yes, it is me. but, not only me.  i found someone here.
someone quite dead.
just a moment.  if i may. it is possible this man was murdered.
there are surgical ways of telling how he died.  by the water in his lungs.
i could determine if he were dead before he went into the hudson.
there is nothing heretical about science, sir. the chinese have written on it for hundreds of years.  procedural study used to solve seemingly unsolvable crimes.
our first night watch is adequate against fire and some violence, but if we were more often able to ensure justice, after the fact, then criminals would truly have something to fear from law enforcement.
without disrespect, look around you. we overflow. as do our courts.
but, how many innocents rot here? and, how many victims are buried without reprisal while guilty men roam our streets?
even though i have seen confessions pried from the lips of the accused, often quite literally?
not liberalism. equanimity.
chosen me?
not for lack of trying.
i shall, gladly.
excuse me, miss.  they have a laugh at your expense.
i.  i am looking for baltus van tassel.
well, unless your name is baltus, you should not worry over mine.
i have been sent from the city with a letter of introduction. i am told you offer me room and board.
if we could speak alone.
an honor, gentlemen. in time i will need every detail of the three murderings you've had, but, for now, i ask only if you have any theory at all as to who the killer might be?
i say, is there any one person suspect in these acts?
the militia?
all i know is three are slain, their heads found severed from their bodies.
pardon me?
just a moment.  are you saying it is he?
excuse me, gentlemen, but.  who has seen this horseman?
then, name one person who has seen him with their own eyes.
while i will do everything i can to find your assassin, i will look for a man of flesh and blood. not some goblin-demon from hell.
you worry for naught, little man. nothing will harm him there. it is problems here on the ground you people need begin to worry about.
do you often make a habit of sitting on strange men's beds?
feel free to form your own opinion. though it appears you already have.
excuse me.  i should apologize. i, um.  i.  have no great love of.
small talk.
perhaps it is because your suitor's hands were recently very nearly wrapped around my throat.
the massive fellow.  brom. for someone you call "friend," he misplaces a good portion of jealousy.
which may explain his temperament. to have asked twice means the answer was "no" at least once.
extra ordinary, yes. but first, you tell me about the headless horseman.
are you so superstitious?
there is no such thing as magic.
poets have silly notions about plants and bodily secretions.
the van garretts died first; a man and his son, survived by a wife and two infants. and the widow windsor was next.
why would he flee this direction, with so much open ground to cross before he reached cover?
believe?
it is a prime tenet of science, philipse, that because one thing appears improbable does not mean you embrace the utterly fantastical.
what is that you wear?
well.  so much for common sense.
who took the meat?
these woods of yours sound a bit crowded, what with all the witches, ghouls and indians living there.
why did you move the body, doctor?
you are the blacksmith. ever shod a horse with a hoof this large?
van ripper. can you show where the body lay?
to the best of your recollection, where did the open wound fall?
there was not much blood, was there?
no bleeding.
this should have bled by the pint. yet, no blistering or scorched flesh. how.  ? whatever weapon was used.  it cauterized somehow.
it instantly burnt the wound shut.
i am not here for revenge. i am here to bring justice.
i manage fine alone.
young masbath, i am sorry for your loss. it is a great and sad tragedy. however.  i cannot be the one to look after you now.
well enough. your gathering does honor to the deceased.
what are you spying on?
he is a behemoth.
more than enough, actually. i beg you, no more, please.
tell me something. what becomes of young masbath?
find yourself a place in the servants' residence and wake me before dawn. our first task will be an unsavory one.
i cannot proceed without examining the previous victims.
protest to my superiors if you like.
then, you should have left two days ago, because i have men willing to help me today.
why was i not told of this?
is that all you say? look at her.
what is the common thread between these victims?
we must discover it. the reason the murderer chose these persons.
the wounds are the same. cauterized. no chopping or half-measures either. one stroke took the head. have you seen, doctor.  ? even the spinal bone.  sliced as smooth as butter.
in time, doctor. soon as i finish.
you should step outside.
sorry for disturbing you. i thought a forgotten candle was burning.
may i ask.  why do you cover your book that way?
i, um.  i have something to show you, if you have a moment.
i have had them since childhood. i cannot remember what from.
here it is. a bird on one side. his cage on the other. now, stare at it. the bird seems to be in his cage.
he only appears to be inside the cage. the point being.
yes, but listen. the illusion is easily explained. the eye retains each image, till they combine. and yet, some would call this toy magic.
if you want. but.
thank you. no. here.
very well. but, it will only sit gathering dust.
are you saying i should be frightened? is this a message passed on from clergyman steenwyck?
