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Previously on Witchblade:
- Conka-what?
- Conchobar.
He's an alt-Irish rocker.
A poet.
- I know you.
- Sara Pezzini.
Now you know me.
Aye, a scrappy one.
Aren't we supposed
to be working together?
Gee, rookie, trying to protect me?
I can't prove I didn't,
if that's what you're hoping.
Now, why would I hope that?
Last wearer of the Witchblade
was Elizabeth Bronte.
An American spy in World War II.
She was a real Mata Hari.
That's you, Sara Pezzini.
- Wanna explain this to me?
- I wish I could.
- This is personal, isn't it?
- Nope.
Hey, you were the one who told me
to go get a love life.
I never said that.
Sara Pezzini,
a New York City detective
drawn into a chance encounter
with a supernatural weapon.
Each day, each mystery, each encounter,
will ultimately reveal her true destiny.
Lord, let this cup pass from me.
Not my will be done, but thine.
Lord, let this cup pass from me.
Not thy will
Father?
Father Bellamy?
What are you doing?
It's time for Mass.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Oh, help.
Somebody! Somebody, help!
This is a Vorschlag News
emergency interrupt.
The New York Police
are on a full-scale manhunt
for the killer
of Monsignor John Bellamy.
Suspect in the *** is Edward Nolan,
a counselee of Monsignor Bellamy's
with a history of criminal activity
and mental illness.
Police, hold it!
Suspect is on foot in the alley
between Adams and Fitzgerald.
Hold it!
Prepare to fire.
My name is Legion!
For we are many.
- Fire on my command.
- Fire?
Is the guy even armed?
- Pezzini, what the?
- Sara, no.
Hold fire.
Ha-ha-ha.
The police poised for a firefight
when Detective Sara Pezzini broke cover
and single-handedly subdued
the suspect.
She grows bolder.
It's to be expected.
And what if she dies foolishly
wastes her life
on some piece of gutter trash?
Would the blade allow that?
Never presume to know what the
Witchblade would or would not allow.
Take it easy.
He's not even resisting.
Resisting? He shouldn't be breathing.
- Can it, Burgess.
- Unh!
Hey!
Get him into holding.
Now.
Easy.
What?
Uh, Detective Pezzini?
- Yes.
- I'm Father Petrosian, Aloysha.
I need to see Eddie Nolan.
- Oh, you're his priest?
- I am now.
You'll have to wait till
he's out of processing, but, uh
Yeah, do me a favor.
Just, um, keep him in your sights.
Okay.
He is innocent, you know.
Until proven guilty.
At least, that's the theory.
He would never have killed Bellamy,
they were like father and son.
- We get our share of those too.
- John was Eddie's confessor, his friend.
He spent half of his time trying to deal
with Eddie's, um His problems.
Uh, look, I'm just a cop, Father.
You need
to tell this to an attorney, maybe to the DA.
But the real killer's still out there.
- With Mr.
Nolan's psychological problems
- His problems aren't psychological.
- They're spiritual.
- Okay.
Father Bellamy believed
that Eddie was, uh
Is
Possessed.
DANTE:
*** weapon.
Unconfirmed.
Keys to the church.
Confirmed.
All found in Nolan's apartment.
- Why the show-and-tell?
- You saved a guilty man.
I arrested a suspect.
Who'll probably plead insanity and
do soft time, if he doesn't walk altogether.
Hey, you know what, McCartey?
Run for judge.
Me, I like my job.
- Excuse me.
I'm not interrupting, am I?
- Oh, no, no, no.
Father Del Toro, this is Detective Pezzini
and Detective McCartey.
-Ma'am.
-Father Dennis is the cardinal's attorney.
I prefer good and faithful servant.
Wow, a lawyer-priest.
That mean you can forgive
your own sins?
Ha, ha.
I wish.
Seriously, I'm I'm here to help
if any help is needed.
John Bellamy wasn't just a colleague.
He was a dear friend.
And I did try to warn him.
Warm him about what?
