Homicide: The Movie (2000) Movie Script
As Baltimore's race
for mayor heats up,
former Homicide lieutenant,
Al Giardello,
is scheduled for a press
conference this morning,
at the Inner Harbor.
He'll be joined by current
mayor Kurt Schmoke.
The joint appearance
signals an important
endorsement for Giardello.
So, how's it feel
to be the favorite
going into the last week
of the campaign?
It ain't over
'til it's over.
Well, the polls show you
12 points ahead of
your opponent, Robert Gessner.
The fat lady
has already taken
her curtain call,
don't you think?
One thing I've learned working
the Homicide unit:
Never assume anything.
Give me a dollar,
a dollar for something to eat.
Just a measly dollar.
Your recent statement,
that if elected,
you'd push to legalize drugs.
Do you think
this is the issue
that has set your campaign
apart from your rival's?
Well, substance abuse
is a health issue.
I know what drugs have done
to this city.
- Educate. Don't legislate.
- But don't you think that-
All right, that's all for now,
Everybody please step back.
We want Al! We want Al!
We want Al! We want Al!
We want Al! We want Al!
Everybody down! Who shot him?
Can anyone see who's shooting?
I don't know.
Meldrick, I will partner
with you any time,
any place, when
it comes to a crime.
But I'm not investing
in your bar, no way.
Come on, Falsone,
you can see for yourself
that The Waterfront is a
moneymaking proposition, man.
It's a cash cow.
Veritable green machine.
Yeah? So why you so anxious
to cut me a slice?
'Cause my other so-called
partners are way too silent.
Munch is up in New York
looking for fame and glory
and Bayliss has taken
a semi-permanent
leave of his senses.
So you need someone
to do all the work.
Hey, all I'm asking, Falsone,
is just to give it
a couple of minutes of
your very, very valuable time.
Just examine the concept.
- That's all I'm saying.
- Yo, officer.
Gentlemen.
Mike Giardello. As I live
and as I breathe.
I heard you traded
the Bureau for a beat.
Working on my detective shield.
I love a man in uniform.
Check you out.
Your pop's out there, stumping
for mayor, and you're back here
having yourself
a little yard sale.
Oh, it's been
a real media circus.
Every time I open the door
it's like candid camera.
Hey.
Alan Funt was
a great American, okay?
And I took his passing
very, very personally.
So what we got here?
Local dealer. Shot in the head.
Been dead about a day.
Does our deadhead
have a name?
Joseph Hardwick.
AKA Yin-Yang.
Yin-Yang?
Looks like he ''yinged''
when he should have ''yanged.''
- Hey, Mike.
- Yeah?
Dispatch just radio'd.
They want you downtown pronto.
- What's up?
- Your father.
He's been shot.
"Beautiful Way"
by Beck
Searchlights on the skyline
Just looking for a friend
Who's gonna love my baby
When she's gone
around the bend
Egyptian bells are ringing
When it's her birthday
Sweet nothing
I'm talking about you
There's a hurricane
blowing your way
Such a beautiful way
To break my heart
There's someone
calling your name
It's driving you insane
You were wearing
that stained raincoat
And your umbrella
was a tangled mess
You were washed up
on the glittering shoals
Looking for another
crime to confess
You bribed yourself
out of a place in the sun
But you had some
change to spare
So you said you want
to spend it on me
And shook the blues
out of your hair
Such a beautiful way
To break your heart
The question remains:
Is it possible to find
a rule of thumb
outside the realm of religion
and its absolute values?
The answer is no.
All people in a community,
even those
without formal religion,
formal absolute values,
formal spirituality
always construct
their own.
Class dismissed.
Mayoral candidate Al Giardello
was making a campaign
appearance early this morning
when he was shot
by an unidentified assailant.
Giardello was rushed here
to Church Home and Hospital
where he is now undergoing
emergency surgery.
His condition is listed
as critical.
Here is his son,
Officer Michael Giardello,
perhaps we'll be able
to get a word with him.
- Officer Giardello?
- I have nothing to say.
- Officer Giardello!
- Look, I don't know anything.
Well, tell me this,
how do you feel?
How do you think I feel?
Get out of my face!
Officer Giardello,
understandably distraught about
this tragic turn of events.
How's my father?
He was shot in the abdomen,
maybe more than once.
- Is he gonna make it?
- He just went into surgery.
As soon as there's any news,
you'll be the first to know,
I promise you.
Soon.
No. No.
Maintenance, please call the
nurse's station on extension E5.
Maybe we should go
to the hospital.
Hey! G wouldn't want us
keeping vigil.
He'd want us out there
on the black
looking for the Ebola
what did this.
What about
Joseph ''Yin-Yang'' Hardwick?
Who?
Our day-old,
dead drug dealer.
He'll keep.
Oh, look who's back
from oblivion.
Hey. You guys-
you find the shooter?
No. We were waiting on you.
Oh, well, I'm here to help.
- Sabbatical's over?
- Yeah, for now.
That's weird, ain't it?
What's that?
He just packs up his desk,
doesn't say nothing to nobody,
just splits.
I had things
to think about.
Issues.
That's the thing
about you, Bayliss.
You always did have ''issues.''
You gonna stand here yapping?
Step back.
Step back.
Any comment?
Any comment?
Frank.
All right, some of you
came to homicide
after Al Giardello left.
Some of you worked
alongside him.
Like Kay Howard,
now on the Fugitive squad.
Tim Bayliss, been on a
leave of absence.
Frank Pembleton,
retired a couple years ago.
You're the almighty Pembleton.
We've all heard
the stories.
- Can we get on with this?
- Yep. Okay.
We got a homeless man,
won't give us his name.
He grabbed Giardello
just before the shooting.
We swabbed his hands for
gunpowder residue. He's clean.
As soon as uniforms
bring him up,
I'm gonna interview him,
find out what he saw.
We talked to everybody at
the rally and all the vendors
and we brought in a few witnesses
for further questioning.
And this event was covered
by the press, right?
We're way ahead
of you, Frank.
We've requested video footage
from the local news stations.
Stivers and Ballard, I need you
to collect those cassettes.
Sure, Lieutenant.
Lots of witnesses,
what about suspects?
G's campaign for mayor knocked
some noses out of joint.
Made him a few enemies.
Coupled with the ones
he already had.
I'm up.
All right. Howard, Bayliss.
I want you researching
G's past.
Get me everything on anybody
he ever tangled with.
How far back?
To his rookie days,
if you need to.
Pembleton, Lewis, Falsone.
Make me a list of people
that he's pissed off
on the campaign trail.
A list?
Well, I didn't come here
to make lists.
Frank. Just like
old times.
Okay, we meet back
in an hour.
Yeah, I love you too.
I caught a bullet
on a job myself, you know.
Bullet in the brain.
Stanley Bolander.
Used to work for your dad.
- Thanks for coming.
- I had to, didn't I?
Your dad, when I was shot,
he was- what's the word?
''Tenacious.''
Yeah, he is that.
Not like he sent me flowers
or anything like that, no.
But he was a pit bull.
He wouldn't let go until they
caught the bastard who did it.
- Mikey.
- Nonna.
This is so terrible.
This is terrible.
- What's new?
- There ain't nothing.
They're telling me nothing.
Hey, here's one of G's
from '82 that looks promising.
Very blue.
You never told me the squad
room was this blue.
- Sure I did.
- Yeah, but not this shade.
- No, huh?
- This is excessively blue.
Azure.
Cobalt.
Cerulean.
Except the board.
All these open cases.
Too much red.
Hurts my eyes.
I'm seeing spots.
What?
Nothing.
No, something.
No.
What's this?
Ryland, is this one of
your open-
No, no, no, no.
That stone cold sucker
is mine, Frank.
Luke Ryland snuffed two women
live on the Internet.
And Baltimore being Balto-less,
he got off on a technicality.
Next day they found him,
curbside, laying there.
.44 slug in the back
of his head.
- You got a suspect?
- Not a one.
Nuh-uh. Whoever did the deed,
knew how to execute
an execution.
And this, sordid little tale
makes you jumpy, because?
No, no, Frank.
Doesn't make me jumpy.
Oh, come on. You're jumpy.
I know you.
No. You know something?
You don't know me.
Things change, Frank.
People,
they change.
Kid's still there
in the interview room
with the homeless guy, huh?
Yeah, I guess.
Taking way
too much time.
Yeah.
You got a name.
I know you do.
Give me a dollar.
You know, I got
a hundred eyeballs
saw you assault
Al Giardello.
Now you saw who shot him,
didn't you?
Didn't you?
I want a dollar. I gotta get
something to eat.
Come on!
Just a measly little dollar,
is that so much to ask?
You know what? I am really
losing my patience with you.
You know, I was gonna give you
a number two beating,
but you have worked and worked
and you've earned yourself
a number one.
Now I am gonna beat
your balls
until you tell me
what I want to know.
This does not reflect
my command.
I thought you were
in charge here,
Lieutenant Gharty.
You better go help your man.
Damn!
This is gonna cost you, buddy.
This is gonna cost you.
- You okay, mister?
- See him come at me?
- See the way he came at me?
- Whoa!
All right, sit down.
- Sit down.
- Why, you big-
Come on, sit down.
What are you two
doing in here?
- What's this?
- Hey, hey, hey,
I'm in the middle
of something here.
It's a dollar.
You asked
for a dollar?
Yeah, I asked
for a dollar.
I heard you.
I know you guys
are legends, but
This is my interview.
Shut up.
What? Excuse me?
I said
shut the hell up.
Me out?
Yeah, grab a coffee.
This ain't right.
Grab me one, too.
Milk, two sugars.
Well, he's a feisty
little guy, isn't he?
I'll be right in there
if you need me.
Tell me what's going on.
I'm really sorry, sir, but I
don't know what's going on.
Well, then find me
someone who does.
Hey, Mike, Mike.
It's been hours. I can't get any
real information from anybody.
You know something?
The hospital' s got to cover
its ass just like everybody else.
And you want to know
something else?
The minute that he's out
of surgery,
I'm sure they'll be telling you
exactly what they did
and handing you
an itemized bill.
Yeah.
Oh, look,
they're replaying that
I don't want
to talk right now.
that little clip of you
pushing Helen Lucaitis
ass over tea kettle.
- Great.
- Get out of my face.
You made the national news.
Al would be proud.
You know, I can't believe you
were my father's boss.
For awhile.
But, I was also his equal
and his underling.
Guess you might say I know
all sides of the man.
Yeah, I wish I did.
I used to be FBI Liaison
with the department.
Took the job
to be closer to him.
Make amends.
Maybe put to rest some anger
and resentment
we have for each other.
But that didn't happen?
If anything, working together
made things worse.
- You pimped us.
- Oh, man.
He gave everything
you told him
to the
Independent Counsel's office.
Well, how was I to know?
We were always stepping
on each other's toes.
So, I quit.