i know it.
listen to what you say.
at times i do.
philipse!
if these are the random stalkings of a monster, what good am i?
they have done nothing of the sort.
two days.  ? for murder?
does that look like an animal hanging?
wait. give me a moment.
the lenape indian had much to tell once i opened his mouth.
his teeth. someone had cut them and chipped off rotten pieces far back in his mouth. the lenape could not have done that for himself. someone out there cared for him.
up.
what is it?
out there. what do you see?
look again.
are you familiar with magnets?
not for eating, i assure you. watch here.
yes.  i suppose it is. keep it.
i have others. all i need is this.
now, hold the bowl steady. back to business.
if the western woods are truly the devil's glen, we will see for ourselves.
witches do not exist. however.
not long ago, i would have said the same for headless horseman.
no stone may be left unturned. it may appear harsh.
you are not regarding it in full. the widow windsor had been run through by a sword. i followed the bloodless wound, a wound whose path i could not comprehend till i had seen the horseman with my own eyes.
the child she carried was eight months grown at least.  near to birthing. the sword had pierced its tiny heart exactly.
there was no blind stabbing. this singular thrust found its target omnipotently, as if the horseman made certain the unborn child died with its mother.
it was not butchery.
i have no solution for its meaning yet, but i could not just ignore it.
to avenge his father, and the others.
if it had been surgery on a living person, done to save that person's life, you would not question it. not for a moment. so, let me be the first to tell you, dear girl.  on the other side of these sheltering mountains, a whole world has advanced beyond such plebeian thinking as yours. and someday, no matter how much you fear it, that world will come to roust sleepy hollow out of its slumber.
what is it?
i hear nothing.
we have apparently arrived.
pardon. you did not answer when i knocked. are we intruding?
in a way, yes.
the lenape who lived in these woods.  do you know him? the redman? i should tell you.  he has been murdered.
the horseman. yes.
can you help?
what.  what are you doing?
excuse me.  um.
are you alright.  ?
we are leaving.
how could something named "the tree of the dead" fail to draw attention?
we should not go much further in this murk.
we are far from the hollow. loath to say it.  better to get our backs against a tree and stay till morning.
"let loose his silent shrieking." who knows, till we work at it? i admit not being anxious to find out. "he who holds the horseman's desire will guide his reaping hand." whatever the horseman's desire is, other than extinguishing lives.
do not move.
what god-forsaken hell is this?
christ.
the wound is neither smooth nor cauterized, but jagged. she bleeds like a fountain.
she did not go quietly.
what are you doing?
i fired upon the horseman and the bullet did nothing.
i hit him square.
allow me some time. i have spent every hour in the company of others. i need to be alone.
no, actually, you were not. every word you spoke had truth in it.
lady van tassel.  she is your stepmother, isn't she? she bears so little resemblance.
she is not your birth mother, is she?
what happened to your mother? is she still alive?
memories have come back. i had them forgotten, and wish i could forget them again.  but they are here now. lord, how i hate this place.
i.  i do not know. i no longer know what i think or what i feel.
yes, actually.
do you know.  i think those are the first words i have heard from you my entire time here.
um.  i.  i did not.  no. why?
i should be going.  good day to you.
you grow sharper by the minute, little man. it boggles my mind, but i begin to prefer your company over all others.
true enough.
good questions, deserving answers, of which we are in short supply.
quicken pace.
ride on.
halt and turn. i have a pistol aimed at your head.
katrina. why do you follow?
a woman should not be out alone in these woods.
come along.
blood.
stay back.
just.  keep where you are.
he.  he tries to take the heads.  they will not pass.
must be some sort of gateway. but, why this place.  ?
why this tree?
"climb down to the horseman's soulless place." bring the shovel.
it cannot be true.
why is it every grave i open holds a new mystery inside?
yes. i did notice that, thank you.
this is his silent shrieking.  and his desire, to reclaim his head.
