich Turner died in a boating accident. He says he's not sure whether Polly ever really understood what happened.
"Toys in the attic," he says enigmatically, nodding in confirmation when Scully asks if Polly is autistic.
He tells Scully of an incident between Polly and the proprietor of a local daycare center the previous year wherein the proprietor, Jane Froelich, had lost her license because she had slapped Polly across the face. Jane claimed that Polly had had a tantrum so severe that she was forced to use drastic action. However, Jane then claimed that Polly had assaulted her and knocked her down. Bonsaint had never been able to prove that Polly had assaulted Jane. The incident had resulted in not only the loss of the license, but in Polly being totally ostracized to the point where she had not attended school since that time. Melissa had subsequently been labeled a witch.
Scully comes back to the fact that Melissa and Dave the butcher were involved. We find out that Dave was married and that it is Bonsaint's opinion that Dave made a fool of himself over Melissa, even though she had not reciprocated his affections. The affair was unrequited.
Scully speculates that Dave might have threatened Melissa which might have frightened her enough to nail her windows shut. Bonsaint assures Scully; "Oh, he wasn't that big a fool."
Bonsaint then wonders aloud if the windows were nailed shut to keep something from getting out rather than to keep something from getting in. When Scully asks; "Like what?", Bonsaint's response is a shoulder shrug and a; "Just a thought." Puh-leeze...
Scene changes to a local ice cream parlour. Deputy Riggs sets a big, gooey sundae down in front of Polly, pats her on the head and then joins Melissa at a different table where he can talk to her privately.
Melissa is very obviously still distraught and nervous. Riggs suggests that she leave town. She says she has nowhere to go and cannot afford it. An exchange follows in which we get confirmation that Riggs has indeed been carrying a torch for Melissa and that he is trying to help her.
Protesting that; "You don't understand" seems to be about all Melissa is able to do.
Polly picks up her half-finished sundae and heads for the counter.
Melissa tries to explain to Riggs what happened at the grocery store, telling him; "I've seen...things."
Polly, now at the counter, is demanding more cherries.
"I saw Dave dead before he was dead. I saw him in frozen foods all cut and bloody. And it's not the first time. My husband...I saw him... in a window...dead before it happened--you know, with the hook?"
(*Note -- the addition of that "...with the hook?", had this viewer rolling on the floor. I mean, really. How likely is it that anyone would forget that little detail? Talk about a tension-snapper...)
The clerk behind the ice cream shop counter is telling Polly that if she wants extra cherries, she'll have to pay for them. A take-out order drives up and the clerk goes off to look after that. Polly glares at her. The doll, still sitting where Polly left her, opens its eyes and says; "Let's have fun." Had I mentioned that the clerk has a long ponytail?
Polly demands more cherries from her mother. Melissa prepares to leave, picking up her jacket and the doll and coming back to the counter for Polly.
Riggs follows Melissa and forces her to take a key, telling her it if for a cabin near Skoodic Lake. Polly is calling for Melissa over and over at this point.
The clerk, who is making a milkshake, gets her ponytail caught in the milkshake machine and starts screaming and bleeding. Riggs vaults over the counter and after fumbling around for a bit, finds the "off" button. He begins to pull the clerk's hair out of the machine while watching Melissa flee with Polly. It looks like Dolly found a way to have some more fun.
Scully and Chief Bonsaint pay a call to Jane Froelich, the former proprietor of the "Wee Lassies and Laddies Day Care" center. The woman is none too happy to see them, but does ask if Scully and Bonsaint have talked to Melissa Turner. "That whore's a witch, sure as I'm standin' here," she says. "She's descended from the Hawthornes in Salem and the Englishes, too. She comes from a cursed lineage and now she's passin' it on to the whelp."