Started over,
as a Balto uniform.
Bottom of the totem pole.
I don't know if any of it
made any difference to my dad,
if he even noticed.
You wouldn't hurt
anybody.
Would you?
No.
You wouldn't hurt anybody
because it's not in you?
Al Giardello wouldn't hurt
anybody either.
It's not in him.
You and he, you got
a lot in common.
That's why I asked him
for a dollar.
I knew he'd understand.
What's your- your name?
You ain't got an address,
what do you need a name for?
Post office can't find me.
Why should it matter
if I have a name?
Okay, well, we don't
need to know your name.
What we need to know is if you
saw who hurt Al Giardello.
You got a dollar?
A dollar?
I'm jonesing
for a Hershey bar.
I just gave you
a dollar.
I'm asking him.
What did you see
at the Inner Harbor today?
I'm a fiend
for chocolate.
Didn't I just give you
a dollar?
Didn't I?
Yeah.
So now you gonna
play me for the fool?
If I give you a dollar, will you
tell us what you saw today?
I'm the fool, right?
I gave you a dollar,
and now what?
No, no, no. No, no.
Put that away.
I'm here out of concern
for a good person.
Somebody who means
a lot to me.
Means a lot
to this city.
And what, now you think
this is some kind of deal
where you gonna use
my concern to mooch money?
'Cause you think that
you're the key to the puzzle?
You're holding all the vital
info, so, yeah, screw me.
And screw him!
And screw Al Giardello.
Do you think
you mean anything?
To anybody?
Anything to this city?
- No.
- But I'm here.
I'm extending you my kindness.
I give you what you want,
out of goodwill.
And it's not about the money.
It's not about a dollar.
'Cause if you ask me for 10,
I'll give you 10.
And a hundred, you got it.
I'm respecting you.
But you're gonna sit there
and piss on me.
I'm gonna send you
to hell, mister
''I ain't got a name,'' so feel
sorry for my mooching ass.
I'm jonesing for
a Hershey bar. I'm jonesing-
The guy that I see is in
his late 40s, early 50s maybe,
I'm a fiend for chocolate,
jonesing for that Hershey bar.
- A mooching-
- Of the Negro persuasion.
The guy is black.
What's he look like?
How tall is he?
He's nearly as tall as me.
Got gray sidewalls.
His hair, you know, sideburns.
And he's got a gun.
One of them black guns,
that go pop-pop-pop.
- An automatic.
- I don't know.
Okay, so he shoots
this gun, pop-pop-pop.
Then what? What happens then?
Where does he go?
He just disappears. He gets
swallowed up in the crowd.
I got scared. I was just
trying to get out of there.
And then the cops
grabbed me up.
Can I have
that other dollar now?
Giardello is still
in surgery at this hour.
Meanwhile, police have
intensified their investigation,
interviewing literally hundreds
of witnesses.
- We'll have more after this.
- And we're out.
I'd like to give you
the tape, but I can't.
Okay, well, then
we'll get a subpoena.
No, you don't understand.
I can't.
There was some kind
of technical glitch
- with our camera.
- Glitch?
All I got is stuff leading up
to the gunshots,
then the camera dies.
We're the only station in town
that didn't have footage
of the actual shooting.
And believe me, I'm not happy
losing out on the biggest
news story of the year.
I'm crying
big crocodile tears.
Give us what you've got.
Okay, we're back in 10.
So you're living
in St. Michael's now?
Yeah, play a little golf,
practice the cello.
Hey, retirement
agrees with you.
You got that
healthy pink glow.
That's high blood pressure.
I'm on a zero sodium diet.
Zero as in none.
As in I can't even
go down to the ocean,
take in a sea breeze.
You know how bland life is
without salt?
I was under the impression
that you were still in Balto.
No.
That you refuse
to answer my calls
out of some
misdirected spite.
I have never
mis-whatevered my spite.
I got married again.
What, number four?
- Yeah.
- Geez.
I'm getting divorced.
Geez, John.
I like this. This is great.
You and I, prowling the
streets of Baltimore again.
I have never prowled the streets
of anywhere with you, all right?
Don't start
agitating me, Munch.
- Come on.
- What's the status of Giardello?
Step back, step back.
Stop it there.
What are you looking at, Stan?
See this guy right here?
He's right on
the edge of the stage.
His body language.
It doesn't look right.
I can't see anything.
We're looking for a gun.
At this angle,
you can't even see his hands.
Well, what we need
is to enhance the tape.
Yeah, send a copy
to the state police lab.
Lieutenant!
Captain.
My, my, my, look at this.
Sergeant Howard, Frank
Pembleton, Munch, Bayliss,
even the big man.
All the old boys and girls
gathered again.
Everybody
palsy-walsy.
You interrupt
one of my detectives
in the course of
interviewing a witness?
I was giving him
some relief.
Relief, my ass.
You just wanted
to show him who's boss,
- That's your game.
- Sir.
But now I'm gonna
show you who's boss.
I order you to apologize
to Detective Hall.
Apologize?
Bobby.
Go ahead.
I apologize.
No problem.
Now what the hell are
all of you doing in here?
We came to help.
This is your call?
What are you, desperate?
No, for G we come on our own.
Truly noble.
Get your ass in gear, Gharty.
I want this Giardello shooting
down today.
That's what we all want,
Gaffney.
This is police business.
You're not a cop anymore,
is that right, Frank?
That's correct.
Then get lost.
Okay. Sure. Fine.
Me too, then.
No, no, Bolander.
You can stay.
That's the beauty of power.
It's arbitrary.
I have a press
conference at 2:00.
I better have some startling new
revelations to tell the media.
Somebody open
a window.
That won't do any good,
that's ''Eau de Gaffney.''
- Lingers for days.
- Frank?
Don't worry about it.
You don't have to say anything.
If we get anywhere,
I'll keep you posted.
Fine, fine. Give me a ring.
Frank! Wait, wait, wait.
You're just gonna leave?
Yes. And you're coming
with me.
Where?
If the bosses won't let us
investigate officially,
we'll do our own.
- Unofficially.
- A citizen's brigade.
Okay, let's start
with the crime scene.
Excuse me, excuse me.
How are you answering-
We've got 15
different descriptions
of a possible shooter
from 25 different witnesses.
Some say he's black,
some say white.
Some say he's in his 20s,
others in his 60s.
Yeah, well, they all agree
the shooter is a man, right?
Well, actually, a few of them
think maybe he's a woman.
- Yeah, I say it's a conspiracy.
- Oh, Munch.
This guy that G's
running against for mayor,
what's his name, Gessner.
He sees he's gonna get
his ass kicked.
So he decides to take action,
so he hires an assassin.
like in The Manchurian Candidate.
What did I say
about agitating, Munch?
I'm gonna check out the widow
of Raymond Desassy.
What, the guy G shot?
G shot someone?
Yeah, a couple,
three years ago.
Kevin Lugo,
big shock radio personality.
I remember, he got whacked
in a Mt. Washington parking lot.
Yeah, we get a tip Raymond
Desassy is the murderer,
G and I go to the house,
Desassy draws a weapon,
G shoots him dead.
Turns out, our tip was from
Raymond Desassy's best friend.
Called it in
as a practical joke.
Desassy's wife was pretty bitter
about the whole thing.
Okay, Howard.
Mrs. Desassy it is.
Hey, you need backup?
Sure.
Stivers, Ballard,
take the videotapes to the
state lab, study every frame.
Lewis, stop by the courthouse,
grab Sheppard,
and go talk to Carl Miller.
Carl Miller?
The pride
of the Aryan Nation.
Yeah, he's been beating
the drums,
trying to start a race war
over G's drug policy.
If you're volunteering, how
about calling on John Komen?
Whatever you need, Lieutenant.
Who's John Komen?
There was a mass suicide at
the African Revival Movement.
Yeah, I saw it
on the news.
Yeah, QRT storms the place,
finds 16 bodies. Poisoned.
A real Jonestown.
Not like the other one,
where the CIA and the military
whacked those people.
Komen's taken over as the head
honcho of the movement.
So, we talk to him.
You know, I say
a Black Nationalist
and two whiter shades
of pale detectives
don't exactly interface,
you catch my drift?
Well, if you got
a problem with it, Munch,
make it easy on yourself.
There's an Amtrak back
to the Big Apple every hour.
Stan, you know where the African
Revival Movement building is?
If it's in Balto,
I can find it.
What do you want me
to do, L.T.?
Check the 800 tip line.
Okay, we got 48 hours
to catch this guy.
Any longer than that,
the odds get longer
and you know what
hits the fan.
All right?
We're a team.
Let's go.
Let's catch this bastard.
Could have handled
this better, Stuey.
Are you coming,
Detective Munch?
Yeah, yeah,
but I'm driving.
You know I like to drive,
as long as you don't smoke
with the windows closed
with that cigar.
We're gonna smoke.
I got a cigar this big.
Oh, man. Here we go again.
Mrs. Giardello, any word
on his condition?
Excuse me, I'm sorry.
Do you mind?
Hey!
Hey, you. Leave her alone.
Leave her alone.
What are you doing
here, anyway?
Leave her the hell alone.
We're just doing
our job, okay?
That's no excuse.
Pressure's 90 over 60.
Heart rate's up to 120.
That's the second one.
Big sucker.
Let me see
the X-ray.
Suction, please.
We need to clean up
these rib slivers.
So, how was that
for you, Frank,
being back
in that squad room?
Strange.
So many things
have changed.
Well, the color of the doors
and the floors, maybe, but
Room's the same,
work's the same.
Yeah. Yeah, I guess
that'll never be different.
What bothered me the most was
not seeing G there, you know?
Having him charging out of his
office like a water buffalo.
As a matter of fact,
the last conversation
we ever had
was over your hospital bed.
After you took
the bullet for me.
My partner's down!
My partner's been shot!
Somebody!
But really it wasn't him
I was angry at.
It was the whole,
you know,
bloody business.
Yeah.
I haven't spoken to him
since that day.
And now, here it is,
I may never get the chance
to speak to him again.
Well, Frank, why don't we just
stop by the hospital now?
He's in surgery.
Besides, I can do more for the
man out here on the street.
He didn't hate you, Frank.
And he knows you didn't
hate him.
Yeah, but I handed him
my badge.
He hated that.
You're not upset by
the shooting of Al Giardello?
Upset? Yes.
But not surprised.
There's a long tradition
in this country
of shooting black men
who speak the truth.
We got a witness who says that
the would-be assassin was black.
A black assassin?
How convenient.
The white man
can always find
a race traitor
to do his dirty work.
There are those who blame
Al Giardello
for what happened in
this building three years ago.
There's some say
he's responsible
for those 16 suicides.
Do you think
I would want revenge?
Well, maybe some
of your followers-
Which you see where?
This movement was destroyed
that day.
So this morning,
at about 8:15-
Was I at the Inner Harbor?
No.