"he who holds fast the horseman's desire will guide his reaping hand." someone controls the horseman.
his next victim is chosen! give me distance, then guide her back to the hollow.
for what it's worth.
look.
what.  what are you doing.  ?
 brom bones.
bring young masbath here.
bring him.
man or woman?
business, best hidden is hidden best at night.
because, i serve a fine purpose alive. it is perfection for our murderer if i return to new york city with nothing more than tales of a galloping ghoul. we must uncover the reason these victims were targeted. what was taken from them.  other than their lives? who benefits by their deaths?
damn it.
wait.
panic has set in.
sanctuary. or, so they hope.
do you have these persons' wills?
yes, sir.  but, do you have these?
may i see them, master hardenbrook?
may we look at them now?
maybe you should take this.
to discover what might have been taken from those who died, it will help to know what was there that could be taken in the first place.
master hardenbrook.
perhaps, i could assist in finding them?
and it now belongs to you, according to baltus. i heard him say it.
then look here at your father's will, and tell me why you are not listed.
van garrett had denoted his elder son in his last wishes; the same son murdered along with him. but van garrett's wife and two infant children are not written.  and they were spared. do you see? philipse had no family to bestow his farm to. but, here.  the widow windsor was listed on her late husband's will. after her inheritance, she amended the document to include her bastard child. this is why the horseman made absolutely certain to impale the unborn descendant.
only the heirs were killed. proof that the horseman slaughters by assignment.
no one yet, far as i can tell. it has gone intestate.
intestate. your farm.  all the farms.  they belong to no one.
often in such cases, property which has gone intestate legally passes to whomever the deceased was indebted to. and, who in this town is owed a great many debts?
did your father take a loan?
tonight, we answer questions. and, to discover who moves about the van tassel house after dark.  all we need is a candle.
midnight seems an appropriate time.
they are alphabetical.
there are none for magistrate philipse either. "paasch, james" "pieter, thomas" "pos, william."
keep looking. then, hide in my room and bolt the door till i return.
lady van tassel.
something i really wish i had not seen. never mind it. did you find the victims' loan agreements?
katrina.
it is nothing. she comes to read books, so her father will not find her. it is absolutely nothing.
fiction plays and novels. baltus does not approve. now, come. it may not be long before lady van tassel returns.
excuse me, lady van tassel.  katrina is not in her room.
where?
very little. i must be going.
it appears well. it has already clotted.
it is fine. now, i must.
what.  ?
how did you hear this?
i appreciate your concern. i thank you, sir.
things have become complicated. katrina is at the mill. ride ahead, find her and bring her to meet me outside the church. find her at all costs. quickly.
only if i repeat them outside this room. and, i will if i must.  out there, for all to hear. or.  you may speak, as planned. but, you tell them you feel compelled to move on to greener pastures.
oh? far as i can tell, a rumor does not travel alone for long here.
it is only important what you are. an adulterer.
wallowing in sin and lust.
wallowing quite literally in blood.
he may. but, not soon enough for you, and not on your behalf.
you are so upset now.  and yet, you seemed in such good spirits last night.
climb to the top of the tallest ladder you can find, father. that is the closest you ever come to god.
come with me.
explain these. i found them secreted away in the sewing room.
why.  why have i scrambled and run and clawed in all directions, only to find you against me?
it was you there?
and, what did he say?
what did he say, katrina?
the loans give the land to your father. it does not matter survivors are still on their farms. they could be thrown off.  tomorrow.  a year from now.
what would you have me believe?
the name van tassel is blackened. you share that name.
katrina.
stop this!
the horseman cannot enter! it does not matter who he wants, he cannot cross the gate!
here! i have found her.  here she is.
you will stay at her side?
i need time for thinking. without you hanging on my coattails for a change.
nothing. to hell with this place and all the people here.
you do not know all that has happened. you cannot understand.
half now. half when we reach the city.
this is farewell.
i cannot. you should not worry. van ripper and his wife will look after you. they will. you will be well cared for.
i am sorry. forgive me. i failed you.
van ripper, turn the coach about!
turn around. now!
pardon the intrusion.
i never examined these bodies.
would you stay, doctor? i may need assistance.
stains of blood.
jagged flesh. the horseman did not do this.
here, doctor. hold this just so.
no clotting or gathering of pus. no healing at all.
when this cut was made, this person was already dead. this is not lady van tassel.
open the door. open up, damn it! lady van tassel is alive. the horseman is her puppet. please.
listen to me. lady van tassel has faked her death. i need able men.
no.
van ripper.  do you have a gun?
may i see it?
get down. hurry!
sorry.
katrina!
climb up!
i know. hold on.
christ.
i do not know. away.
we might make it to the church.
damn it, boy, get back here!
take the reins.
masbath is right. we must do something.
keep him off! block him!
take it!
move forward!
go!
help her.
i doubt that's the end.
he moves too fast.
his horse.
there.
he's coming!
hurry!
get up those stairs. open the door to the roof and wait.
keep climbing. i will follow.
hopefully.
no. get to the crest of the roof and be ready to jump.
the blades will carry us to the ground. face front and wait for me.
we have no choice.
be ready.
now!
okay.  come on.
oh, no.
let her go!
no!
horseman!
how are you?