Night Watchman
Somebody in here?
Season 3 · Episode 19
Hell Money
Character-labelled dialogue prepared from the official DVD subtitle track.
Production code3X19Original airdate · March 29, 1996
234 dialogue entries
Scene 01
CHINATOWN
♪♪ [ drum reverberating, gongs jangling ] [ people chattering ]
Scene 02
BAYSIDE FUNERAL HOME
♪♪ [ drumbeats continue ]
[ men chattering in chinese ]
[ loud explosions ]
[ chattering, chinese ]
[ speaking in chinese ]
[ chinese ]
[ chinese ]
[ gasps ]
[ beeping ]
[ beeping continues ]
[ scraping ]
[ low roaring ]
[ tapping on door ]
[ gasps ]
Night Watchman
Holy moses.
Scene 03
Scene 03
[ tapping continues ]
[ screaming ]
Dana Scully
What a way to go. Have you seen this m.o. Before, detective? Men cremated alive?
Lieutenant Neary
Yeah. Third time this year.
Fox Mulder
Eleventh time, actually. There were three in Seattle, three in los angeles and two in boston. All chinese men between the ages of 20 and 40. All recent immigrants.
Lieutenant Neary
We weren't able to determine any of that until just recently. The other two bodies were much more badly burned. We got lucky with this one.
Fox Mulder
Lucky? That's an interesting word for it.
[ tapping glass eye ]
Fox Mulder
Got any leads on this case, detective? Any thoughts or ideas?
Lieutenant Neary
We've got a big influx of immigrants from hong kong, trying to get out before 1997. And we've seen stepped up gang activity in the chinese community, but so far we can't tie these deaths to anyone or anything.
Fox Mulder
You got anybody that can read or speak chinese?
Lieutenant Neary
Yeah. Glen Chao. He's right over there. Why?
Fox Mulder
Get him. I want to see if he can read this.
Lieutenant Neary
Sure. Glen.
Detective Glen Chao
One second.
Lieutenant Neary
Detective Chao. Glen Chao, agent Mulder.
Detective Glen Chao
Hi. What've you got? Hi.
Fox Mulder
There's something written up here. I was wondering if you could read it.
Detective Glen Chao
Yeah. It says, "gwai." it means "ghost."
Fox Mulder
Ghost?
Lieutenant Neary
Does that mean anything to you?
Fox Mulder
I don't know, but it's something strange for a man... Being burned alive to write, don't you think?
Lieutenant Neary
Yeah.
Fox Mulder
What's this? Anybody recognize this? Looks like some kind of foreign currency.
Detective Glen Chao
It's called "hell money." it's used as an offering during the chinese festival of the hungry ghosts.
Fox Mulder
Is it worth anything?
Detective Glen Chao
It's not money, per se. It's a symbolic offering to the evil spirits and the ghosts. For good luck.
Fox Mulder
Where would I get this "hell money?"
Detective Glen Chao
Well, there aren't a whole lot of places in chinatown that sell it.
Fox Mulder
That's good. Maybe we just found a way to identify the body.
Scene 04
Scene 04
Dana Scully
His name is johnny lo. He moved here about six months ago from canton. He's still in the I.n.s. Application process. He was a dishwasher in chinatown.
Fox Mulder
How many dishes do you have to break before your boss tosses you in an oven?
Dana Scully
I think it's pretty clear this is some kind of... A horrific cult or gang retribution killing.
Fox Mulder
Why would he write the character for ghost... On the inside of the crematory oven?
Dana Scully
I don't know.
Fox Mulder
What about the guard seeing three figures that seemed to vanish without a trace?
Dana Scully
So now we're chasing ghosts?
Fox Mulder
Who you gonna call? Ghosts or ancestral spirits have been central... To chinese spiritual life for centuries.
Dana Scully
So you're saying the ancestral spirits... Pushed johnny lo into the oven and turned on the gas?
Fox Mulder
That would sure teach him to respect his elders.
Detective Glen Chao
I checked all the neighboring buildings. Nobody saw or heard a thing. Not surprisingly.
Fox Mulder
What does it say?
Detective Glen Chao
I don't recognize that. It could be idiomatic. Some kind of code.
Dana Scully
It's still tacky.
Fox Mulder
Can you copy it down for me?
Detective Glen Chao
Yeah, sure.
Fox Mulder
Talk about "tacky."