Anybody who can vouch
for your whereabouts?
I was here.
Okay, what about somebody
to back you up, then?
Yes. They'll tell you that I
was at my desk. Working.
Working? Said you
had no following.
I'm going to be interviewed
this week on the radio.
- The Mark Steiner Show.
- Steiner?
I like him.
And I'm going to tell the world
that Al Giardello was set up by
the white banking establishment
to run for mayor,
then shot by them.
The bank shot Giardello?
Giardello gets popular,
he gets shot, he dies.
The city riots.
The city goes up in flames.
The smokes clears.
The banks come in and rebuild
the neighborhoods.
Shoving all the poor blacks
out to the collar counties.
The banks and the developers
want all that land
near the harbor. It's worth
hundreds of millions.
The banks, huh?
If you think about it, the scary
part is, it makes sense.
The banks, the multinationals,
the real estate lobby.
That's big money, Stan.
Think about it.
When you gonna let me
re-open my cart?
I'm dying here. I'm losing
a whole day's receipts
I told you and
them other detectives
99 times already.
I didn't see nothing.
And I told you
a hundred times you are lying.
- Why would I lie?
- Because you're afraid.
Me? No, I'm not afraid
of nobody.
Yeah, you're frightened.
You're frightened of the guy
who shot Al Giardello.
You're afraid that if he finds
out you ID'd him,
he'll come back,
shoot you too.
Listen, if you know anything,
you should tell us.
- We'll protect you.
- Yeah, how?
Look, this thing goes to trial,
I've got to testify.
The gunman gets off,
I'm dead.
No thanks. Look, I got no reason
to die for this goon Giardello.
- Goon?
- What, legalizing drugs?
Come on, that's insane.
Listen, listen, if you don't
tell us what you know,
that gunman is free and he
is running the streets.
If he hits his mark next time,
if he kills someone,
that's on you.
Yeah, well, guess what?
I can carry that.
Okay, thanks for your time.
Hi, I'm J.H. Brodie.
I used to work with
your dad at Homicide.
Hello.
Thank you for coming.
I'm sorry.
I was in D.C. at a film festival
when I heard about the
lieutenant. How's he doing?
I brought him this giraffe.
Yeah, I can't get anybody
to tell me anything.
I thought the ER doctors
were supposed to be
so caring and compassionate
and all that crapola.
Yeah, as far as I can tell,
nobody gives a tinker's damn.
How will the shooting
affect balloting on Tuesday?
Do you think Al Giardello will
benefit from a sympathy factor?
Will this put you even further
behind in the polls?
Well, the polls be damned,
Donna, a man's life is at stake.
Now, Al Giardello
and I may disagree
on certain fundamental
issues.
But when a tragedy
like this occurs, it is
essential that we put
these differences aside.
No, I'm not here today
as a candidate for mayor.
I'm here today as a concerned
citizen and as a friend.
- Sir?
- Excuse me.
My dad hates this guy's guts.
How you holding up?
- I'm all right.
- Good man.
Mr. Gessner, will you continue
to campaign as planned?
Does this change-
I have to admit,
white supremacists,
I was thinking something
a little more south Baltimore.
Yeah. Trailer park,
broken down rowhouses,
major appliances
on the front stoop.
- Exactly. Not so-
- Quaint?
- A little more, you know?
- White trash?
You said it, not me.
Sure we got the right address?
Sure I'm sure.
You ever know me not to have
the right address?
Don't answer that.
Can I help you
with something?
And the very identity
of this country
as a white, Christian nation
is in jeopardy.
Jerry, I couldn't agree
with you more.
But in the words
of Thomas Jefferson,
and Timothy McVeigh once wore
this on a t-shirt,
''The tree of liberty must be
watered frequently
with the blood of patriots,
and tyrants.''
Ladies and gentlemen,
stay with us.
It looks like I'm about
to interview
two of Baltimore City's Finest.
When Al Giardello took a bullet,
I admit,
I thought, ''Well, there's
some damn justice.''
Where were you this morning,
Mrs. Desassy?
Me? Right here.
Making love to
my bottle of gin.
You always start drinking
early in the morning?
- Nah.
- No?
I don't start early 'cause
I don't stop the night before.
Maybe you should get
some help.
Maybe you should shove
this bottle
where the sun
don't shine.
You got anybody that can vouch for
your whereabouts this morning?
My next door neighbor,
she was over here.
Mooching a toot.
We may need you
for further questioning.
Hey, Ray and me, we was all
each other had in the world.
You cops killed him.
I hope that Giardello dies
and goes straight to hell.
Only wish I had shot
the bastard.
Have a good day.
Where were you
around 8:15 this morning?
- When Giardello got shot?
- Yeah.
On the air.
And when the good news
came out,
across the Jewish controlled
mainstream media,
we popped a bottle of genuine
American sparkling wine
and shared the glad tidings
with our listeners
across the country.
Across the country?
We reach most of our
followers by the Internet.
You can verify that
you were in the studio
at the time of the shooting?
- I'll play you the tapes.
- Don't bother.
You could fake that.
You could be on the air
and nowhere near this dump.
Then I'll make you a list
of people who were in and out
of the studio all morning
and saw me in the flesh.
Yeah.
Here's some paper.
Here's a pen.
Knock yourself out.
Oh, I do wish we were
on the air right now,
so I could describe y'all for
the benefit of my audience.
Why is that?
Well, we talk all the time
on my program about mud people.
- You familiar with the term?
- Yeah, I am.
It's one of our favorite
topics,
Along with the evils
of race mixing.
Just look at the two of you.
Prime examples of both.
You gotta admit,
they've come a long way
from the Grand Kleagle,
Birth of a Nation,
cross burning days.
Yeah, good ol' boys have
definitely traded in
their bedsheets for websites.
Assuming these check out,
Miller's not G's shooter.
He could have got somebody else
to pull the trigger for him.
Or he might have incited it.
If the shooter ends up being
one of his regular listeners,
maybe we can tie Miller in.
Yeah, I'd love to tie him
into something.
How many Black nationalist
groups are there in Baltimore?
Many. Sheppard and Lewis
still checking the Aryan angle?
Yeah. Baltimore,
city of brotherly love.
That's Philadelphia. Call
me crazy, but don't you think
we should be switching
with Sheppard and Lewis?
I mean, what's Gharty thinking,
anyway?
John?
Billy Lou.
I heard you were in town.
Why didn't you come to see me?
Billy Lou, this is my
old partner, Stan Bolander.
Pleased to meet you.
I guess you have to eat
your words
about never coming back
to Charm City.
When did I say that?
Maybe I need a cup of coffee.
And telling everybody I ran off
with one of your colleagues.
Well, New York Cops,
they'll believe anything.
Who'd you have in mind?
Stuart?
Stivers.
In your dreams.
Maybe I'll see you later. See,
I got a lot of work to do now.
You know where
to find me.
Is that the fourth
ex-Mrs. Munch?
Yeah. You think maybe I'm not
cut out for the domestic life?
Okay.
Guys like you and me,
work is where we shine.
Work.
Excuse me.
You in the right OR?
- Excuse me.
- This is OR 5, here, doctor.
Security.
There's been a shooting
in OR 5. Security. Security.
He's been shot.
We got a code red.
We need a code red here.
- Code red.
- Code red.
In a bizarre development,
shots were fired moments ago
inside the hospital.
As you can see, QRT teams
have been called in.
They're being asked to do a room
by room search of the building.
Police are now moving everyone
out of the hospital.
Clear.
Clear.
Move around.
Don, get in here.
Get in here.
Clear.
It's not clear at this point-
It's not clear at this point
whether this latest incident
is connected with
the shooting this morning
of mayoral candidate
Al Giardello.
Ready?
If you're not supposed to
be here, everyone out.
90 over 60 still. Okay.
Heart rate's at 130.
Heart rate's at 130.
Clear.
So you saw this dealer
at the rally this morning.
Yeah, man. Easy Eddie Moe.
I know him all too well.
Used to cop from him
when I was in the game.
Back in the day,
before I got clean.
Why would he be at a rally
for Giardello?
That's what I'm saying.
To take him down, maybe.
Drug dealers are so
flipped out by the idea of
Giardello being mayor, man,
they're registering to vote.
So where can we find
this Mr. Moe?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, baby.
Whoa, whoa.
You might want to talk
to Bernie Weeks,
down at the Shiny Foil Lounge.
Eddie used to work for him.
Bernie Weeks. Wasn't he that
dealer we busted by mistake?
We were looking
for Manuel Rendero!
Right.
He wasn't our shooter,
but he had 50 kilos of coke
in the trunk of his car.
Yeah. And now he's back
on the street already.
Right.
How could something
like this happen?
We had officers posted
on every floor.
How did the shooter get in?
You know, if I were paranoid,
I'd say someone in
the department was involved.
I'm gonna forget
you said that.
Has QRT searched
the whole building?
Yes. We'll catch him.
It's only a matter of time.
- Hey, Mike.
- How's my father?
They got another surgeon working
on him. Didn't miss a beat.
And his surgeon,
the one who's shot?
Second surgical team's
cutting into him now.
Are we positive the two
shootings are related?
What are you talking about?
Of course they're related.
Maybe Dr. Williams
has enemies.
The shooter was after
my father.
We won't know for until we can
get in there and investigate.
Right now our Crime Scene
is still in OR.
Colonel Barnfather.
- He's not in there.
- Damn!
He must have escaped when
everybody was rushing out.
Let's get everybody
back inside.
Always wondered myself why they
just didn't do what he said.
Kick the bottom out of the market
by making the stuff legal.
Put me out of business
like that.
So, you're happy
Giardello got shot?
No, no, no, no.
I ain't say all that.
I mean,
it could backfire, the-
what you call it?
Sympathy vote.
You know what our next
question is, don't you?
- Do I got a alibi?
- Yeah.
Maybe I should just call
my attorney.
You don't need
to lawyer up yet.
Come on,
this is still friendly.
You lawyer up, we got to
put you in the system.
Waste of time for all of us.
You Homicide, right?
You know anybody in Narcotics?
Yes, absolutely.
You got any juice
with Steve Fletcher?
I could talk to him, yeah.
'Cause if you could get that
bastard off my back.
I mean, he's camped out
on my front stoop.
My oldest daughter
thinks he's gonna kill me,
just bust in the front door,
and grease me in my own bed.
The stress is just
aggravating her ass.
I'll speak to him.
I ain't do Giardello.
- Well, how about your crew?
- Them neither.
Wait, wait, wait.
We got an eyewitness, says that
Easy Eddie was at the rally.
He don't work
for me no more.
He was spending too much time
running his mouth about Giardello
and not enough time
bringing me the cash money.
Soon as it happened,
everybody thought
the shooter
had to be Easy Eddie.
Okay.
Okay, so we'll
give this to Gharty.
And if this Easy Eddie Moe
is the shooter,
then he's in the wind.
