(airdate: 22 Sep 95) Pilot sound files

Sheriff Lucas Buck, the Devil's close friend, wants his son and tonight is the night he comes for him...

Caleb Temple's father, Gage, never recovered from the death of his wife ten years ago. When, on the night of Caleb's tenth birthday, Gage snaps and hits his daughter, Merlyn, with a shovel, Sheriff Buck takes the opportunity to rid himself of the last two members of the Temple family standing in his path to Caleb. Merlyn is still alive when Sheriff Buck arrives at the Temple place but he snaps her neck, an act witnessed by his deputy, Ben Healy, through an open window. Gage is arrested for her murder and the Sheriff later gives Gage the means (Deputy Ben's "lucky" pen) to commit suicide in his jail cell.

Lucas Buck's plans to take custody of Caleb are stymied by Dr. Matt Crower, who treats Caleb for cuts on his hand and then lets him spend the night at the hospital. Dr. Crower is curious about Lucas' interest in Caleb and begins researching Caleb's background. He learns from one of the nurses that Caleb's mother was afraid someone was going to steal him from her and, when she wouldn't calm down, they called the Sheriff. She jumped through a window just after he entered her hospital room. We also learn, in his conversations with Sheriff Buck, that Dr. Crower has had some kind of tragedy in his life that is connected to his past drinking problem.

Lucas Buck did Deputy Ben Healy a favor by giving him a job when he needed one but, like all of Lucas' favors, it came with a string attached. Ben has kept quiet about Lucas' actions but his conscience is bothering him more these days. The Sheriff sends Selena Coombs to test his loyalty and, Selena being Selena, Ben fails the test and tells her everything that happened. But Selena tells Lucas that the Deputy is not his problem -- Caleb's cousin Gail Emory is in town. Gail's parents died in a fire when she was a child and Lucas Buck was the one who found them.

The ghost of Caleb's sister Merlyn is watching over her brother and warns him at the hospital that Sheriff Buck is coming and that he should go home. When Caleb gets home, Merlyn appears to him and shows him that, ten years ago, Sheriff Buck raped their mother. This is what traumatized Merlyn and led to the death of their mother.

When Lucas Buck arrives at Caleb's house, Caleb sets a fire in the attic and jumps out the window to escape him. The last scene we see is Lucas Buck's angry and frustrated face as he yells for Caleb.

"Just another lesson in perception, Ben. All guilt is relative, loyalty counts, and never let your conscience be your guide." Lucas to Ben right before he drives off and leaves him by the side of the road.

"When you kill yourself by jumping out a window, don't you open it first?" Dr. Matt Crower questioning a nurse about Caleb's mother's suicide.

1. August 2002