Dana Scully
Someone's been here. This place has been cleaned out. Look at this.
Fox Mulder
[ sniffs ] what's that smell?
Dana Scully
Maybe it's this new carpet.
Detective Glen Chao
Yeah, that's what it looks like.
Dana Scully
What slumlord would spring for a new carpet in a dump like this?
Fox Mulder
Looks like they saved some money on carpet tacks... And didn't even bother replacing the old padding.
Dana Scully
What this?
Detective Glen Chao
Chinese herbal medicine.
Dana Scully
What about this?
Detective Glen Chao
It's a dried frog. I think they're sometimes used as charms. Good health, prosperity, protection.
Fox Mulder
Looks like mr. Lo could've used a little of both. Let's get this blood tested.
Scene 05
Scene 05
[ speaking chinese ]
[ men speaking chinese ]
[ people chattering ]
[ chattering continues ]
[ speaking chinese ]
[ chattering subsides ]
[ oohs and ahs ]
[ chattering resumes ]
[ crowd quiets ]
[ speaking chinese ]
[ tiles clattering ]
Scene 06
Scene 06
Tile Man
Li oi-huan!
[ crowd exclaims ]
[ crowd murmuring ]
Scene 07
Scene 07
[ shouting, chattering resume ]
[ chinese ]
[ crowd exclaims, groans ]
Dana Scully
I couldn't tell you what any one of these things are.
Detective Glen Chao
Well, they're roots mostly, like ginseng, turmeric. Then you got your more exotic stuff-- bear gall bladder, snake, shark fin-- usually prepared in a soup or a tea.
Fox Mulder
What had the victim been using?
[ speaking in chinese ]
[ chinese ]
Detective Glen Chao
She says that it's skullcap root and chinese angelica. They're used for painkillers.
Dana Scully
Does she remember johnny lo or remember selling it to him?
[ chinese ]
[ chinese ]
Fox Mulder
Ask her if she knows he's dead.
[ speaking chinese ]
Fox Mulder
Ask her if she recognizes those characters that were painted on his door.
[ chinese ]
[ gasps ]
[ chinese ]
Dana Scully
What was that about?
Detective Glen Chao
She says that the house was branded the tsang fang. A haunted house.
Fox Mulder
Haunted? You mean by ghosts?
Detective Glen Chao
Yeah. It's hard to give it an exact translation, but it's what I was telling you about before. The chinese yu lan hui-- the festival of the hungry ghosts. You see, on the 15th day of the seventh moon... In the chinese calendar, it's believed the Gates of hell are opened... And the ghosts of unwanted souls roam the earth. Now, believers protect themselves by leaving gifts of food... And "hell money" outside their homes to appease the ghosts, to keep them from coming inside and causing trouble. But for some spirits, the ghosts most feared by the chinese, there's no buying them off.
[ heart beating ]
Detective Glen Chao
The preta, the ancient ghost of a murdered man... Who wanders the earth exacting his revenge on the living, or the wu chang keui, who collects the souls of doomed men and drags them down to... Ti yu-- to the chinese hell.
Fox Mulder
Think these murders could be related?
Detective Glen Chao
Well, it makes sense. This year's festival is just about over.
Dana Scully
What about you, detective? Do you believe in yu lan hui?
Detective Glen Chao
I find it hard to argue with 2,000 years of chinese belief, the stuff my parents and grandparents believe in. But the truth is, I'm more haunted by the size of my mortgage payments.
Scene 08
HIGHLAND PARK CEMETARY
Night Watchman
Hey! What are you doin'?
Lieutenant Neary
The night patrolman described three men... Wearing the same masks as the ones ID'ed at the crematory.
Dana Scully
What were they doing here?
Lieutenant Neary
We don't know exactly. They were spotted around this grave over here, but we can't figure out exactly what they were up to.
Fox Mulder
Is this a newly-dug plot?
Lieutenant Neary
Yeah, there's a burial here at noon tomorrow.
Fox Mulder
Chinese?
Lieutenant Neary
I don't know. We can check. Chao, see if you can get the name of the future occupant here.
Dana Scully
I still don't understand what anybody would want with an empty grave.
Lieutenant Neary
What the hell's he doing?
Fox Mulder
Something just occurred to me. It looks like somebody was trying to get two burials for the price of one.
Scene 09
Scene 09
Fox Mulder
What did you find?