You and I are never gonna
be able to find him,
not on our own.
I could really use
a cup of coffee.
Oh, yeah, good,
I'll be buying.
No, no, I can't.
Because of the stroke.
You know, for a minute,
I forgot.
For a minute there, it seemed
like time hadn't even gone by.
For a minute, it was
eight years ago.
You know, Frank,
I never-
never told you
how much I
enjoyed having you
as a partner.
You know,
how much I loved
working with you.
You think maybe
a cop shot G?
- What?
- A cop.
Why would a cop, one of us,
want to shoot G?
I'm not talking
about one of us.
I'm talking about a cop
with attitudes,
with prejudices,
a redneck cop.
Well, God knows there's
plenty of those around.
A Gaffney. A guy who'll put in
the time, walk the beat,
he sees Giardello
making a reach for power,
decides to change history.
Yeah, yeah, that's a real
interesting idea, Frank.
- Cops as killers.
- Happens.
Kellerman plugged
Luther Mahoney.
Still thinks some
boy in blue finished off
- Gordon Pratt.
- Yeah, me, too.
Hey, you know,
saying you're right,
saying that some
law enforcement officer
shot Giardello, I mean,
How do we find him?
Where do we start?
I don't know.
Needle in a haystack.
Let's go see how Ballard
and Stivers are doing
with that videotape.
You know why
I left Homicide?
Why?
Because I could not hear
one more confession.
I got sick of hearing people
confess to me.
Like some Jesuit.
I'd sit there in the box,
listening to some guy
not only admit to
having just
killed someone,
but cop to all the other crap
in his life
that over the course
of his life had
led him to that point.
You would have made
a great Jesuit, Frank.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
I'm not gonna sugarcoat
reality for you.
Internal damage,
substantial.
Your father was shot twice
in the abdomen.
One bullet pierced
his right kidney and colon.
The other missed the vital
organs but pulverized a rib.
He's looking at several
more operations
to fully repair the colon
and remove the damaged kidney.
And the risk of peritonitis
remains high.
Recovery is gonna take
some time,
but I think the long term
prognosis is good.
He's a very strong man.
His general health is excellent.
When do you think
I can talk to him?
- I don't know.
- Well, that's refreshing.
A doctor who doesn't
know everything.
- You're welcome.
- Hey, I'm not thanking you.
I have been here all day
worried to death.
I have big problems
with the way this place is run.
I'm two under par on the 15th
green with a four foot gimme,
about to go to three under
when I get beeped.
I drop my club,
I don't even take the shot.
I got here, OR is a war zone.
Kosovo on ice.
You'd rather we held your hand,
or saved your father's life?
Putz.
The gun, the gun, the gun.
Where the hell is the gun?
Right there.
Pull it up.
- This guy?
- No, that guy.
You want to see what
he's holding in his hands?
Yeah, do your voodoo.
Okay, see, he's holding
something in his right hand.
- Anything?
- Maybe, look.
He's definitely
holding something.
- No, it's a tape recorder.
- A microcassette recorder.
Well, you guys
got anything?
Yeah, maybe. We got a
drug dealer with a grudge.
We passed that on to Gharty.
- How far into these tapes are you?
- About halfway.
You mind if we sit in?
- Not a problem.
- Please.
Need some help, need some help.
Get an ambulance, come on.
- Let's go!
- What?
I'm buying you
breakfast.
What are you doing?
Get back in bed.
I feel fine.
Never felt better.
You've been shot twice.
You shouldn't be out of bed.
I feel fine.
Let's go down to Jimmy's
get some scrapple.
Get some funnel cakes,
with frim-fram sauce,
chufafa on the side.
- What?
Nat King Cole was a very old soul.
A merry old soul was he.
Wait, wait, Pop. Are you sure
you should be doing this?
My cholesterol is down.
I'll risk it!
I don't mean breakfast
at Jimmy's.
I mean checking yourself
out of the hospital.
Don't ask, don't tell.
I won't if you won't.
Pop, you know you're not
making any sense.
Why don't you lay back down
and let me call a nurse?
Last one out is a rotten egg.
Pick up extension 169.
That is, extension 169.
Mike?
Hello, Dr. Bristol.
Do you know Julianna Cox?
She was my predecessor's
chief medical examiner.
Hi. I'm really sorry
to hear about your dad.
Thank you.
We've been talking to his
doctor, getting the full story.
His prognosis
sounds promising.
Knowing G the way I do,
I'm sure he's
gonna pull through.
Excuse me.
I gotta take a walk.
Dr. Wessler, call on 1536.
Dr. Wessler, call on 1536.
Hey, Mike? I'm gonna take
your grandmother home.
She's exhausted.
Oh, thanks, Megan.
Get some rest.
Ciao.
Speaking of rest,
you could use some.
- Grab some nap time.
- I'm too fired up to sleep.
- Will you call me later?
- Yeah.
Mike.
They told me downstairs
your dad's out of surgery.
Yeah, yeah, he's in ICU.
You hear anything from Homicide?
They catch the shooter?
I've been so caught up here.
I don't know.
I'm sure they're all over it.
I wanna go down there
in a little while anyway.
I have an idea I want
to tell Gharty about.
I could go with you.
Look, I know I'm
not a cop anymore.
I know there are people
who'd be just as happy
never to see my mug again, but
G was always good to me.
And fair.
Yeah, sure.
Come on.
Brodie!
Hey, I just filmed
a triple bypass operation.
It was awesome, man.
Do you guys know that this is
the very hospital
where Edgar Allan Poe
died of rabies?
News to me. I guess
they must have remodeled.
We're gonna head down
to headquarters for a while.
If my dad comes to,
would you beep me?
Sure.
That kidney is definitely
history.
It is amazing
how effectively
they treat gunshot
traumas nowadays.
Even 10 years ago, these
bad boys would've been fatal.
The upside
of automatic weapons.
They've expanded the boundaries
of medical science.
Talk about your silver lining.
Wish I knew what caliber.
What's your best guess?
- It's odd.
- What?
I'm just not used to seeing
a body still breathing.
So judging from the damage,
the internal damage,
the assassin was how far away
when he fired, would you say?
15 feet, max.
Maybe as much as 25?
No, no, the injuries
are much too severe for that.
Much too severe
for that distance.
I would love to get in there,
and have a good look around.
- Not that I want him-
- No, no, no. No, no.
No, of course not.
I know what you mean, though.
I'm sure you do.
When I first moved back
to Baltimore,
there were a series
of murders in Little Italy.
- Your cousin, right?
- Mario.
Mario?
It's Al.
Oh, my God.
Now eventually we caught
and we convicted
the two children of one
of Mario's enemies.
- Carlo Rolletta.
- Yeah, I remember.
Maybe another member
of Rolletta's family
is responsible
for Dad's shooting.
- It's possible.
- Put one of your guys on it.
Maybe I ought to
put you on it.
- Me?
- Yeah.
You know the people
in that neighborhood,
they'll talk to you.
Oh, yeah.
Just casual conversation
between me
and some old friends.
You wanna talk to me now?
You wanna talk to me now?
Talk! Talk!
You tell me.
Tell me what I want to know.
No, he knows!
Mike, Mike. Enough.
Enough.
Look, one of the things
your father taught me
was how to recognize
a dead end.
- Dead end?
- Uh-huh.
And this is a dead end.
Michael?
Michael?
Dad?
Yeah?
They get the guy
who shot me?
No, not yet.
But everybody is working
every side of the equation,
including Bayliss
and Pembleton.
Pembleton?
That doesn't smell like
hospital food to me.
Nonna brought me
some gnocchi.
But the doctor won't let me
eat any of it.
Mangia.
Grazie, but I wish
I had known.
I just finished whipping down
some bad Chinese takeout.
Michael, because you became
a policeman,
doesn't mean you have
to eat like a dog.
Yeah, well,
you've always said that.
When I went to Rome,
We would sit down,
and have a two hour lunch
with three full courses,
and a good wine.
That's why the Romans
never get anything done.
But they knew
how to live.
That's important, Michael.
I hear you.
To know how to live,
in the little time
that we have.
Okay. No more bad takeout.
Promise me.
I promise.
Bene.
Okay.
That was Falsone.
That day-old dead drug dealer,
Yin-Yang Hardwick?
What, that K.C. and Lewis
picked up this morning?
Yes. The lab boys did
a comparison of the slugs
out of G and our
dead dealer. Same gun.
Well, we have a witness
that places a dealer
named Easy Eddie Moe
at the scene.
And another dealer that says
that Eddie had it in for G.
Well, maybe Easy Eddie
shot Yin-Yang too.
Yeah, maybe he did.
Let's you and me meet Falsone,
see if we can help him out.
Maybe there's a connection
between this Easy Eddie
and Yin-Yang and G.
Fine by me. I can't look
at these tapes another second.
Okay, back it up for me.
I was looking
out of my kitchen window
and I saw the man,
clear as day.
Well-dressed. Good-looking.
Walked up the alley
to that boy, that Yin-Yang.
Spoke to him for a moment,
I figured he was buying drugs.
Then the well-dressed man
took out his gun
and shot that boy dead away.
- What'd he look like?
- Who? Which one?
The well-dressed man.
40 or so. Gray at the temples.
Beard. Glasses.
- Distinguished.
- Black?
Oh, yes.
Blacker than you or me.
Sound like Easy Eddie to you?
Not much.
You watch these tapes
of G getting shot,
over and over, frame
by frame, in slo mo,
the act itself stops
being shocking.
That's the problem
with the job.
Things stop shocking you.
You know that murderer,
Luke Ryland?
The one you said
made me jumpy.
Those women that he killed,
those murders,
they still shocked me.
They angered me.
Good. Whoa, what's that?
Go back.
We want Al! We want Al!
Wow, you see that?
Wow.
That's pop, pop, pop,
followed by a puff
of white smoke, pow.
Right here.
Just a wisp. Right-
- Where?
- Okay, hold on.
Go forward.
- I still don't see it.
- Okay, give it to me bigger.
Okay.
Daniels, cameraman.
- See that?
- Well, it could be,
I just didn't see a gun.
I mean, where's the gun?
YAT, I don't know. Boom.
But if this smoke
is coming from a gun,
then it's right next
to the YAT cameraman.
Pow.
You hear that?
You're saying the shooter
was the cameraman from WYAT?
Maybe, maybe.
Now this is tape
from Channel 11.
See that, see that puff
of white smoke?
Yeah, I see it.
That's with the pop, pop, pop.
Not just showing him
with the gun?
No, no, of all the tape
that we looked through,
there's no gun visible
from any angle.
You feel there's
something to this?
Could be, yeah.
Frank and me,
we'll go suss it out.
Yeah, well, Bayliss,
you go, but Pembleton,
I think you should
back off right now.
Right now?
It's not my decision.
You saw, I had my lunch
handed to me
for letting you take over
that homeless guy.