Edward Nolan's mental problems
were very severe.
He needed medication
and constant attention.
And despite his best intentions,
Monsignor Bellamy was preventing him
from getting the help
he so desperately needed.
So, what you're saying is, Bellamy
thought that Nolan was possessed?
- What?
- Pezzini.
Oh, no.
She's right.
John was
He was New York's leading authority
on demonic possession.
But he truly believed
that Edward's psychosis
was work of, ha, demons, ha.
Unfortunately,
Father Bellamy was also senile.
And he unwittingly fostered
Edward's over-dependence.
I We
We feared something like this
might happen.
Thank you, Father.
Very good.
Thank you.
Hello, Edward.
I'm Detective Sara Pezzini.
I know.
You saved my life today.
Did you kill Monsignor Bellamy?
He was my best friend.
Did you kill him?
Yes.
I killed the old queen.
What, do you wanna make
something of it?
What did you use to kill him?
You know what I used.
Yes, I do, Edward.
Do you?
Do you actually think
that I might be innocent?
Please, just answer the question.
Do the world a favor.
You weld this cell shut.
And you lower it into the earth
and you pour concrete over it.
Is that you talking, Edward, or is
there someone in there with you?
Come on, detective.
Does it really make a difference?
So tell me more
about exorcism, Father.
Well, the rites are very ancient.
The Church has updated
the Mass and the sacraments
but they haven't changed
the exorcism ritual in 1500 years.
No, I I mean,
how do you feel about it?
Do you believe
that there's an actual devil?
A personality that can inhabit
certain people?
- Well, Church canon says
- Because I think there is.
I've seen enough to make me believe.
Yes, I believe some people have problems
psychotherapy cannot even begin to touch.
I love honest people.
I get to meet so very few.
Now, what I don't know is if
Edward Nolan really is possessed
or if he's just
stark-raving bonkers.
It's not that simple.
Some people the world calls possessed,
they're actually willing vessels of evil.
Huh.
- I think I've met a few of those.
- Yeah, they're the truly scary ones.
As someone who's possessed
may also be completely blameless.
They don't choose Satan,
he chooses them.
Is that what Bellamy thought
about Nolan?
He was convinced.
You're not?
I'm not even really convinced
he killed him.
Was Father Bellamy getting senile?
He was old and forgetful, but for
the most part, he was very lucid.
What are these?
Uh, John's journals.
He kept them
from the time he was a novice.
Except from 1936 to '44?
That's strange.
World War II.
Um, you know what, Father?
It would really help me out
if I could just be
here alone for a while.
I kind of like to sort of tune in
to the dead guy.
- Oh, that's clever.
- Shut up.
What?
The door.
Could you shut it when you leave?
- I don't know if I can
- I'm a trained investigator.
- I won't hurt a thing.
- Okay.
That was not cool.
You know the great thing
about being dead?
Cool doesn't matter anymore.
What did you say
about World War II?
The war years.
Your victim's missing journals.
Maybe there's a connection.
Yeah, like he was a chaplain in the service
and he didn't have time to write.
Yeah, sure, that's probably it.
You're dead, Danny.
Why don't you ask him?
Could you do that?
- Not a good idea.
- But you could?
- Sara.
- Wait, this thing lets me talk to you, right?
Does that mean I can talk to other
dead people, like my victim in this case?
- Sara, please
- This is every cop's dream, Danny.
- Every homicide cop.
- Sara.
Maybe that's why I was chosen
to wear this thing.
Your decision to confess
is a wise one, Mr.
Nolan.
Why don't you tell us
the whole story?
The whole story?
Yeah, sure.
Feel free.
Talk to us.
Well
Okay.
I think it all started
when my mother
seduced her own father.
Then she had the bad taste
to get pregnant by him.
Oh, he punished her severely.
You know,
they say trauma to the mother
can harm a baby in utero.
What do you think about that,
detective?
This is ridiculous.
Keep going.
Sure.
Actually, you couldn't prove
that theory based on me.