Dana Scully
A lot. And I haven't even finished my preliminary visual exam. Look at this. This guy's like a jigsaw puzzle. These are all surgical incisions. And judging by the color of the scars, I'd say... They were all made within the last year.
Fox Mulder
What was wrong with him?
Dana Scully
If you ask me, nothing.
Fox Mulder
"nothing"? What do you mean?
Dana Scully
Do you know how much the human body is worth, Mulder?
Fox Mulder
Depends on the body. I don't know, a few bucks. How much?
Dana Scully
It's worth a fortune.
Fox Mulder
You're saying this guy was selling his body parts for money?
Dana Scully
A kidney, a portion of the liver, a cornea, bone marrow-- a person can lose these things and live to cash his social security checks.
Fox Mulder
He won't be cashing any social security checks any time soon.
Dana Scully
No, but if I'm right, this is one man who left his heart in san francisco.
Fox Mulder
Scully, even if you're right, it doesn't figure. There's no long-term business sense to dying. And what connection does this have to the crematory deaths?
Dana Scully
We only saw one body, but the only thing that wasn't burned to a delicate crisp... On johnny lo was his glass eye.
[ gasps ]
Scene 10
Scene 10
[ squishing ]
Dana Scully
Oh, god.
Scene 11
Scene 11
[ chattering ]
[ speaking chinese ] [ chattering ]
[ crowd clamoring ]
[ tiles clattering ] [ clamoring continues ]
[ crowd quiets ]
[ clamoring resumes ]
[ crowd exclaims ]
[ shouts in chinese ]
[ speaking chinese ]
Detective Glen Chao
What's this?
Dana Scully
Maybe you can tell us. It was found in the body cavity of the man who was dumped in the grave.
Detective Glen Chao
This?
Dana Scully
You said the frog was the symbol of luck and prosperity. Unless this is somebody's sick joke, I'd say it must have another meaning.
Detective Glen Chao
Well, if it does, I don't know what it is. I mean, it could be some kind of triad symbol, something from organized crime.
Dana Scully
Well, maybe you can tell me this. Have you heard any word on the street about a black-market selling of body parts?
Detective Glen Chao
What? Here in chinatown?
Dana Scully
This man with a frog in his chest was missing a cornea and a kidney. They were taken prior to the time of death, before the final removal of his heart, and I found what is known as sterile ice... On the skin in and around the incision on his chest. It is a substance used to preserve human organs for transplant.
[ chuckles ]
Detective Glen Chao
I don't even know where to start.
Fox Mulder
Well, we're going to need more help from you than that, detective.
Detective Glen Chao
The implication being that I'm not trying to help.
Fox Mulder
No.
Dana Scully
Either you resent us being here, or you feel some kind of protectiveness towards the chinese community.
Detective Glen Chao
Look, you don't even know what the hell you're dealing with here. This isn't some pretty little lacquer box... You can just take the lid off and find out what's inside. You might see the face of a chinese man here, but let me tell you something, they don't see the same face. They see the face of a cop. American-born chinese. A.b.c. To them, I'm just as white as you are. You think because I can speak the language, I can get all your answers for you. But what good is an interpreter when everyone speaks the language of silence?
Fox Mulder
What's this?
Detective Glen Chao
It's the name of the company... That installed the carpet in johnny lo's apartment. I just happened to run across it while I was sitting there twiddling my thumbs. You coming or not?
[ speaking chinese ]
Scene 12
Scene 12
Detective Glen Chao
I'm detective Chao with the san francisco police. Could we have a word with you?
Hsin Shih
I'm late for work.
Detective Glen Chao
It'll only take a minute. Could we come in, please?
[ door chain clattering ]
Dana Scully
Mr. Hsin, could I ask what happened to your eye?
Hsin Shih
Accident at work. Carpet tack.
Fox Mulder
How long have you lived in this country, mr. Hsin?
Hsin Shih
Three years.
Fox Mulder
You live here alone?
Hsin Shih
[ woman calls out in chinese ] my daughter.
Dana Scully
Mr. Hsin, you laid a carpet in an apartment... That was occupied by a man named johnny lo.
Hsin Shih
I don't know the name. The-- the man I work for tells me address only.
Dana Scully
Well, we contacted the man that you work for. He said that it must have been a job you took on the side. He has no record of a work order.
Hsin Shih
What was the name of the man who lived at this apartment?
