The next morning newspapers around the country and the world all deal with the murder of Isaac Menis and the verdict handed down to Joshua. The headlines are accompanied by photographs of the defendant, the deceased and the family. Photo's of the defense and prosecution teams, the judge, Mickey and Wally as well as José's picture standing by his shack at the landfill. Wally looks around, making sure no one sees him and leaves the video store with the blue bag he left there and another bag of the same size. He gets into his car and drives off! Later, ally parks his car in from of Abraham's house…he looks at it and a strange sensation of dislike and fear of the unknown floods him. His feet refuse to move out of the car. He knows he has no choice and leave the car with the blue bag mumbling
"I would rather be anywhere else but here!"
He pulls himself together
"Come on Wally! Enough with the nonsense…move your ass! Stop acting like an idiot!"
He rings the doorbell decisively and realizes he still has that uncomfortable sensation. He rings it again. Michelle who is happily looking at a sonogram of her baby walks towards the door angrily.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Wally…Mickey's deputy. I'm returning the tapes we borrowed"
"Oh, OK…I want to see your ID first…I'm not taking any more chances"
Wally shows her the ID through the gap between the door and the security chain. Michelle is satisfied and opens the door
"I'm sorry…after everything that's happened I'm being cautious. Would you like a drink?"
Wally gives her the tapes and notices the sonogram peeking out of the pocket of her shirt
"Thank you Michelle. I'll have something cold… even water…I see you already have a sonogram of your baby. Is it a boy or girl?"
Michelle walks to the kitchen as Wally looks around the house trying to understand what it is about the house or Abraham that makes Michelle wants to live and stay with Abraham. Michelle pours some juice and gives it to Wally who smiles and mumbles thanks. She smile back at him
"Yes…that's the sonogram of our baby"
She strokes her stomach
"We're having a boy!! I'm so happy!!"
Wally stands and drinks his juice by the pantry.
"That's great that you're having a new baby Michelle… by the way, where's Abraham?"
"Abraham?.....He's at the TV studio, on an exclusive interview with Channel 2"
She says proudly.
"He said he was going to get a lot of money for this interview!! That would help with the new baby"
Wally looks at the pictures displayed…including a picture of Isaac. The pictures stay in his head for a long time. He feels nauseous and wants to leave quickly. He doesn't know if it's the lively pictures of Isaac or Abraham's disgusting smile in every picture.
"I think he should be back in half an hour"
She smiles and adds
"I can't wait to see the cheque he's going to get".
Standing by the pictures is an old special book that captures Wally's gaze who quickly asks Michelle.
"May I look at the book? Is it yours or Abraham's?"
Michelle opens the glass door and takes out the book. She hands it to Wally waiting impatiently.
"It's a special bible…Abraham saw it at an antique shop and liked it…he even got it cheap"
Wally opens it slowly. He is impressed with the quality paper and the engraved cover and flips through it curiously.He finds a few impressive pictures in the book like Genesis, Adam and Eve abolished from Eden…the Ten Commandments and some more. Suddenly he comes upon a drawing of the binding of Isaac. A few articles and different interpretations are attached to it and an enlarged photocopy of the original drawing from the book! Michelle smile when she sees it.
"This is Abraham's favorite story in the bible…he was always fascinated and hypnotized by the drawing. He even copied and enlarged the drawing and found some interpretation and articles of the story. Since Isaac was murdered he no longer looks at the book. He even wanted to throw it away but I reminded him it's an old book and worth a lot of money and this is probably the reason the book is still here…"
She remembers something important
"Oh, I have something on the stove…I have to check it…you can continue looking through it until I return".
Michelle goes to the kitchen, Wally continues looking through the articles and interpretations and the larger copy of the drawing when he notices something written behind the drawing. He flips the page over and reads "The binding of Isaac 2007" and in the corner in tiny letters he can barely read what's written and mumbles
"The lord gives and not takes…blessed be the lord's name who takes…"
He smirks
"What rubbish… probably wrote this after Isaac was killed…so many mistakes… he doesn't even know the bible…"
Wally closes the book and thinks. He returns it to Michelle who comes back from the kitchen and she puts it in its place.
"Everything OK Wally? Thank you for giving us the tapes back …I need to go back in the kitchen to finish cooking"
"Thank you Michelle…gives my regards to Abraham"
Michelle walks him to the door and before he leaves he smiles at her and says
"I think its better if we don't tell Abraham I saw the ancient bible…it isn't important to him and its better he doesn't remember the binding of Isaac story".
She thinks seriously
"I guess you're right…we shouldn't open Pandora's Box…bye Wally!"