Bonsaint asks Jane if they can come in and talk to her. We are treated to yet another diatribe against Melissa and Polly. "Our great-great-grandfathers knew how to treat witches. They would have driven the demon out of that little girl...and given that slattern of a mother just what she's got coming!" she hisses as she closes the door in Scully's and Bonsaint's faces.
"New England hospitality. Heard about it my whole life; finally go a chance to experience if for myself," is Scully's dry rejoinder as she and Bonsaint head for Bonsaint's squad car.
Scully patiently explains to Chief Bonsaint that bringing Melissa Turner in for questioning might be a good idea. When he asks; "under what pretext?", she patiently replies that she is certain there is a reasonable explanation for recent events and that Melissa Turner is the most logical person to ask.
"I wish I could help you out," she concludes. "You know, I'm just...on vacation."
Yeah, right. Even Scully is looking unconvinced at this point.
Jane Froelich watches from he window as Scully and Bonsaint drive away.
Skoodic Lake Ranger Station. 11:06 PM
Melissa, having apparently decided to take Riggs' advice and his kind offer of a safe haven, is stopped by a ranger on her way to Riggs' cabin. He explains that; "winter is still in full force at the lake" and inquires about their gear and food supplies, cautioning Melissa that electrical power is; "iffy". Melissa assures him that she and Polly will be fine.
Polly protests that she wants to go home, demanding' "I want my bed, I want my records." Dolly's eyes open and she says; "Let's have fun."
The ranger says he'll take their license plate number as Melissa notices what Dolly's doing. She stares at the doll, then looks over her shoulder, only to see a vision of Jane Froelich pressed against the rear window glass, her throat cut and bleeding, whispering; "Help me." Panic-stricken, she puts the car in gear, nearly running down the ranger as she pulls a U-turn and heads back to Ammas Beach.
Scene changes to the house of Jane Froelich. "The Hokey-Pokey" can be heard playing. Jane, dressed as if for bed in pajamas and robe, moves through her house, turning on lights and calling out; "Hello?" and; "Who's there?"
She enters a room where a record player is on. 45's are scattered about the floor. The light switch in that room does not work. She walks to the record player to turn it off, breaking at least one of the vinyl disks in half.
Just as she lifts the tone arm of the record player, we see a shadow moving behind her and hear a voice saying; "I want to play." The record starts up again, skipping repeatedly at; "that's what it's all about!"
Controlled by the doll, Froelich picks up one of the broken halves of the record she stepped on and though she struggles, telling the doll; "I'm not afraid of you," the inevitable denouement ensues and she is forced to cut her own throat. We can see the vague shape of the doll standing in the doorway of the room. The record stops skipping and "The Hokey Pokey" resumes as the camera pans back and down the hall.
Scene changes to Scully in the bathtub at her motel. Classical music can be heard playing in the background. She is up to her chin in bubbles and looks relaxed and content.
The telephone rings. She partially opens her eyes and groans. The phone keeps ringing. She shoves the door closed with her foot and does not answer.
Later, we can see the remnants of a room service meal. Scully, dressed in a dark, V-necked, long-sleeved shirt and black jeans is towel-drying her hair. She spies the message light blinking on the phone by her bed. A book called; "Affirmations For Women Who Do Too Much" is beside the phone.
Ignoring the phone, Scully opens the drapes. Her face falls. Chief Bonsaint is just outside, obviously on his way to see her. She smiles half-heartedly at him when he waves.
Bonsaint takes Scully to Jane Froelich's house, telling Scully it appears as if Jane died by her own hand. When Scully asks how, Bonsaint tells Riggs to; "show her the thing." Bonsaint then moves off to answer his ringing cell phone.
Riggs gives Scully the record fragment which is sealed in an evidence bag. Blood can be seen coagulated on the fragment.
As Scully moves to examine Jane's body, Bonsaint hands her his cell phone, telling her; "It's for you."
"Hey! Morning sunshine!" comes Mulder's cheery greeting. We can hear pounding or hammering as well as his voice over the phone.