Because Mom also tried to abort me
using a vacuum-cleaner hose.
I guess you could say
she sort of saw me coming.
Huh?
- Do we have to listen to this?
- Hey.
You said you wanted the whole story.
Let me have some coffee.
I don't really know much
about all that stuff, Sara.
The Church pronounced me
irredeemable when I was 12.
I never went back.
Get out.
The Church
doesn't do that.
- To a 12-year-old boy?
- Almost 12.
Easter week, 1985.
All good Catholic children go to confession
to receive Communion on resurrection day.
Monsignor Edward Bradley.
Red-nosed, drunken old Limerick man.
I knelt in the dark and gave him
my litany of little boy's sins.
Stole an apple.
Lusted after Mary Bernadette Walsh.
Masturbated.
Go on.
He called me a wretched Demas.
What's that?
Well, he explained it
to me in detail.
A character from the Bible
who professed penitence for his sins
but wasn't sincere.
The old fart told me
I was just going through the motions
my remorse was not sincere,
and he'd be violating sacrament
if he granted me absolution.
So he, uh, told me to go away and
come back when I was truly sorry.
Like I said, I
I never went back.
That's awful.
He wasn't wrong, you know.
- He was so wrong.
- No, he wasn't.
I wasn't sorry.
Especially not for ***
after Mary Bernadette.
Oh, you should have seen her.
Dark hair, green eyes, slim, saucy.
Moved like a cat.
You know what you need?
Bet you're gonna tell me.
Uh.
Some long overdue penance.
My apartment, tomorrow night.
Good Lord, I think
I've seen the light.
Bless me, Father,
for I have sinned.
It has been one week
since my last confession
and these are my sins.
I suffer *** for a woman
in my heart.
Without temptation, what reason
would there be for strength?
There is another vow
I'm considering breaking.
A vow of secrecy.
Go on.
I promised a friend
I'd keep a secret.
That friend was recently killed.
His death may have to do with
the secret.
Am I still bound?
A difficult question.
It requires our
prayerful consideration.
Say five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys
and visit me again tomorrow.
Two visits in one day.
Must be important.
- You called for it.
- Yeah, I called for what?
I don't believe this is happening.
Believing is having faith
in what you cannot see.
Can you see me, Sara?
How is this possible?
The same way you see your friend.
Digitabulum Magae.
Your bracelet.
How do you know its name?
You came here to talk to me, Father,
so So talk.
Digitabulum was taken from Jeanne d'Arc
by the bishop who ordered her burned.
Then locked in the bowels
of the Vatican for 500 years.
Allowed out only
in the most extreme emergencies.
Who did this to you, Father?
Who killed you?
Satan himself.
You mean Eddie Nolan?
A good boy.
Tell him I miss him.
- Father
- The church was dark.
I was struck from behind.
I never saw my killer's face.
Well, who else could have done
this to you?
So many.
He is Legion.
That's another name
for the devil, right?
I need a human suspect, Father.
I was newly ordained
and trained as a linguist.
I was blessed
with a wonderful assignment.
Living in the Vatican, translating
the correspondence of the cardinals
even the Holy Father himself.
- That's nice
- The war was brewing.
We all feared for the Church's fate.
Sworn to secrecy, I translated letters
from Pope Pius to Adolf Hitler.
They struck an unholy bargain.
The Führer agreed to leave the Vatican
and its treasures untouched.
The Pope promised the Church
would remain silent about the Nazis
and their atrocities.
Hitler was an avid collector
of objects of power.
He knew that the Digitabulum
was in the pope's hands.
As a guarantee of Pius's sincerity,
he asked for a token.
Witchblade?
The Vatican knows that
you have it now.
And rest assured,
they are certain it is theirs.
And they do want it back.
No, wait a minute, please.
Father, don't go.
Is this the reason that
you were killed?
Is this in your journals?
They're missing.
That is not why I was killed.
It was Satan himself.
Wha? But you said.