She slams the door behind him. Wally walks towards his car and is preparing to start it but drops his hand down. He lights a cigarette and stares at his face in the mirror. He whispers worriedly
"Pandora's box was already open! Now it's open even wider…but who the hell was this Pandora?"
Joshua is being led down towards the prison yard for his lonely walk. Two guards lock the entrance to the yard and talk amongst them instead of watching him and the other two go quietly into their block, pull out nude magazines from under their beds and shortly after the only sounds that can be heard from the block are the guards' grunts and moans of lust. Joshua continues to walk around the yard enjoying the warmth of the sun when objects start raining down on his head. Small plastic items, rotten vegetables and fruit and various things that hit every part of his body. The prisoners stand around the yard and throw things at him accompanied by yells and curses of hate and despise. Joshua screams in terror
"Help!!! Guards!!!"
And tries unsuccessfully to protect his head in particular against the unforeseen attack. As predicted he falls to the ground as his body and head can't take the deluge any more. Suddenly the guards as if waking from some sort of fantasia, remember who they are and what their job is, run towards the prisoners screaming
"Stop it…"
"If we catch you, you're going to solitary"
"You'll pay for these…bastards"
The guards scream at the prisoners and the prisoners return to their cells happy and uncaring! The guards run into the yard
"We're sorry Joshua…we didn't know this would happen"
"Why didn't you call for help? We were busy with other problematic prisoners"
"We know who's at fault! You started cursing them…making obscene gestures at them...peeing at them mocking them!"
They examine Joshua, watch each other and are so frustrated and disappointed that he is fine. Joshua refuses help from them and leaves the yard hurting. He barely walks and curses anyone he can think of until he reaches his cell and snaps at the guards
"I don't want to go out to the yard anymore…I would rather stay in my room"
The guards open the cell door and toss him inside angrily. They curse him as he sits on the bed and rolls into a ball with his hands on his ears to seal them.
"Get in there…you stinking animal"
"We'll make sure you suffer in this cell like a rabid dog"
"Just so you know, even if you change your mind…you won't see the yard anymore, monster"
"Filthy child murderer"
"They should take a piece of you off every day. When the moment comes for the chair there won't be anything left of you"
The cell door slams shut and locks and Joshua nods his head in despair.
"After what I go through here… the chair is nothing"
Two more days have passed!! Wally sits in his office next to Mickey's who's on a day off. He looks through various documents related to new cases. One of the detectives opens the door to the office
"Hey Wally, the Peters couple are here, remember them? A week ago they were here because the woman complained her husband tried to kill her with a frying pan? Well today the husband claims she tried to kill him with a rolling pin"
They both laugh
"What should I do with them?"
"Tell them if they come here one more time I sending them both to the nut house"
He says impatiently.
"We can't be the address for kinds of freaks bored with their lives!! The truth is with regards to the Peters there probably is attempted murder"
The detective is shocked and tenses up.
"He wants to kill her because she can cook and she wants to kill him because he doesn't do the dishes"
They both burst out laughing and the detective slams the door as he leaves holding his stomach from all the laughter. Wally pours himself a cup of coffee from the corner of the office and returns to his comfortable chair. He sips from it and lights a cigarette leaning back in enjoyment. Using the remote control he flips open the TV. The networks are still talking about the murder, the people involved and the verdict. He flips through the stations and doesn't believe his eyes. José is being interviewed for every station in the world. The news caster on CNN probably asked a question and José answers
"The truth is I wasn't just hanging around the landfill and saw the murderer…I am homeless and I live there. I constantly hear people saying their life is garbage…I am one of the few people in this country that can say my life is actually in the garbage and I enjoy it!!"
The news caster laughs
"An interesting point of view Mr. José … I would like to take you back in time…can you go back and describe for our viewers what happened that night?"
José tries to make the interview more dramatic and he closes his eyes and acts as if he's going back in time…
"Well, it was a Saturday"
He opens his eyes
"Around two fifteen a.m. I was awake...in my bed at the shack…"
"What do you mean awake? What is this word? This is the first time I've heard this word"
"I mean, I was half asleep and half awake in my bed…the rain was coming down hard and I couldn't fall asleep again…I thought I heard a noise outside and thought that I might be dreaming but I got up and went outside. I thought the morning truck were arriving already! I stuck my head out towards the noise and managed to see movement by the garbage pile. I start walking towards the noise slowly and bent down so as not to be seen. I manage to see a man with a lot of facial hair, a large beard and mustache. He's doing something by the garbage pile. I stood up straight and I guess I stumbled onto something and made some noise. I was sure the strange man would see me and run off… I was also afraid he might do something to me. But I am surprised! This man doesn't care that I can see him. He stood still for about a minute and a half and then walked backwards to his big black van. He started driving down the road and when he reached the main road he turned on his headlights and disappeared. I walked to where he was standing. I thought "what is he doing here at this time of night?" I was sure he lost something and he came looking for it"
"Come on José …we are all dying here…what happened after the killer left?"