When Bayliss called in the tip
on Easy Eddie Moe,
I knew you guys
were working out there.
I didn't say squat,
but this is-
Okay, look, look. It's-
It's not like I ever had
a lot of respect for you.
Okay?
But what are you doing?
Putting up with this nonsense
from Gaffney.
I had to get off
the street.
I could smell it.
I wasn't gonna last.
I live with Gaffney and
the rest of the brass because
that's what this job is.
I'm just a stooge.
I know that.
But it's better
than being out there.
Al Giardello had nothing
but respect for you.
He stood up for you.
For the rest of his men.
Covered our asses and didn't
give a crap about Gaffney
or anybody else because it was
all about putting down the cases.
So take a cue from G.
See, you're heading
a detective squad,
and they're
looking to you.
Give them something
or else walk
the hell away.
All right, all right,
wait, wait, wait.
Go over to YAT and find out
who this guy is.
That was spoken
like a champ.
A true murder police.
Kiss my ass.
The guy you're looking for,
his name's Eric Thomas James.
Okay, is he still
on the job?
He was down at the hospital,
but he's off now.
We'll need
his home address.
You have any idea what he thinks
about Al Giardello?
I don't have a clue.
I never heard him talk politics.
I don't know anything about the
man at all. He's a freelancer.
Works weekends, mostly,
evenings.
He comes and goes.
What can I tell you?
He's a cameraman.
He's removed.
He sits behind his lens
and observes people.
Cameramen.
They're all a little ''hinky,''
if you know what I mean.
Mr. James? Eric Thomas James?
Yes.
Detective Bayliss,
Baltimore Homicide.
This is my partner.
Frank Pembleton.
I suppose you better
come in, yeah.
I've got some coffee here.
Would you like some coffee?
- No, thank you.
- I'll take a cup. Sure.
I know it's late, you know,
but I don't sleep much,
you know.
Well, neither do I. Thank you.
You're welcome.
I've been expecting you.
Why is that?
See this? It's my boy's room.
Any weapons in the house,
Mr. James?
- I don't have a gun.
- We're just having a check.
Were you at the Inner Harbor
this morning, Mr. James?
- And at the hospital?
- I was working.
But I'm going
to show you something, okay?
It's my boy.
It's my son, Tommy.
You know?
No, look.
He's got it all, you know.
He's got smarts and
he's good-looking and he's
got girlfriends, you know,
He's gonna make his mark.
He's gonna leave his imprint
on the world.
He's just got
his license, and
me and the wife, we're gonna,
get a hold of a used car,
you know, for college.
And where is Mrs. James?
Who knows?
She left.
I don't know,
a couple weeks ago, she just
left.
Buffalo. No, Buffalo.
- Her sister.
- Sit down.
But I haven't called her,
you know. She hasn't-
I don't have the energy.
You haven't asked, but
yes.
I shot that man
this morning. Giardello.
Mr. James, we're going to have
to advise you of your rights.
My rights?
I have the right to have things
as they were three months ago.
I play by the rules.
I pay my taxes.
I cut my lawn.
I mean, that's what you're
supposed to do, right?
So, I don't deserve
to have my son die.
Your son is dead?
Yes.
Well, I'm sorry.
Why?
No one should have
a child that dies.
Maybe you should tell that
to all those bigshots.
You know,
want to legalize drugs,
give everybody the right
to get high on whatever they want.
Okay, okay.
You've admitted shooting
Al Giardello?
Yes, I shot him.
I wanted to kill him.
But, hey, why should I expect
to be a sharpshooter?
And why should I expect my son,
go all the way into Baltimore,
buy his dope
and OD right on the street.
And his friends, why?
Why did they leave him?
Why'd they leave him
on the street?
They just left him
there to die.
Three months ago
to the day.
This is how he left
his room, you see?
I'm sorry
about the doctor, okay?
I never meant that.
And
I meant to shoot the drug dealer
who sold my Tommy the drugs.
And that man, Giardello, because
he was trying to legalize drugs.
'Cause that's what
I'm trying to stop, you see?
I'll shoot whoever
says it's okay.
I'm just trying to save
all those innocent kids.
I understand.
Yeah.
You know what, I don't have
any cuffs on me, Frank.
You don't need them.
Hey, hey.
He had the gun
attached to the camera,
which is why
no one saw it.
And it's right here that
he keeps the camera rolling
after he shoots G.
Although he neglected
to turn the cassette in to YAT.
We show this tape in court,
Eric Thomas James is done.
We got two counts
of attempted murder:
Giardello and Dr. Williams.
30 years each.
Not to mention
the spare change he'll pick up
for killing the drug dealer.
Congratulations.
Thanks.
I'll need you both
to testify.
Yeah, yeah, we'll be there.
I know
how James feels.
You gotta stop those
that are gonna hurt the innocent.
James is a lunatic.
He's certifiable.
His son gets killed.
He's gotta do something.
Hey, say-
say one of your kids
gets hooked on drugs.
- One of my kids what?
- Gets hooked.
- They wouldn't.
- Just say that they did.
They're not going to.
It's not gonna happen.
Case closed.
You have no sympathy for James,
for what he's going through?
James is trying to lay
the blame on G,
because in his heart of hearts
he knows that he's responsible
for what happens
to his kid.
I appreciate how he feels.
You can appreciate it
all you want to, Tim,
but there's a line
between right and wrong.
Yeah, well, you're the expert
on that, Frank.
Nothing lumpy about you.
You know all.
The city looks clean
tonight.
We can't all be you,
Frank.
Think I'm gonna take my wife
out to dinner in the harbor.
Sometimes you can lose
your bearings.
Sometimes, the line
isn't so clear.
Of course the line
is clear.
There's good,
there's evil.
You never shot anyone,
did you?
- No.
- No.
And you never would?
I never had to.
I've been lucky.
Yeah.
The righteous cop.
Line's always been
clear to you.
Not always.
Time for one more
confession, Frank.
Defendant is set free.
Confession?
I killed a man.
I'm not in the mood,
all right?
Luke Ryland.
Be seeing you, detectives.
- Who?
- I shot the bastard dead.
Good. Go to jail.
Go directly to jail.
Do not pass Go-
I'm not kidding, Frank.
I killed him.
Come on, Tim.
You couldn't kill anybody.
Frank, he got off
on a technicality.
Defendant is set free.
The bastard had to die
before he went out
and he murdered
another innocent woman.
Don't screw with me.
You killed this, whoever?
Luke Ryland.
Internal cleared you?
Frank,
I'm saying that I hunted
the bastard down,
and when I found him,
I blew his brains out.
I executed him in cold blood.
And I'm saying, Internal
rules this as a good shooting?
No, no.
Internal doesn't know crap
about me killing Ryland.
You're standing here
telling me you killed somebody?
Yes.
- In self defense?
- No.
You're standing there with
your weapon, it went off
and you don't remember how.
- Frank.
Guns go off accidentally.
Happens all the time.
It was no accident.
No, I'm saying
this is an accident.
For you to shoot somebody?
It's got to be a mistake.
No, no, no. It's no mistake.
No accident.
Tim.
Frank, you're a good cop.
I'm not a cop anymore.
No, you're always
gonna be a cop.
No, I'm a teacher.
I teach. Civilians.
No. I murdered
this son of a bitch,
because he was
a predator, Frank.
He preyed on women.
What? Why are you doing this?
I put the gun right up
to the mother's brain
and I pulled the trigger.
Shut up! Just shut up!
You put this on me.
You son of a bitch.
In here, I know
that I did right.
But for here.
So you waited 'til
I came back, so you could
unload this?
Unburden yourself?
What's supposed to happen now?
You tell me.
I'm not bringing you in.
No, huh?
I'm not a cop.
It's not official.
Really? What are you
going to do, not say a word?
Gonna keep my little secret
to yourself?
Son of a bitch,
you son of a bitch.
You murdered him.
I executed him, Frank.
Who's the primary?
- Lewis.
- You talk to him?
No. I came to you first.
Who else would I tell, Frank?
But did you talk to Lewis?
About this case? No.
So nobody suspects
you're the shooter?
No, no, man.
I mean, are they gonna
suspect me?
Good old Tim Bayliss,
the Zen detective?
So,
you'll take me in.
I'm gonna take you in.
Are you wild?
No.
You'll take me in, Frank.
No.
Did I take a bullet for you?
No, no.
Cut it out.
- Did I take a bullet for you?
- I'm not taking you in.
Did I take a bullet for you?
I take a bullet for you,
and you take a bullet for me.
Now that is
square business, Frank.
This is not
taking a bullet for you.
This is you wanting me to toss
your ass in the junkpile.
You're confessing to a murder.
Do you understand that?
You want someone else
should take me in?
Someone else should bust me.
Is that what you want?
- No.
- Then it has to be you.
No, no, no.
Frank, listen.
Listen to me.
I've thought about eating my gun,
and I'm gonna eat that gun
right now if you don't
do the right thing for me, Frank.
For right here-
I have no other-
no other option, Frank.
Please?
You thought about putting
a gun to yourself?
Yeah.
You'd be saving my life.
I don't know for how long.
For now, at least, you would.
I believe that you did not
mean to do this killing.
You believe
what you want to believe.
That's okay.
So we're gonna
turn around
right now
and we're gonna go
back inside.
Okay.
Never put off
the inevitable, Frank.
It's got to be
what it's got to be.
Son of a bitch.
Frank.
If you absolve me-
Absolve you?
I can't.
Can't?
That's remarkable.
I mean,
'cause I was certain
that you could.
I think maybe
Mary and I are going
to stay home tonight.
Have dinner
with the kids.
Thank you.
I would like to make
a toast, actually.
To Al Giardello,
too badass to die.
And to Bayliss
and Pembleton.
Where are Bayliss
and Pembleton?
Oh, come on, you really
expect to see
the notoriously antisocial
Frank Pembleton here?
Bayliss, who knows?
Yeah, really,
who does know?
What's up with that
Bayliss anyway?
Is he pitching,
or is he catching?
Meldrick, who cares?
Hey, hey,
I'm making a toast.
It's bad luck
not to finish the toast.
- Says who?
- Says me.
So, to Bayliss and Pembleton,
who doggedly pursued
the case,
despite interference
from the bosses,
and brought the shooter
to justice.
And to new friends.
And old friends.
To pathological friends.
Hey, you know, Lewis,
I really love this joint,
maybe I will be your partner.
- You serious, man?
I'll sell you my third
in a New York minute.
Not so fast. We're still married.
I own half of your third.
Hey, hey, Brodie.
Brodie! Brodie!
- Brodie!
- Where's your camera?
I was at the hospital.
So what's the latest?
He died.
Lieutenant Giardello died.
That's not funny, son.
Wasn't meant to be funny.
Doctor said it was
some kind of aneurysm.
It was fast.
And there was no pain.
No pain, huh?