World War II, a connection
Damn it.
You didn't kill him.
I confessed.
Didn't you hear?
You promised to confess.
Trying to get your own rocks off.
Trying to impress my colleagues
with how bad you are.
Yeah, well, it's not my fault
they scare easy.
I don't.
I think you're innocent.
Now, that's a first.
Worse?
I bet Bellamy didn't even believe
you were possessed.
Kind old man that he was
he was probably just trying to keep
you out of some state-run institution.
I think you're a poser, Nolan.
You're not possessed.
You're just
a garden-variety nut bag.
Then why don't you come in here
and test that theory?
Jailer.
You think you're crazy?
Hmm?
I just spent my evening
talking to Monsignor Bellamy.
Yeah, that's right.
The late Monsignor Bellamy.
And he bent over backward
to clear you.
He even said he missed you.
Missed me?
You didn't kill him,
did you, Nolan?
You just want someone
to put you out of your misery.
- Suicide by cop, right?
- No.
Especially with Bellamy gone,
who's gonna listen to your poor-me rap?
Life's not worth living anymore,
is it, Nolan?
Is it?
The monsignor was my best friend.
Yeah, well, I'm your new best friend.
So tell me.
If Satan is alive and well in New York City,
who the hell is he using as a taxi?
- We gotta talk.
- Talk.
Since I've been your partner,
I've seen things.
Weird things.
Yeah?
Welcome to New York.
You're my training officer, but you
leave me out of the loop all the time.
The other guys say they were joined at the
hip to their senior partner for the first year.
Me, I'm stumbling around in the dark.
All right, you wanna help?
Leave Nolan off the list of suspects.
- But he's a
- Jake, you want in?
Just soak in the whole ambiance
of this ***.
We got church, priest,
Satan, possession.
Then spew, gut level,
first thing pops in your head.
Even the devil
can quote scripture for his purpose.
Yeah.
And?
So who's been quoting scripture
around here?
I don't need to posit the existence
of a devil, Detective Pezzini.
What with Columbine and Santana,
who needs Satan?
So you don't believe
in demonic possession?
Please, promise you won't tell
the cardinal.
Eddie Nolan's not guilty, Father.
Your captain seems to think otherwise.
It's my case, not his.
I noticed you admired this.
Ah.
Yes.
A copy, of course.
I've
I've seen the original in the, uh,
Pazzi Gallery in Firenze.
Oh, not possible, this is
the original.
The one and only.
Hmm.
I'd ask for
my money back if I were you.
You're the cardinal's spin doctor.
How did you deal
with the pope's apology
about the Church's silence
during the Holocaust?
I try to learn from Japanese culture.
They took the art of apology
all the way to ritual suicide.
Now, that is one hell of a way
to say you're sorry, don't you think?
I heard a, uh, token was exchanged
between Hitler and Pope Pius
to seal that deal.
I thought this discussion
was about a *** inquiry, detective?
Oh, but it is.
If someone wanted to kill
Monsignor Bellamy and cover it up
could there possibly be a better
scapegoat than Edward Nolan?
That's ridiculous.
I mean, who else
would want to kill John Bellamy?
I don't know, Father.
You said it yourself.
He was New York's leading expert
on exorcism.
Proverbs, Chapter 1, Sara.
A net is spread in vain before
the eyes of them that have wings.
- He bite?
- Not yet.
Hey, what do you say we head over
to Felipe's, hoist a brew
be normal cops for once?
I can't, Jake.
I, uh
I have a date.
I think he did you a favor.
Who?
That priest.
The one who wouldn't absolve you.
Oh, yeah.
Racked with the terrors of hell, yet
still trapped within my own humanity.
You're an artist.
You're supposed to suffer.
Right.
Sometimes, I still feel
I don't know.
Like I'm split in half.
Do you ever feel that way?
Like you'll never know.
So this priest,
how did he do me a favor?
He defined you.
He taught you who you were.
That you are a very bad,
bad little boy.
All right.
Oh, I can't believe this.