Dana Scully
His name was johnny lo. He's dead now. Murdered. And we think that the carpet was laid in an attempt to cover up evidence. Your employer said you usually work as an apprentice.
[ speaking chinese ]
Dana Scully
Do you remember who called you about the job?
Hsin Shih
I don't know any of this.
Fox Mulder
Thank you, mr. Hsin. If we need you, we'll get back to you. Thank you.
[ speaking chinese ]
Dana Scully
What's up? [ Chao, Hsin speaking chinese ]
Fox Mulder
I'll tell you in a second.
[ chinese continues ]
[ speaking chinese ]
Fox Mulder
What was that about?
Detective Glen Chao
He has the back window blocked up. Told him it was a firetrap.
Fox Mulder
Do you know what this is?
Detective Glen Chao
No.
Fox Mulder
Do you know what it says? Wood?
Detective Glen Chao
Yeah. Why? What are you thinkin'?
Dana Scully
That this guy didn't have an accident at work.
Fox Mulder
He's missing his eye, and I'd like to know how he lost it.
Dana Scully
I say we monitor Hsin's every movement.
Fox Mulder
I doubt they're to the ophthalmologist, though.
[ sobbing ]
[ keys jingling, lock clicks ]
[ men shouting in chinese ]
Scene 14
Scene 14
[ clears throat ]
Dana Scully
Look like you just saw a ghost.
Fox Mulder
I'm just a little tired and jumpy. One more string of firecrackers goes off, I'm gonna get out of the car and shoot somebody.
Dana Scully
He hasn't left his apartment has he?
Fox Mulder
No, and I'm glad you're here. I was about to go ask mr. Hsin if I could use his bathroom.
Dana Scully
Well, you can use the one down at st. Francis's hospital.
Fox Mulder
What do you mean?
Dana Scully
Detective Chao was attacked in his town house tonight. I just talked to lieutenant Neary. He says he's cut up pretty bad.
Fox Mulder
Who cut him?
Dana Scully
I don't know, but we should check it out.
[ chattering ]
[ knocking ]
[ speaking chinese ]
[ door creaking ]
Scene 15
ST FRANCIS GENERAL HOSPITAL
Dana Scully
How is he?
Lieutenant Neary
He's gone. I got down to see him. He's not in his bed.
Fox Mulder
Did anybody see him get up?
Lieutenant Neary
The nurse said they just finished sewing him up. He went to the bathroom. That's the last anybody saw of him.
Dana Scully
Why would he just take off?
Fox Mulder
Could I see his chart?
Lieutenant Neary
Yeah. His chart? Sure. I guess.
Dana Scully
You want to see what his injuries were?
Fox Mulder
I want to see what his blood type was.
Dana Scully
His blood type?
Fox Mulder
Why would he run?
Dana Scully
You think Chao's involved?
Fox Mulder
Maybe all this heel dragging is a diversion. That ghost story is a ruse. What was the hemo type of the blood we found on the carpet padding? Thank you.
Dana Scully
Uh, o negative.
Fox Mulder
Glenn Chao: o negative. Well, that's a coincidence.
Lieutenant Neary
Wait a minute. What are you saying?
Dana Scully
That the blood that we found on the carpet padding... In the victim's apartment was detective Chao's.
Fox Mulder
And I'd be willing to bet that he's the one that asked for it to be installed.
Dana Scully
Mr. Hsin.
Fox Mulder
Yeah, that conversation wasn't about any firetrap.
Scene 16
Scene 16
Dana Scully
We're looking for mr. Hsin. Is he home?
Kim Hsin
No, I'm sorry.
Dana Scully
Are you his daughter?
Kim Hsin
Yes.
Dana Scully
May we talk to you?
Fox Mulder
What's your father involved in, Kim?
Kim Hsin
Oh, I don't know. He goes out. I know he does for me-- because of me.
Dana Scully
You're sick, aren't you?
Kim Hsin
Uh, I was diagnosed with... Acute lymphocytic leukemia six months ago.
Dana Scully
That's a treatable form of cancer.
Kim Hsin
We have no money or insurance, and now I fear that my father... Has done something illegal-- that he made mistake and something bad is coming.
Fox Mulder
Who are these men that come to visit your father?
Kim Hsin
Oh, I don't know them. I just know my father say he want out. He want out, but of what I don't know.
Fox Mulder
Do you know what this is?