That's what the doctor said.
Hello, I'm Frank Pembleton.
Mike Giardello.
I heard about G. I'm sorry.
Thanks,
for catching the man
that killed my father.
I'm good at catching
the bad guys.
Caught me a couple tonight.
Lot of people worked in this
squad room over the years.
Lot of them have died.
Beau Felton got killed
in the line of duty.
Steve Crosetti
committed suicide.
To this day, nobody knows why.
Do you miss it?
Homicide.
I don't know.
It's not like you could
escape it, you know?
Death is every day.
Death goes on
and on and on and on.
And that's because life
goes on and on.
Tina?
Hey, hey, hey.
G.
Felton?
We've been waiting for you.
- Crosetti.
- Have a seat.
Okay.
Jack of spades
for Mr. Beau Felton,
a 10 of diamonds
for my esteemed lieutenant,
and a whole lot of nothing
for the little Italian
salami brain.
- What are we playing?
- Five card stud.
Who's the fourth chair for?
We don't know yet.
But they'll be here
sooner or later.
Anybody I know?
Maybe.
It's not like
it's written in stone.
It's not preordained,
or anything, Lieutenant.
I suddenly got worried.
My son.
He's a cop.
- I thought maybe
- I wouldn't worry, Lieutenant.
Life is short,
and once you're dead,
you're a long time dead,
if you know what I mean.
Your son?
Michael.
- He's a good kid?
- Yes.
You taught him well?
I tried my best.
- I wish-
- G,
no regrets, huh?
You know what the best thing
about this place is?
All the worries and cares
that you had in life
they don't matter anymore.
"Rest in peace,"
means what it says.
Lieutenant, do you want
a cup of coffee?
Coffee.
"Crestfallen"
by The Smashing Pumpkins
Coffee would be good.
- Do you have any espresso?
- No espresso.
Where do you think
you are, heaven? Sit!
- $20 to you, G.
- I'm in.
Okay, we got one more card
coming up here.
We have another card there.
Who am I to need you
when I'm down
And where are you
when I need you around
Your life is not you rown
Who am I ?
Who am I ?
Who am I ?
Who am I ?
for mayor heats up,
former Homicide lieutenant,
Al Giardello,
is scheduled for a press
conference this morning,
at the Inner Harbor.
He'll be joined by current
mayor Kurt Schmoke.
The joint appearance
signals an important
endorsement for Giardello.
So, how's it feel
to be the favorite
going into the last week
of the campaign?
It ain't over
'til it's over.
Well, the polls show you
12 points ahead of
your opponent, Robert Gessner.
The fat lady
has already taken
her curtain call,
don't you think?
One thing I've learned working
the Homicide unit:
Never assume anything.
Give me a dollar,
a dollar for something to eat.
Just a measly dollar.
Your recent statement,
that if elected,
you'd push to legalize drugs.
Do you think
this is the issue
that has set your campaign
apart from your rival's?
Well, substance abuse
is a health issue.
I know what drugs have done
to this city.
- Educate. Don't legislate.
- But don't you think that-
All right, that's all for now,
Everybody please step back.
We want Al! We want Al!
We want Al! We want Al!
We want Al! We want Al!
Everybody down! Who shot him?
Can anyone see who's shooting?
I don't know.
Meldrick, I will partner
with you any time,
any place, when
it comes to a crime.
But I'm not investing
in your bar, no way.
Come on, Falsone,
you can see for yourself
that The Waterfront is a
moneymaking proposition, man.
It's a cash cow.
Veritable green machine.
Yeah? So why you so anxious
to cut me a slice?
'Cause my other so-called
partners are way too silent.
Munch is up in New York
looking for fame and glory
and Bayliss has taken
a semi-permanent
leave of his senses.
So you need someone
to do all the work.
Hey, all I'm asking, Falsone,
is just to give it
a couple of minutes of
your very, very valuable time.
Just examine the concept.
- That's all I'm saying.
- Yo, officer.
Gentlemen.
Mike Giardello. As I live
and as I breathe.
I heard you traded
the Bureau for a beat.
Working on my detective shield.
I love a man in uniform.
Check you out.
Your pop's out there, stumping
for mayor, and you're back here
having yourself
a little yard sale.
Oh, it's been
a real media circus.
Every time I open the door
it's like candid camera.
Hey.
Alan Funt was
a great American, okay?
And I took his passing
very, very personally.
So what we got here?
Local dealer. Shot in the head.
Been dead about a day.
Does our deadhead
have a name?
Joseph Hardwick.
AKA Yin-Yang.
Yin-Yang?
Looks like he ''yinged''
when he should have ''yanged.''
- Hey, Mike.
- Yeah?
Dispatch just radio'd.
They want you downtown pronto.
- What's up?
- Your father.
He's been shot.
"Beautiful Way"
by Beck
Searchlights on the skyline
Just looking for a friend
Who's gonna love my baby
When she's gone
around the bend
Egyptian bells are ringing
When it's her birthday
Sweet nothing
I'm talking about you
There's a hurricane
blowing your way
Such a beautiful way
To break my heart
There's someone
calling your name
It's driving you insane
You were wearing
that stained raincoat
And your umbrella
was a tangled mess
You were washed up
on the glittering shoals
Looking for another
crime to confess
You bribed yourself
out of a place in the sun
But you had some
change to spare
So you said you want
to spend it on me
And shook the blues
out of your hair
Such a beautiful way
To break your heart
The question remains:
Is it possible to find
a rule of thumb
outside the realm of religion
and its absolute values?
The answer is no.
All people in a community,
even those
without formal religion,
formal absolute values,
formal spirituality
always construct
their own.
Class dismissed.
Mayoral candidate Al Giardello
was making a campaign
appearance early this morning
when he was shot
by an unidentified assailant.
Giardello was rushed here
to Church Home and Hospital
where he is now undergoing
emergency surgery.
His condition is listed
as critical.
Here is his son,
Officer Michael Giardello,
perhaps we'll be able
to get a word with him.
- Officer Giardello?
- I have nothing to say.
- Officer Giardello!
- Look, I don't know anything.
Well, tell me this,
how do you feel?
How do you think I feel?
Get out of my face!
Officer Giardello,
understandably distraught about
this tragic turn of events.
How's my father?
He was shot in the abdomen,
maybe more than once.
- Is he gonna make it?
- He just went into surgery.
As soon as there's any news,
you'll be the first to know,
I promise you.
Soon.
No. No.
Maintenance, please call the
nurse's station on extension E5.
Maybe we should go
to the hospital.
Hey! G wouldn't want us
keeping vigil.
He'd want us out there
on the black
looking for the Ebola
what did this.
What about
Joseph ''Yin-Yang'' Hardwick?
Who?
Our day-old,
dead drug dealer.
He'll keep.
Oh, look who's back
from oblivion.
Hey. You guys-
you find the shooter?
No. We were waiting on you.
Oh, well, I'm here to help.
- Sabbatical's over?
- Yeah, for now.
That's weird, ain't it?
What's that?
He just packs up his desk,
doesn't say nothing to nobody,
just splits.
I had things
to think about.
Issues.
That's the thing
about you, Bayliss.
You always did have ''issues.''
You gonna stand here yapping?
Step back.
Step back.
Any comment?
Any comment?
Frank.
All right, some of you
came to homicide
after Al Giardello left.
Some of you worked
alongside him.
Like Kay Howard,
now on the Fugitive squad.
Tim Bayliss, been on a
leave of absence.
Frank Pembleton,
retired a couple years ago.
You're the almighty Pembleton.
We've all heard
the stories.
- Can we get on with this?
- Yep. Okay.
We got a homeless man,
won't give us his name.
He grabbed Giardello
just before the shooting.
We swabbed his hands for
gunpowder residue. He's clean.
As soon as uniforms
bring him up,
I'm gonna interview him,
find out what he saw.
We talked to everybody at
the rally and all the vendors
and we brought in a few witnesses
for further questioning.
And this event was covered
by the press, right?
We're way ahead
of you, Frank.
We've requested video footage
from the local news stations.
Stivers and Ballard, I need you
to collect those cassettes.
Sure, Lieutenant.
Lots of witnesses,
what about suspects?
G's campaign for mayor knocked
some noses out of joint.
Made him a few enemies.
Coupled with the ones
he already had.
I'm up.
All right. Howard, Bayliss.
I want you researching
G's past.
Get me everything on anybody
he ever tangled with.
How far back?
To his rookie days,
if you need to.
Pembleton, Lewis, Falsone.
Make me a list of people
that he's pissed off
on the campaign trail.
A list?
Well, I didn't come here
to make lists.
Frank. Just like
old times.
Okay, we meet back
in an hour.
Yeah, I love you too.
I caught a bullet
on a job myself, you know.
Bullet in the brain.
Stanley Bolander.
Used to work for your dad.
- Thanks for coming.
- I had to, didn't I?
Your dad, when I was shot,
he was- what's the word?
''Tenacious.''
Yeah, he is that.
Not like he sent me flowers
or anything like that, no.
But he was a pit bull.
He wouldn't let go until they
caught the bastard who did it.
- Mikey.
- Nonna.
This is so terrible.
This is terrible.
- What's new?
- There ain't nothing.
They're telling me nothing.
Hey, here's one of G's
from '82 that looks promising.
Very blue.
You never told me the squad
room was this blue.
- Sure I did.
- Yeah, but not this shade.
- No, huh?
- This is excessively blue.
Azure.
Cobalt.
Cerulean.
Except the board.
All these open cases.
Too much red.
Hurts my eyes.
I'm seeing spots.
What?
Nothing.
No, something.
No.
What's this?
Ryland, is this one of
your open-
No, no, no, no.
That stone cold sucker
is mine, Frank.
Luke Ryland snuffed two women
live on the Internet.
And Baltimore being Balto-less,
he got off on a technicality.
Next day they found him,
curbside, laying there.
.44 slug in the back
of his head.
- You got a suspect?
- Not a one.
Nuh-uh. Whoever did the deed,
knew how to execute
an execution.
And this, sordid little tale
makes you jumpy, because?
No, no, Frank.
Doesn't make me jumpy.
Oh, come on. You're jumpy.
I know you.
No. You know something?
You don't know me.
Things change, Frank.
People,
they change.
Kid's still there
in the interview room
with the homeless guy, huh?
Yeah, I guess.
Taking way
too much time.
Yeah.
You got a name.
I know you do.
Give me a dollar.
You know, I got
a hundred eyeballs
saw you assault
Al Giardello.
Now you saw who shot him,
didn't you?
Didn't you?
I want a dollar. I gotta get
something to eat.
Come on!
Just a measly little dollar,
is that so much to ask?
You know what? I am really
losing my patience with you.
You know, I was gonna give you
a number two beating,
but you have worked and worked
and you've earned yourself
a number one.
Now I am gonna beat
your balls
until you tell me
what I want to know.
This does not reflect
my command.