Me and a cop.
Cops aren't so bad.
What if you arrest me
for *** harassment?
I believe that for harassment
to occur
the victim has to be unwilling.
Try and I try,
but I just can't help it.
She does things to me.
She affects me.
She gets me to tell her things.
I try to keep my thoughts pure.
I try so hard.
But I can't stop
the visions in my head.
There's this woman I want.
And I just wanna do
unthinkable things to her.
I know this woman, don't I?
It's all right.
You're talking about Sara Pezzini,
aren't you?
It's okay.
I understand.
I have the same feelings.
But you're a priest.
I'm also a man.
When we have these vile
sinful, evil thoughts
we must take extreme measures.
Yes.
Yes.
- Yes.
- Yes.
Whatever Jesus wants.
Whatever Jesus wants.
Whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you for ending my pain.
- Don't.
- I have to.
Don't.
Pezzini.
Go.
Pezzini, it's Jake.
You better get down to the precinct.
We have a problem.
What in hell happened?
Severe skull fracture.
- Paramedics say it's self-induced.
- Self-induced?
How is that even?
Sergeant, who was his last visitor?
Actually, Pezzini, it was you.
- What about the priest, Father Del Toro?
- Like I said, no one since you.
What? You wanna check the log?
The log you keep?
The log's the log.
What are you trying to say?
Nothing, Burgess.
Oh, ***.
Sara, hi.
What can I,
uh, do for you?
Edward Nolan is dead.
No.
Where's Father Del Toro?
I, uh I think I saw him heading
towards the sanctuary.
- Thank you.
- Um.
Hello, Sara.
Come here often?
You don't believe old wives' tales,
do you?
Have you seen Edward Nolan lately?
You know, he died last night.
Nolan has tried to commit suicide
three times?
If he finally succeeded,
then it's no great loss.
I didn't say he committed suicide.
I'm thinking that he had
a little push.
Or maybe not so little.
Police work surely should
be more than just speculation.
You killed Monsignor Bellamy.
Nolan's suicide just closes the loop.
More speculation.
Not when I have your voice
on the 911 tape
calling in the *** just mere
moments after it was discovered.
I live across the driveway.
I heard the old woman screaming.
Really?
Did she scream out
the name of the fall guy?
What did you do with
Monsignor Bellamy's missing journals?
You know, the ones
about pope's, uh, bargain with Hitler.
And this.
Ah, yes.
Digitabulum.
It belongs to the Church, Sara.
You should give it back.
To you?
No, I don't think so.
See, I think that Nolan
was a poser.
You
I think you're the real thing.
So tell me, Father.
Are you really possessed?
Or are you just a willing
vessel of evil?
I know things to make
your flesh hump.
To make your hair turn white.
I know starving bodies.
Sick, broken babies thick.
I know what fresh blood tastes like
when it's still warm.
The sound a man makes
while his skin is peeled away.
Do you really think that you're
a match for me, Sara Pezzini?
So Bellamy knew who you were
and he was going to expose the truth.
Digitabulum Magae.
Give it to me.
Now.
You want it?
Take it.
Aah!
Be gone, Satan.
Inventor and master of all deceit.
Enemy of man's salvation.
Be gone.
You don't believe
in old wives' tales, do you?
How much did she learn?
It's impossible to tell.
She was conversing with other realms.
You should have stopped it.
Perhaps.
Or perhaps such an intervention
will prove to be more valuable later on.
Up until now, I've done quite well
trusting you to your own initiative.
But I can see that I will start having
to be more explicit in my directions.
Look, Aloysha, um
What you saw yesterday
Will remain locked in my heart
for the rest of my life.
I kept John Bellamy's secrets.
I think I can keep yours.
Besides, uh, I honestly don't
really know what happened.
What's the Church's stand
on reincarnation?
Officially, we don't
believe in it.
Unofficially, I often wonder.
Well, in your next life,
maybe don't come back as a priest.
Ha.
Okay.
Okay.