11th January, 2016. The Mance's place.
EMILY: Why can't Mondays be optional? The stress attached to it is just so... Ughr! Couldn't even get enough sleep.
ETHAN: If I can remember clearly, you had your eyes fixed on your laptop screen all through the night, making silly remarks like "Aww, Chuck Bass is actually cute". So what right have you now, to complain after trading your sleeping hours for gossip girl?
EMILY: You sound jealous. (She places a plate of chopped grilled fish on the dining table)
ETHAN: Jealous? (Sitting down to eat) ...of a boring kid from a boring TV show? Why would I?
EMILY: Ethaaaan! Take that back now! Don't you ever badmouth that show. It's amazing and Chuck Bass is amazing too. Deal with it. (Filling his glass with lemonade)
ETHAN: You don't say... if you wanted to talk about amazing shows or movies, I'd vote for Mission Impossible any day anytime. The main character is a paragon of the word 'amazing'. He's strong, fast, skilled, quick thinking and brave. What's there not to love about Ethan Hunt? It's no coincidence that we bear the same name. We've got a lot in common... fighting crime, saving people...
EMILY: You sound like a nine year old talking about his favorite superhero who takes down bad guys and eventually gets to beat the boss... boring! It's a shame Eric is following your footsteps of superheroes and comics.
ETHAN: What do you mean 'comics'? I'm talking about the real world here.
EMILY: Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart. (She holds a pocket sized mirror close to her face as she applies a little makeup)
ETHAN: I can't win this argument.
EMILY: Oh, this was an argument? (She laughs, tucking her shirt into a pair of grey pants)
ETHAN: Why are you looking so formal?
EMILY: You need to appear extremely sharp on the first working day of the week. I repeat, extremely sharp. (She brushes her hair and goes to stand in front of him, holding a pair of gold-coated cuff links that compliments her brooch. She stretches out one hand, signaling him to help her fasten the cuffs on her sleeves)
ETHAN: Hmm. I just hope some dudes out there don't get scratched due to your extreme sharpness because I'm ready to make them bleed even more. (He cuffs her left sleeve and takes her right hand)
EMILY: Easy, tiger. (She smiles) I'm running late. Stay indoors today, okay? You can resume back at the department tomorrow or the day after, but not today. You need to rest, have I made myself clear? (Pulling his nose)
ETHAN: Yes, mom. (He cuffs her right sleeve but doesn't let go of her hand immediately)
EMILY: Remember to feed Sheen, okay? Bye, I love you! (Pulling away from him and heading to the door)
ETHAN: If you do love me, you wouldn't be leaving without giving me a kiss.
EMILY: Ethaaaaan! Uhhr! Alright... (she comes back and touches his face gently, slightly leaning on him) Here you go... Ouch! How dare you spank my ass in front of the dog?
ETHAN: He doesn't mind...
SHEEN: Woof! Woof!! Woooof! Woof!!
ETHAN: What the hell's wrong with you, buddy? Jealous? I can get you a bitch if you want... pun intended. (He chuckles, glancing at Emily) See what I did there?
EMILY: You're so cheesy. Hey, when I'm done for today, I'll head straight to the hospital to check on Elena. See you in the evening. Bye! (She hurries out)
09:15am, The police station.
"Good Morning, Detective Mance" A female deputy greets Ethan as he walks in, heading straight to the sheriff's office.
"Stop admiring. He's married. With a family" Another deputy whispers.
"Shut the hell up, I know. It's no crime to admire" She whispers back.
Shortly, the sheriff's office.
GORDON: Exactly! By the way, that kid... David. He came to make a serious report on Saturday. His sister's body was exhumed.
ETHAN: What?! Wait a minute, don't tell me it's my kids who did this too.
GORDON: Haha! God, no. I think Peggy's case already taught them a lesson, your boys wouldn't wanna mess around these kinda stuff while their sister's still in coma.
ETHAN: You're right (He chuckles) But why was her body exhumed?
GORDON: That's what we're trying to find out. Earlier that morning, he went to Ravens to drop some flowers on her grave but he met it in a mess, dirt all around. Her coffin was brought out but her corpse wasn't in there.
ETHAN: It looks like it was done in a hurry. Whoever or whatever did that was probably trying to meet up with a timeframe or something.