Scully looks aggrieved. "Mulder?"
"Yeah. I was--uh--a little worried about you and I was wondering if you needed my help up there." Still we can hear the pounding noises.
"Needed your help on what?"
"I left you a message at the motel--you didn't get it?"
"I was...up and out this morning." Perhaps the first time Scully has ever told her partner a fib. "Mulder? What's that noise? Where are you?"
"I'm at home. They're doing construction right outside the window. Hold on a sec."
Through Scully's phone we hear Mulder shouting at someone to; "just keep it down for a *second*, maybe?"
Scene changes at that point to Mulder's apartment. He is dressed in black bike shorts or perhaps boxer briefs and a slate-blue long- sleeved jersey or Henley. There is no construction going on outside his window. He is bouncing his basketball on top of his coffee table. He yells; "Thank you!" to the imaginary construction crew and tosses the basketball into a corner, wincing when it sounds like something breaks as he picks up the phone to talk to Scully. Prior to that, he must have had her on the speaker.
"Yeah, hey, I was thinking about this case," he says. "Maybe it's not witchcraft after all. Maybe there's a...maybe there's a scientific explanation."
Note. A Mulder rational explanation? Okay, who -is- this guy and -what- has he done with Mulder? No wonder he stuttered.
Equally taken aback, Scully parrots his words back to him.
"Yeah, a medical cause; something called chorea."
"Dancing sickness."
"Yeah, St. Vitus's Dance." Mulder opens his refrigerator. There is a large container of juice inside. Nothing else; not even month-old take-out food containers. "It affects groups of people causing unexplained outbursts of uncontrollable jerks and spasms," he goes on. He then takes a big drink of juice directly from the bottle as Scully replies; "Yeah--it hasn't been seen or diagnosed since the Middle Ages."
Mulder gets a strange look on his face, checks the best before date on the juice container (October 1997), grunts; "Uh" as he spits the mouthful he took back into the container and replies; "You're obviously not a fan of American Bandstand, Scully."
Didn't skip a beat; didn't even dribble. What a guy.
"Mulder?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for the help."
Scully disconnects and hands the cell phone back to Bonsaint who apologizes for eavesdropping but asks her if Mulder may have some insight into the case.
"No," is Scully's unequivocal reply.
"The Hokey Pokey" starts playing.
Scully and Bonsaint look over at Riggs who has turned on the record player. Sick recognition floods Riggs' face and he hastily turns off the music.
Obviously wrestling with something in her mind, Scully asks Bonsaint if she can call him "Jack".
"Jack," she tentatively suggests; "maybe it's time to explore other possibilities."
"I'm not sure I understand," Bonsaint replies. What's new, right?
"Well, maybe we need to keep our minds open to...extreme possibilities." Scully is looking pretty uncomfortable at this point. At this point, this viewer was wondering if Mulder and Scully were clones or if Izzy Berkowitz had given some input on the script.
"Okay," Bonsaint readily agrees; "but, uh...aren't you on vacation?"
Scully's reply is a rueful nod.
Scene changes to the Turner house. "The Hokey Pokey" is playing. Polly is sleeping with Dolly. The record player is on.
Melissa comes quietly into the room and approaches the sleeping child. The record ends. Melissa hesitates but continues to approach Polly. Dolly's eyes open and Melissa recoils.
"Let's have fun," the doll says.
The record player starts up again, seemingly of its own volition. Melissa beats a hasty retreat to the kitchen and cries leaning over the sink. She hears her name being called and looks up. Riggs is plastered against the window holding a bloody night stick and calling for help. His face is battered and bruised. Melissa backs away in horror.
Scene changes to Scully and Bonsaint who are at a dockside restaurant. A waitress brings a lobster on a tray and sets it down between the two. Taken aback at the lobster's sheer size, Scully says; "That looks like something out of Jules Verne. We're supposed to eat that?"