Kim Hsin
No.
Fox Mulder
Do you know what it says? I found it over there by the TV before.
Kim Hsin
But in chinese it also correspond to the eye. Like fire to the heart and earth to the flesh.
Dana Scully
This is a human leukocyte workup. Was your father rejected as a bone marrow donor?
Kim Hsin
Yes, several month ago.
Dana Scully
This is from the organ procurement organization. It's dated only a month ago. Your father had an h.l.a., but he also had his kidneys measured, his liver--
Fox Mulder
They're playing some kind of game.
Scene 17
Scene 17
[ clamoring ]
[ men chattering, shouting in chinese ]
[ knocking ]
[ knocking ]
Nurse
Agents Mulder and Scully.
Dana Scully
Thanks. We need some information. We need it as soon as possible.
Nurse
What kind of information?
Dana Scully
You had a man come in here named shuyang Hsin. He had an h.l.a. Workup and--
Nurse
I-I think I may know what this is about.
Fox Mulder
What?
Nurse
We've seen a number of asian men... Come in for typing and antigen workups, but when we find a compatible recipient for them, their doctor says they've left the area or disappeared.
Fox Mulder
Do you have a name or phone number for this doctor?
[ chattering, shouting ]
[ speaking chinese ]
[ chinese ]
[ clamoring ]
Fox Mulder
311 porter, right?
Dana Scully
Yeah, that's where the doctor's phone is registered.
Fox Mulder
Hey, Scully. Look who's here. This must be the place after all.
Scene 18
Scene 18
[ clamoring, shouting in chinese ]
[ onlookers chanting in chinese ]
[ tiles rattling ]
[ calls out in chinese ]
[ crowd groans ]
[ chinese ]
[ tools clicking, lock clicking ]
Fox Mulder
It's definitely not chinese food I'm smelling. [ sniffs ] smells like rubbing alcohol.
Dana Scully
Or sterile ice.
Fox Mulder
What's this?
[ speaking chinese ]
[ loud chattering ]
[ shouting ]
Dana Scully
What is that?
Fox Mulder
Sounds like it's coming from upstairs.
[ croaks ]
[ man speaking in chinese ]
[ shouting continues ]
[ angry shouting in chinese ]
[ banging ]
[ gun cocks ]
[ grunts ]
Fox Mulder
Chao, hands in the air! Hands in the air!
Dana Scully
He's still alive.
Fox Mulder
What did he say? [ handcuffs rattling ]
Detective Glen Chao
He said... The game's not over.
Scene 19
Scene 19
Hard-Faced Man
My people live with ghosts-- the ghosts of our fathers... And our fathers' fathers. They call to us from distant memory, showing us the path.
Dana Scully
No ghosts called to those men. You did, by preying on their hopelessness and their desperation.
Hard-Faced Man
Yes. They were desperate. Just as I was desperate when I first came to this country. But I... Committed no crime.
Dana Scully
You cheated them out of life... By promising them prosperity when the only possible reward was death.
Hard-Faced Man
In my belief, death is nothing to be feared. It's merely a stage of transition. But life without hope, hmph, now that's living hell. So-- hope was my gift to these men.
[ disgusted sigh ]
Hard-Faced Man
I don't expect you to understand.
Dana Scully
I understand this. You are going to prison for a very long time.
Fox Mulder
Can I talk to you for a minute? I just got back from st. Francis hospital. Hsin's still in intensive care.
Dana Scully
What about his daughter?
Fox Mulder
I checked with the donor procurement organization. She's been put on the recipient list.
Dana Scully
That's great.
Fox Mulder
Yeah.
Dana Scully
What's wrong?
Lieutenant Neary
It's our case against this guy. We've had our task force interviewing everybody we busted at the gaming parlor that night.
Dana Scully
And?
Fox Mulder
They put up a wall of silence. They all claim to be members of some social club, that they saw nothing.
Dana Scully
Well, what about Chao? His testimony would be enough to lock this guy up.
Lieutenant Neary
We can't find him.
Fox Mulder
He was to testify before a grand jury this morning. When he didn't show, they went to his home. He's vanished... Like a ghost.
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About this transcript
The dialogue comes from the official DVD subtitle track supplied by Boggsfiles. Speaker and scene attribution was cross-checked against character-labelled reference material. Subtitle wording is preserved while capitalization and spacing are standardized for easier reading.