"You sure they said it was a woman screaming?" **Spoilers**

The line said by James Caan after the policeman investigates his basement after hearing noise complaints. After finding nothing, Caan oddly and unprompted asks the officer , "You sure they said it was a woman screaming?"

After seeing the ending, we know why Caan emphasized the word, "woman".

At that time though, I surely enough followed the red herring and came to my own (incorrect) theory:

My guess for the contents of the basement would be Ethan's father (alive).

There would be a flashback scene at the end where Ethan's father after being released from prison confronts Caan. The father would say something threatening like, "Keep out of my affairs, I'll do whatever I want to my (ex)-wife."

After realizing the father wouldn't stop harassing the mother even after serving time, Caan took matters into his own hands and kept the father imprisoned in his basement. He wouldn't harm, torture, or even starve the father. He would simply keep him in captivity to protect the mother, believing the legal system couldn't keep her safe. Despite the secret illegal imprisonment, Caan could still be considered, "The Good Neighbor".

There would have needed to be some implication that Ethan and his father weren't still emailing each other of course. Perhaps it had been months or even a year since that last email from Ethan's father.

Either way, I was way off course, but still, wasn't it strange that Ethan's father wasn't at the trial? Albeit divorced, both parents still would have a vested interest in their son possibly on trial for murder. Or maybe the mother had a restraining order on him, who knows?

Anyway, curious if anyone else had similar or equally crazy theories after hearing that quote of Caan's.