Bonsaint happily tears off a claw and tells Scully it's too late for anything else (whatever that means). He continues to dismantle the lobster as Scully questions him about the death of Rich Turner.
In response to Scully's queries, Bonsaint tells her that nobody was ever able to satisfactorily explain how Rich Turner managed to get a boat hook; "clean through his skull." He confirms that Melissa Turner was never questioned and points out that the boat on which Rich Turner died is visible from the restaurant. It is called "Working Girl". Scully recognizes the man on the boat as the elderly gentleman she first saw in the Super Saver the day before.
Back to the Turner house. Polly, preparing to play "The Hokey Pokey" yet *again*, demands popcorn. Melissa meekly agrees to make her some.
Melissa is confronted in the hallway of her house by Buddy Riggs who demands to know what she is doing back in town. Melissa tries to convince him to leave. He accuses her of killing Jane Froelich and says he is taking her in; her and (glaring at Polly through the bedroom door) "your little brat."
Without looking at Riggs, Polly shifts Dolly so that it is facing him. The doll's eyes open and look directly at Riggs. "I want to play," it says.
Scene change. Scully and Bonsaint are talking to the old fisherman who worked with Rich Turner and who was present the night he died. The man appears hesitant to repeat his story to Scully but she does manage to coax him into reconsidering. Scully, Bonsaint and the fisherman are aboard "Working Girl".
We get a flashback scene as the fisherman tells Scully that Rich Turner was deeply in love with Melissa, that he worked hard to build the house in which they lived, that he had been overjoyed when Polly had been born.
On Polly's last birthday, Rich had pulled a doll from a lobster trap and had told the older man he was going to give the doll to Polly as a gift. "Three days later, he was dead," the old man says heavily.
"And you know what killed him," Scully adds. It is not a question.
The fisherman cautions Scully that a person's eyes and ears can be fooled at night on a fishing boat.
Flash back to the night Rich Turner died. He is pulling a lobster trap from the water. We can just hear a voice saying; "Let's have fun". Turner hears it, picks up a boat hook and moves cautiously towards the sound, startling the old man from his sleep when he enters the boat cabin, looks around and goes back outside without a word.
The old man sees the shadow of the doll and hears; "I want to play." When he goes outside to investigate, he finds Rich with the boat hook driven through his mouth, protruding through the back of his skull.
"Like I said," the old man repeats; "the eyes play tricks."
Scully presses him, saying he saw *something* in the grocery store; "That little girl and her dolly." (Yes, Scully actually said "dolly").
"Moment I saw them...I knew," the old man confirms.
As Scully and Bonsaint are walking to the squad car, a cell phone begins to ring. It is Scully's and she is carrying it in her jacket pocket. The caller is Mulder who is back at the office. He is playing with the telephone cord. "Oh--hey! I thought you weren't answering your cell phone," is his rather inane greeting.
"Then why'd you call?" is Scully's perfectly reasonable question.
"I, uh...I--I had a--a new thought about this case you're working on. There's a viral infection that's spread by simple touch."
Okay, somebody get me the writer. ANOTHER Mulder rational explanation?
"Mulder...are there any references in occult literature to;" (surreptitious glance at Bonsaint); "objects that have the power to...direct human behaviour?" Scully looks as if she'd rather be sticking needles in her eyes than to be asking this question of her partner.
Mulder is still playing with the phone cord. "What types of objects?"
Scully, eyes directed heavenward, says; "Like a doll, for instance."
"You mean like Chuckie?"
"Yeah, kinda like that." She is nearly cringing at this point.
Mulder stands and begins walking around. The phone cord is *really* long. "Well, yeah, the talking doll myth is well-established in the literature, especially in New England. The fetish or ju-ju--" (he sits down in a different chair) "--is believed to pass on magical powers on to its possessor. Some of the early witches were condemned for little more than proclaiming that these objects existed; the supposed witch having premonitory visions and things...why do you ask?"