I thought you were
in charge here,
Lieutenant Gharty.
You better go help your man.
Damn!
This is gonna cost you, buddy.
This is gonna cost you.
- You okay, mister?
- See him come at me?
- See the way he came at me?
- Whoa!
All right, sit down.
- Sit down.
- Why, you big-
Come on, sit down.
What are you two
doing in here?
- What's this?
- Hey, hey, hey,
I'm in the middle
of something here.
It's a dollar.
You asked
for a dollar?
Yeah, I asked
for a dollar.
I heard you.
I know you guys
are legends, but
This is my interview.
Shut up.
What? Excuse me?
I said
shut the hell up.
Me out?
Yeah, grab a coffee.
This ain't right.
Grab me one, too.
Milk, two sugars.
Well, he's a feisty
little guy, isn't he?
I'll be right in there
if you need me.
Tell me what's going on.
I'm really sorry, sir, but I
don't know what's going on.
Well, then find me
someone who does.
Hey, Mike, Mike.
It's been hours. I can't get any
real information from anybody.
You know something?
The hospital' s got to cover
its ass just like everybody else.
And you want to know
something else?
The minute that he's out
of surgery,
I'm sure they'll be telling you
exactly what they did
and handing you
an itemized bill.
Yeah.
Oh, look,
they're replaying that
I don't want
to talk right now.
that little clip of you
pushing Helen Lucaitis
ass over tea kettle.
- Great.
- Get out of my face.
You made the national news.
Al would be proud.
You know, I can't believe you
were my father's boss.
For awhile.
But, I was also his equal
and his underling.
Guess you might say I know
all sides of the man.
Yeah, I wish I did.
I used to be FBI Liaison
with the department.
Took the job
to be closer to him.
Make amends.
Maybe put to rest some anger
and resentment
we have for each other.
But that didn't happen?
If anything, working together
made things worse.
- You pimped us.
- Oh, man.
He gave everything
you told him
to the
Independent Counsel's office.
Well, how was I to know?
We were always stepping
on each other's toes.
So, I quit.
Started over,
as a Balto uniform.
Bottom of the totem pole.
I don't know if any of it
made any difference to my dad,
if he even noticed.
You wouldn't hurt
anybody.
Would you?
No.
You wouldn't hurt anybody
because it's not in you?
Al Giardello wouldn't hurt
anybody either.
It's not in him.
You and he, you got
a lot in common.
That's why I asked him
for a dollar.
I knew he'd understand.
What's your- your name?
You ain't got an address,
what do you need a name for?
Post office can't find me.
Why should it matter
if I have a name?
Okay, well, we don't
need to know your name.
What we need to know is if you
saw who hurt Al Giardello.
You got a dollar?
A dollar?
I'm jonesing
for a Hershey bar.
I just gave you
a dollar.
I'm asking him.
What did you see
at the Inner Harbor today?
I'm a fiend
for chocolate.
Didn't I just give you
a dollar?
Didn't I?
Yeah.
So now you gonna
play me for the fool?
If I give you a dollar, will you
tell us what you saw today?
I'm the fool, right?
I gave you a dollar,
and now what?
No, no, no. No, no.
Put that away.
I'm here out of concern
for a good person.
Somebody who means
a lot to me.
Means a lot
to this city.
And what, now you think
this is some kind of deal
where you gonna use
my concern to mooch money?
'Cause you think that
you're the key to the puzzle?
You're holding all the vital
info, so, yeah, screw me.
And screw him!
And screw Al Giardello.
Do you think
you mean anything?
To anybody?
Anything to this city?
- No.
- But I'm here.
I'm extending you my kindness.
I give you what you want,
out of goodwill.
And it's not about the money.
It's not about a dollar.
'Cause if you ask me for 10,
I'll give you 10.
And a hundred, you got it.
I'm respecting you.
But you're gonna sit there
and piss on me.
I'm gonna send you
to hell, mister
''I ain't got a name,'' so feel
sorry for my mooching ass.
I'm jonesing for
a Hershey bar. I'm jonesing-
The guy that I see is in
his late 40s, early 50s maybe,
I'm a fiend for chocolate,
jonesing for that Hershey bar.
- A mooching-
- Of the Negro persuasion.
The guy is black.
What's he look like?
How tall is he?
He's nearly as tall as me.
Got gray sidewalls.
His hair, you know, sideburns.
And he's got a gun.
One of them black guns,
that go pop-pop-pop.
- An automatic.
- I don't know.
Okay, so he shoots
this gun, pop-pop-pop.
Then what? What happens then?
Where does he go?
He just disappears. He gets
swallowed up in the crowd.
I got scared. I was just
trying to get out of there.
And then the cops
grabbed me up.
Can I have
that other dollar now?
Giardello is still
in surgery at this hour.
Meanwhile, police have
intensified their investigation,
interviewing literally hundreds
of witnesses.
- We'll have more after this.
- And we're out.
I'd like to give you
the tape, but I can't.
Okay, well, then
we'll get a subpoena.
No, you don't understand.
I can't.
There was some kind
of technical glitch
- with our camera.
- Glitch?
All I got is stuff leading up
to the gunshots,
then the camera dies.
We're the only station in town
that didn't have footage
of the actual shooting.
And believe me, I'm not happy
losing out on the biggest
news story of the year.
I'm crying
big crocodile tears.
Give us what you've got.
Okay, we're back in 10.
So you're living
in St. Michael's now?
Yeah, play a little golf,
practice the cello.
Hey, retirement
agrees with you.
You got that
healthy pink glow.
That's high blood pressure.
I'm on a zero sodium diet.
Zero as in none.
As in I can't even
go down to the ocean,
take in a sea breeze.
You know how bland life is
without salt?
I was under the impression
that you were still in Balto.
No.
That you refuse
to answer my calls
out of some
misdirected spite.
I have never
mis-whatevered my spite.
I got married again.
What, number four?
- Yeah.
- Geez.
I'm getting divorced.
Geez, John.
I like this. This is great.
You and I, prowling the
streets of Baltimore again.
I have never prowled the streets
of anywhere with you, all right?
Don't start
agitating me, Munch.
- Come on.
- What's the status of Giardello?
Step back, step back.
Stop it there.
What are you looking at, Stan?
See this guy right here?
He's right on
the edge of the stage.
His body language.
It doesn't look right.
I can't see anything.
We're looking for a gun.
At this angle,
you can't even see his hands.
Well, what we need
is to enhance the tape.
Yeah, send a copy
to the state police lab.
Lieutenant!
Captain.
My, my, my, look at this.
Sergeant Howard, Frank
Pembleton, Munch, Bayliss,
even the big man.
All the old boys and girls
gathered again.
Everybody
palsy-walsy.
You interrupt
one of my detectives
in the course of
interviewing a witness?
I was giving him
some relief.
Relief, my ass.
You just wanted
to show him who's boss,
- That's your game.
- Sir.
But now I'm gonna
show you who's boss.
I order you to apologize
to Detective Hall.
Apologize?
Bobby.
Go ahead.
I apologize.
No problem.
Now what the hell are
all of you doing in here?
We came to help.
This is your call?
What are you, desperate?
No, for G we come on our own.
Truly noble.
Get your ass in gear, Gharty.
I want this Giardello shooting
down today.
That's what we all want,
Gaffney.
This is police business.
You're not a cop anymore,
is that right, Frank?
That's correct.
Then get lost.
Okay. Sure. Fine.
Me too, then.
No, no, Bolander.
You can stay.
That's the beauty of power.
It's arbitrary.
I have a press
conference at 2:00.
I better have some startling new
revelations to tell the media.
Somebody open
a window.
That won't do any good,
that's ''Eau de Gaffney.''
- Lingers for days.
- Frank?
Don't worry about it.
You don't have to say anything.
If we get anywhere,
I'll keep you posted.
Fine, fine. Give me a ring.
Frank! Wait, wait, wait.
You're just gonna leave?
Yes. And you're coming
with me.
Where?
If the bosses won't let us
investigate officially,
we'll do our own.
- Unofficially.
- A citizen's brigade.
Okay, let's start
with the crime scene.
Excuse me, excuse me.
How are you answering-
We've got 15
different descriptions
of a possible shooter
from 25 different witnesses.
Some say he's black,
some say white.
Some say he's in his 20s,
others in his 60s.
Yeah, well, they all agree
the shooter is a man, right?
Well, actually, a few of them
think maybe he's a woman.
- Yeah, I say it's a conspiracy.
- Oh, Munch.
This guy that G's
running against for mayor,
what's his name, Gessner.
He sees he's gonna get
his ass kicked.
So he decides to take action,
so he hires an assassin.
like in The Manchurian Candidate.
What did I say
about agitating, Munch?
I'm gonna check out the widow
of Raymond Desassy.
What, the guy G shot?
G shot someone?
Yeah, a couple,
three years ago.
Kevin Lugo,
big shock radio personality.
I remember, he got whacked
in a Mt. Washington parking lot.
Yeah, we get a tip Raymond
Desassy is the murderer,
G and I go to the house,
Desassy draws a weapon,
G shoots him dead.
Turns out, our tip was from
Raymond Desassy's best friend.
Called it in
as a practical joke.
Desassy's wife was pretty bitter
about the whole thing.
Okay, Howard.
Mrs. Desassy it is.
Hey, you need backup?
Sure.
Stivers, Ballard,
take the videotapes to the
state lab, study every frame.
Lewis, stop by the courthouse,
grab Sheppard,
and go talk to Carl Miller.
Carl Miller?
The pride
of the Aryan Nation.
Yeah, he's been beating
the drums,
trying to start a race war
over G's drug policy.
If you're volunteering, how
about calling on John Komen?
Whatever you need, Lieutenant.
Who's John Komen?
There was a mass suicide at
the African Revival Movement.
Yeah, I saw it
on the news.
Yeah, QRT storms the place,
finds 16 bodies. Poisoned.
A real Jonestown.
Not like the other one,
where the CIA and the military
whacked those people.
Komen's taken over as the head
honcho of the movement.
So, we talk to him.
You know, I say
a Black Nationalist
and two whiter shades
of pale detectives
don't exactly interface,
you catch my drift?
Well, if you got
a problem with it, Munch,
make it easy on yourself.
There's an Amtrak back
to the Big Apple every hour.
Stan, you know where the African
Revival Movement building is?
If it's in Balto,
I can find it.
What do you want me
to do, L.T.?
Check the 800 tip line.
Okay, we got 48 hours
to catch this guy.
Any longer than that,
the odds get longer
and you know what
hits the fan.
All right?
We're a team.
Let's go.
Let's catch this bastard.
Could have handled
this better, Stuey.
Are you coming,
Detective Munch?
Yeah, yeah,
but I'm driving.
You know I like to drive,
as long as you don't smoke
with the windows closed
with that cigar.
We're gonna smoke.
I got a cigar this big.