GORDON: Right. (He takes out a file and pen to jot)
ETHAN: So what are your findings so far? (Adjusting his tie)
GORDON: We got there and confirmed the report, took pictures of the scene... couldn't really get much but we noticed footprints, or rather, shoe prints... they looked like converse sneakers.
ETHAN: Meaning it was human?
GORDON: Humans. There were four prints, meaning two people dug the grave. I followed the trail of the prints but it stopped at the gate.
ETHAN: What else did y'all notice? (Also jotting down)
GORDON: A fallen signpost just by the gate.
ETHAN: A fallen signpost? No one brings down a signpost deliberately except it's a riot or something, and it couldn't have been the wind. I'm 90% sure it was a vehicle. Summary... two guys dug out a body, ran past the gate where a car was waiting to pick them up. The driver in a hurry, probably tried to reverse, thereby knocking down the signpost. (He pauses to think over what he just said, tapping his fingers on the desk in alignment with the sound of the ticking clock on the wall)
GORDON: Right. If only there were cameras at the gate, it wouldn't have been an issue. Not withstanding, I'll assign some of my men to be on the look out in case such incident repeats itself or if anything strange occurs.
Minutes later...
ETHAN: She lawyered up immediately you mentioned that? Hmm, she's looking more guilty by the day. But how the hell could y'all let her escape?
GORDON: Honestly, I didn't see that coming. She picked the locks on the cuffs right in front of us and we didn't notice.
ETHAN: Damn, she's good. But we're better. And we're gonna get her.
GORDON: Of course.
ETHAN: And as for the tattoo or agreement symbol as David described, if we're to trust his statement, it means she had a deal with some demon... (he scoffs and pauses) A few months ago, if someone talked to me about demons during an investigation, I'd have called them delusional, but here I am.
GORDON: Here we are. (He chuckles)
ETHAN: The supposed demon probably gave her something in exchange for murdering the boy, now that's what we need to find out.
GORDON: Yeah. We just gotta figure out a way to make her talk.
ETHAN: When you say "make her talk", I hope it's not what I'm thinking.
GORDON: What are you thinking?
ETHAN: Torture?
GORDON: God, no! I'm just gonna find enough dirt on her that I can dig up to persuade her to reconsider her actions.
ETHAN: Alright, I support that.
GORDON: But we still gotta find her first though. Else, whatever dirt we've got on her is useless.
ETHAN: Yeah, I understand. I'll do a personal surveillance of the town...
GORDON: Nope! You'll do no such thing. You're gonna stay home and rest till you're strong enough to be back on the field.
ETHAN: You're not the boss of me.
GORDON: I know that... (He chuckles) I'm just being a friend.
ETHAN: Thanks. Please keep me posted on your subsequent findings and I'll do the same. (He gets up from his chair)
GORDON: You know you don't have to do this.
ETHAN: Do what?
GORDON: Help us out. You work for the state, not this town.
ETHAN: Ashland is our town, our home, let's keep it safe. It's not the responsibility of just one person to do that.
GORDON: Of course. We appreciate you. (He smirks, looking at him briefly) You wanna tell me what the occasion is? Crisp outfit you got there.
ETHAN: No occasion, I'm heading home from here. I only came to discuss the latest development in our ongoing investigation.
GORDON: You wore a Tom Ford three piece suit just to come talk to me? I'm flattered. (He chuckles)
ETHAN: A wise person once said "You need to appear extremely sharp on the first working day of the week. I repeat, extremely sharp".
GORDON: And whose quote is that? Plato? Aristotle? Martin Luther? Or is it Gandhi? (He chuckles)
ETHAN: Emily Mance. (He smirks)
GORDON: Your wife? (Ethan nods). She's indeed wise.
ETHAN: You're healing pretty fast. (Seeing the P.O.P. cast on his arm)
GORDON: You healed faster. Look at you, man, standing... the beast couldn't kill us.
ETHAN: But it killed some innocent kids.
GORDON: Yeah, it did... (he pauses briefly) ...and we're gonna put an end to it.
ETHAN: Definitely. It has no place in our city. Hey, I gotta go. If Emily knows I'm here, she'll chop my ears off. She ordered me to rest at home but you know I'm not the type to stay put. (Laughing) Have a nice day, Sheriff! (They shake hands and he leaves the office)