Scully uncomfortably replies; "I was just curious." She shoots a glance at Bonsaint who is sitting there without much expression on his face.
"You didn't find a talking doll, did you Scully?"
"No--no of course not." Another glance at Bonsaint.
"I would suggest you check the back of the doll for a--a--a plastic ring with string on it." (diagramming with his hands and a pencil as he talks, obviously delighted with his sense of humour). "That would be my first--hello?"
Scully has disconnected. She sighs and suggests that she and Bonsaint go and talk to Melissa Turner.
Turner house.
Polly is shouting that she wants popcorn. Melissa is furiously shaking a container of "Jiffy-Pop" over the stove and saying; "It's coming," in a thin, terrified voice. Riggs is lying by her feet, having beaten himself to death with his own baton.
Some time later. Polly is asleep with Dolly. Melissa checks to make sure she is really sleeping, then goes to a padlocked cupboard and pulls out nails and a hammer. She nails windows and doors shut from the inside.
Polly comes to the top of the stairs complaining that she can't sleep. Melissa tries to cajole her back to bed, but the doll's eyes open and it says; "Let's have fun." Melissa then sees herself in a window with the hammer protruding from her forehead, calling out; "Help me." For some reason, she actually calms down a little bit and shoos Polly and Dolly off to bed. Surprisingly, they go without a struggle.
Scully and Bonsaint show up at the Turner house, Bonsaint expressing surprise when he sees Riggs' squad car parked out front. He and Scully head for the front door.
Inside, Melissa puts the hammer away and secures the padlock before going down to the kitchen and tipping over a kerosene or gasoline powered space heater, spilling its contents across the floor. She is fumbling with a box of matches when she hears knocking and Jack Bonsaint calls out to her. Scully goes around the house to the back door when Melissa does not answer the front door.
Melissa tries several times to strike matches. If this is what a "Fast Flame" match does, please don't let me buy the "Slow Flame" ones. She grows more distraught with each unsuccessful try and her anxiety level probably isn't helped by Bonsaint pounding on the front door and yelling.
She finally does manage to get a match lit, only to be confronted by Polly and Dolly. Polly, for the first time in the episode, appears to be worried and actually has a facial expression. She says; "Mommy" and it sounds like; "Please".
Melissa hesitates. The doll opens its eyes. A puff of air extinguishes the match. "Don't play with matches," the doll scolds.
Shouting; "Go back to bed, Polly!" Melissa lights another match. It, too, is extinguished by a puff of air. Polly appears to be either exerting some effort or trying to figure out what's going on. She looks confused and afraid.
"Go *on*, now!" Melissa cries.
Meanwhile, Scully tries the back door and then sees nails driven through it from the inside. Bonsaint is still pounding on the front door and shouting. Scully peers through a window and sees Riggs' body on the kitchen floor, Melissa standing over him and continuously lighting matches which are immediately extinguished. Scully cannot see Polly or Dolly. She adds her shouts to Bonsaint's and then calls for Bonsaint to come to the back door.
Giving up on the matches, Melissa opens a kitchen drawer filled with knives. The doll admonishes her; "Don't play with knives" and the drawer slams shut. Melissa tries another drawer and gets a similar result.
Bonsaint gets around to Scully who tells him Melissa has got the door nailed shut and is trying to kill herself. Bonsaint throws himself against the door and then kicks at it while Scully calls out to Melissa.
What--nobody thought to break a window? I mean...it was right *there*.
Melissa continues trying to open kitchen drawers, only to have them slam shut on her.
Polly stands by the stairs still clutching Dolly and screaming; "Mommy!...Mommy, no more pounding!" She sounds on the verge of panic.
Scully and Bonsaint are now both throwing themselves at the back door.
The locked cupboard flies open. "Let's play with the hammer," says Dolly.
Melissa is still doing the kitchen drawers rhumba. Dolly is winning.