The news caster yells in excitement.
"This is what happened…I went to where he was standing and looked around to see if there was anything unusual…I couldn't find anything there besides the bracelet on my arm"
José proudly displays the bracelet! Wally's legs carry him over to screen running! He stares hawk like at the bracelet on José's arm that suddenly retreats in fright and understands he should not have talked about the bracelet and quickly tries to correct himself.
"Sorry, I was wrong!! I found the bracelet at the other side of the landfill a week later…definitely not that night"
"Are you sure that's what happened? Maybe the killer lost the bracelet that night and was looking for it?"
José is afraid and angry
"Stop talking about the cursed bracelet!! I am not here for the bracelet…doesn't you wanted to know what happened later."
The news caster quickly responds
"Of course, tell us please Mr. José! How did you understand that was the killer?"
"A few days later when they couldn't find that boy, I saw the parents on TV talking about their son…and the police asked everyone to report suspicious things that happened Saturday and Sunday night…so after I saw the parents and the police I decided to call the police. The police arrived at the landfill with a large crew and digging vehicles and after four hours of searching they discovered the body of the boy in the garbage. I hope that murderer burns in hell!!"
"Is it true you received 50,000 dollars from Abraham Menis? The boy's father? Do you think it's OK?"
He adds jokingly
"You know you have to report this money to the IRS?"
José shouts in a sour face
"I have nothing to say to you anymore! Interview with you for a million dollars!"
The interview stops abruptly, the screen is darkened and in the background you can still hears José cursing the station as the news caster smiles a forced idiotic smile as he stutters embarrassingly
"Thank you José, to the news crew and our viewers…and now we move on to the unforgettable movie "What the killer forgot"…enjoy"
Wally is still staring at the screen hypnotized. José's words hit him like a hammer. He recuperates, shuts the TV off and sits back down in his chair. He slowly opens the wooden box on the desk.
"It all begins and ends with Pandora's Box…I have to find out who this Pandora is. She brings nothing but trouble"
The door to Joshua's room opens with a slight creak. Joshua sitting with his back to the door on the bed reading "Thus spoke Zarathustra" by Nietzsche drops the book down and curls up in terror shielding his head against any trouble. The sound of footsteps approaching him gets louder and he mumbles in a frightened voice.
"Please don't hurt me…Please"
To his surprise he feels a gentle hand placed on his shoulder and the peaceful voice of David Stein
"What's happened Joshua?"
Joshua's bruised face is revealed as he turns around to face him.
"Oh my God! Who did this to you?"
"Hi Stein, I was just walking around the yard alone…the guards disappeared and the prisoners started throwing things at me and cursing me…the guards finally decided to come…when they were done with the shooting range and I collapsed!!"
David Stein is furious and bangs his fist against the cell wall
"I'm going to stop this…I'll get to the commissioner if I have to…this is not a police state!!"
He puts a plastic bag on the bed, containing 2 packs of cigarettes, a newspaper and some refreshments.
"I've brought you some stuff so that you can pass the time…and I want to show you something else"
Joshua remains silent. He doesn't seem to care much and lights up a cigarette. Stein looks through his briefcase and pulls out an envelope. He takes out a document and gives it to Joshua with his eyes lowered and whispers
"I've filed an appeal with the district court and sadly it was rejected. And I know…"
Joshua puts the document aside without looking at it and interrupts him apathetically
"Are you surprised? I'm not surprised! Did you think this was a just country? A moral country? Don't think for a moment that I am angry…I thank you for your efforts. Stop appealing…it won't do any good".
Joshua gives David back the document and he places it in his briefcase with shaking hands. He starts to worry that maybe there's nothing else he can do but the doubt regarding Joshua's innocence starts pecking in his brain maybe to quiet down his conscious and remove his responsibility in Joshua's defense… maybe he didn't save Joshua because he wasn't good enough!! Maybe if they appointed him a more experienced and aggressive lawyer he would have saved Joshua?
"I'm sorry Joshua…hangs in there!! I'll keep visiting you…if you have no objections"
David Stein riddled with guilt and defeat quickly leaves the cell without looking into Joshua's dead eyes. A guard later walks into Joshua's cell and grabs him by the shirt collar
"If you keep telling your lawyer lies about us and the prisoners and accuse us of everything that happens to you will put a different prisoner in your cell every hour and you'll become the jail whore! You are warned!!"
The guard smiles nastily in Joshua's face, leaves and locks the door. Joshua watches his retreating back in silence.