Scully and Bonsaint finally get into the house and race upstairs.
Melissa is just taking the hammer from the cupboard and she screams at them to get away from her. The clawed end of the hammer is pointed towards her forehead.
Scully tries to reason with Melissa.
Polly and Dolly show up. Dolly says; "I don't like you anymore" and Melissa strikes herself in the forehead with the hammer and screams. Blood trickles down her face.
Polly looks shocked and afraid. Scully kneels in front of her and says; "Give me the doll."
The doll says; "I want to play."
Polly shakes her head, her gaze fastened on her mother. Melissa hits herself again and falls to the floor screaming.
Scully pulls at the doll, demanding that Polly give it up.
"I want to play," the doll says. Polly, distressed, looks at her mother who hits herself yet again and screams. Repeat going from Scully pulling at the doll.
Scully finally gets hold of the doll which is now repeating; "I want to play" over and over and races downstairs to the kitchen. She stuffs the doll into the microwave oven and sets the controls, turning it on.
Melissa is still hitting herself with the hammer and screaming upstairs.
Dolly begins to burn just as Bonsaint joins Scully in the kitchen.
Upstairs, Melissa stops hitting herself. Polly approaches her. The two just look at each other without speaking. Melissa has surprisingly little obvious damage, considering what she was doing to herself.
Monday morning at the J. Edgar Hoover building. Mulder is sharpening a pencil. He scrutinizes the point, then blows on it and sets it carefully beside a row of 19 pencils he's already sharpened, making 20. He then meticulously lines up the row so that all the pointed ends are even. He looks up as Scully comes in.
Scully is dressed in her ubiquitous beige pant suit. Mulder hastily folds his hands over the pencils and stammers out a greeting, asking; "How are you feeling? Rested?"
Scully firmly tells him; "I feel fine" as she looks off over his shoulder with an odd expression on her face.
"What?" Mulder turns to look as well.
"That poster; where'd you get it?" Scully asks. She is referring to Mulder's "I Want To Believe" poster.
"Oh I got it down on M Street at some head shop about five years ago."
"Hmm..." Scully looks pensive.
"Why?" Mulder looks confused.
"I just...wanted to send one to somebody."
Scully walks around behind Mulder's desk to look more closely at the poster. As she passes, Mulder tries to shovel the pencils into a desk drawer without her noticing.
"You do?" he asks to cover up the sound of pencils hitting the floor. "Who?"
"Oh, just...some guy...Jack. M Street?" She glances quizzically at her partner.
"Yeah. Hey, does this have something to do with that case you were working on?"
Scully considers. "That case...uh, yeah. Yes, it does."
"Did you solve it?" Definite shake of the head. "Me? No, no...I was, uh...I was on vacation, just...getting out of my own head for a few days." God, this woman is *such* an awful liar.
Mulder nods knowingly and gives her a tiny little smile.
"What about you?" Scully asks. "Did you...um...get anything done while I was gone?"
"Oh God, I mean, it's amazing what I can accomplish without incessant meddling or questioning--" (Mulder folds his hands behind his head and puts his feet up on the desk, adopting an attitude of nonchalance) "--into everything I do. It's just--"
A pencil falls on him from above, striking him high on the left chest. He looks up just as another pencil falls, then shoots a look at Scully. Scully too looks up, a ruminative expression on her face.
The acoustic ceiling tiles are riddled with sharpened pencils.
Mulder, now holding the two pencils that fell and fidgeting with them says rather lamely; "There's...got to be an explanation."
"Oh, I don't know. I think some things are better left unexplained," says Scully.
Another pencil falls and hits Mulder in the head while Scully gives her partner an enigmatic glance.
Scene changes to a fishing boat at night. A bearded fisherman pulls a lobster trap from the water, opens it and extracts a lobster. Reaching back in, he pulls out a badly burned doll.
The doll's eyes open and it speaks.
"I want to play."
Página Anterior