Oh, man. Here we go again.
Mrs. Giardello, any word
on his condition?
Excuse me, I'm sorry.
Do you mind?
Hey!
Hey, you. Leave her alone.
Leave her alone.
What are you doing
here, anyway?
Leave her the hell alone.
We're just doing
our job, okay?
That's no excuse.
Pressure's 90 over 60.
Heart rate's up to 120.
That's the second one.
Big sucker.
Let me see
the X-ray.
Suction, please.
We need to clean up
these rib slivers.
So, how was that
for you, Frank,
being back
in that squad room?
Strange.
So many things
have changed.
Well, the color of the doors
and the floors, maybe, but
Room's the same,
work's the same.
Yeah. Yeah, I guess
that'll never be different.
What bothered me the most was
not seeing G there, you know?
Having him charging out of his
office like a water buffalo.
As a matter of fact,
the last conversation
we ever had
was over your hospital bed.
After you took
the bullet for me.
My partner's down!
My partner's been shot!
Somebody!
But really it wasn't him
I was angry at.
It was the whole,
you know,
bloody business.
Yeah.
I haven't spoken to him
since that day.
And now, here it is,
I may never get the chance
to speak to him again.
Well, Frank, why don't we just
stop by the hospital now?
He's in surgery.
Besides, I can do more for the
man out here on the street.
He didn't hate you, Frank.
And he knows you didn't
hate him.
Yeah, but I handed him
my badge.
He hated that.
You're not upset by
the shooting of Al Giardello?
Upset? Yes.
But not surprised.
There's a long tradition
in this country
of shooting black men
who speak the truth.
We got a witness who says that
the would-be assassin was black.
A black assassin?
How convenient.
The white man
can always find
a race traitor
to do his dirty work.
There are those who blame
Al Giardello
for what happened in
this building three years ago.
There's some say
he's responsible
for those 16 suicides.
Do you think
I would want revenge?
Well, maybe some
of your followers-
Which you see where?
This movement was destroyed
that day.
So this morning,
at about 8:15-
Was I at the Inner Harbor?
No.
Anybody who can vouch
for your whereabouts?
I was here.
Okay, what about somebody
to back you up, then?
Yes. They'll tell you that I
was at my desk. Working.
Working? Said you
had no following.
I'm going to be interviewed
this week on the radio.
- The Mark Steiner Show.
- Steiner?
I like him.
And I'm going to tell the world
that Al Giardello was set up by
the white banking establishment
to run for mayor,
then shot by them.
The bank shot Giardello?
Giardello gets popular,
he gets shot, he dies.
The city riots.
The city goes up in flames.
The smokes clears.
The banks come in and rebuild
the neighborhoods.
Shoving all the poor blacks
out to the collar counties.
The banks and the developers
want all that land
near the harbor. It's worth
hundreds of millions.
The banks, huh?
If you think about it, the scary
part is, it makes sense.
The banks, the multinationals,
the real estate lobby.
That's big money, Stan.
Think about it.
When you gonna let me
re-open my cart?
I'm dying here. I'm losing
a whole day's receipts
I told you and
them other detectives
99 times already.
I didn't see nothing.
And I told you
a hundred times you are lying.
- Why would I lie?
- Because you're afraid.
Me? No, I'm not afraid
of nobody.
Yeah, you're frightened.
You're frightened of the guy
who shot Al Giardello.
You're afraid that if he finds
out you ID'd him,
he'll come back,
shoot you too.
Listen, if you know anything,
you should tell us.
- We'll protect you.
- Yeah, how?
Look, this thing goes to trial,
I've got to testify.
The gunman gets off,
I'm dead.
No thanks. Look, I got no reason
to die for this goon Giardello.
- Goon?
- What, legalizing drugs?
Come on, that's insane.
Listen, listen, if you don't
tell us what you know,
that gunman is free and he
is running the streets.
If he hits his mark next time,
if he kills someone,
that's on you.
Yeah, well, guess what?
I can carry that.
Okay, thanks for your time.
Hi, I'm J.H. Brodie.
I used to work with
your dad at Homicide.
Hello.
Thank you for coming.
I'm sorry.
I was in D.C. at a film festival
when I heard about the
lieutenant. How's he doing?
I brought him this giraffe.
Yeah, I can't get anybody
to tell me anything.
I thought the ER doctors
were supposed to be
so caring and compassionate
and all that crapola.
Yeah, as far as I can tell,
nobody gives a tinker's damn.
How will the shooting
affect balloting on Tuesday?
Do you think Al Giardello will
benefit from a sympathy factor?
Will this put you even further
behind in the polls?
Well, the polls be damned,
Donna, a man's life is at stake.
Now, Al Giardello
and I may disagree
on certain fundamental
issues.
But when a tragedy
like this occurs, it is
essential that we put
these differences aside.
No, I'm not here today
as a candidate for mayor.
I'm here today as a concerned
citizen and as a friend.
- Sir?
- Excuse me.
My dad hates this guy's guts.
How you holding up?
- I'm all right.
- Good man.
Mr. Gessner, will you continue
to campaign as planned?
Does this change-
I have to admit,
white supremacists,
I was thinking something
a little more south Baltimore.
Yeah. Trailer park,
broken down rowhouses,
major appliances
on the front stoop.
- Exactly. Not so-
- Quaint?
- A little more, you know?
- White trash?
You said it, not me.
Sure we got the right address?
Sure I'm sure.
You ever know me not to have
the right address?
Don't answer that.
Can I help you
with something?
And the very identity
of this country
as a white, Christian nation
is in jeopardy.
Jerry, I couldn't agree
with you more.
But in the words
of Thomas Jefferson,
and Timothy McVeigh once wore
this on a t-shirt,
''The tree of liberty must be
watered frequently
with the blood of patriots,
and tyrants.''
Ladies and gentlemen,
stay with us.
It looks like I'm about
to interview
two of Baltimore City's Finest.
When Al Giardello took a bullet,
I admit,
I thought, ''Well, there's
some damn justice.''
Where were you this morning,
Mrs. Desassy?
Me? Right here.
Making love to
my bottle of gin.
You always start drinking
early in the morning?
- Nah.
- No?
I don't start early 'cause
I don't stop the night before.
Maybe you should get
some help.
Maybe you should shove
this bottle
where the sun
don't shine.
You got anybody that can vouch for
your whereabouts this morning?
My next door neighbor,
she was over here.
Mooching a toot.
We may need you
for further questioning.
Hey, Ray and me, we was all
each other had in the world.
You cops killed him.
I hope that Giardello dies
and goes straight to hell.
Only wish I had shot
the bastard.
Have a good day.
Where were you
around 8:15 this morning?
- When Giardello got shot?
- Yeah.
On the air.
And when the good news
came out,
across the Jewish controlled
mainstream media,
we popped a bottle of genuine
American sparkling wine
and shared the glad tidings
with our listeners
across the country.
Across the country?
We reach most of our
followers by the Internet.
You can verify that
you were in the studio
at the time of the shooting?
- I'll play you the tapes.
- Don't bother.
You could fake that.
You could be on the air
and nowhere near this dump.
Then I'll make you a list
of people who were in and out
of the studio all morning
and saw me in the flesh.
Yeah.
Here's some paper.
Here's a pen.
Knock yourself out.
Oh, I do wish we were
on the air right now,
so I could describe y'all for
the benefit of my audience.
Why is that?
Well, we talk all the time
on my program about mud people.
- You familiar with the term?
- Yeah, I am.
It's one of our favorite
topics,
Along with the evils
of race mixing.
Just look at the two of you.
Prime examples of both.
You gotta admit,
they've come a long way
from the Grand Kleagle,
Birth of a Nation,
cross burning days.
Yeah, good ol' boys have
definitely traded in
their bedsheets for websites.
Assuming these check out,
Miller's not G's shooter.
He could have got somebody else
to pull the trigger for him.
Or he might have incited it.
If the shooter ends up being
one of his regular listeners,
maybe we can tie Miller in.
Yeah, I'd love to tie him
into something.
How many Black nationalist
groups are there in Baltimore?
Many. Sheppard and Lewis
still checking the Aryan angle?
Yeah. Baltimore,
city of brotherly love.
That's Philadelphia. Call
me crazy, but don't you think
we should be switching
with Sheppard and Lewis?
I mean, what's Gharty thinking,
anyway?
John?
Billy Lou.
I heard you were in town.
Why didn't you come to see me?
Billy Lou, this is my
old partner, Stan Bolander.
Pleased to meet you.
I guess you have to eat
your words
about never coming back
to Charm City.
When did I say that?
Maybe I need a cup of coffee.
And telling everybody I ran off
with one of your colleagues.
Well, New York Cops,
they'll believe anything.
Who'd you have in mind?
Stuart?
Stivers.
In your dreams.
Maybe I'll see you later. See,
I got a lot of work to do now.
You know where
to find me.
Is that the fourth
ex-Mrs. Munch?
Yeah. You think maybe I'm not
cut out for the domestic life?
Okay.
Guys like you and me,
work is where we shine.
Work.
Excuse me.
You in the right OR?
- Excuse me.
- This is OR 5, here, doctor.
Security.
There's been a shooting
in OR 5. Security. Security.
He's been shot.
We got a code red.
We need a code red here.
- Code red.
- Code red.
In a bizarre development,
shots were fired moments ago
inside the hospital.
As you can see, QRT teams
have been called in.
They're being asked to do a room
by room search of the building.
Police are now moving everyone
out of the hospital.
Clear.
Clear.
Move around.
Don, get in here.
Get in here.
Clear.
It's not clear at this point-
It's not clear at this point
whether this latest incident
is connected with
the shooting this morning
of mayoral candidate
Al Giardello.
Ready?
If you're not supposed to
be here, everyone out.
90 over 60 still. Okay.
Heart rate's at 130.
Heart rate's at 130.
Clear.
So you saw this dealer
at the rally this morning.
Yeah, man. Easy Eddie Moe.
I know him all too well.
Used to cop from him
when I was in the game.
Back in the day,
before I got clean.
Why would he be at a rally
for Giardello?
That's what I'm saying.
To take him down, maybe.
Drug dealers are so
flipped out by the idea of
Giardello being mayor, man,
they're registering to vote.
So where can we find
this Mr. Moe?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, baby.
Whoa, whoa.
You might want to talk
to Bernie Weeks,
down at the Shiny Foil Lounge.
Eddie used to work for him.
Bernie Weeks. Wasn't he that
dealer we busted by mistake?
We were looking
for Manuel Rendero!
Right.
He wasn't our shooter,
but he had 50 kilos of coke
in the trunk of his car.
Yeah. And now he's back
on the street already.
Right.
How could something
like this happen?
We had officers posted
on every floor.
How did the shooter get in?
You know, if I were paranoid,
I'd say someone in
the department was involved.
I'm gonna forget
you said that.
Has QRT searched
the whole building?
Yes. We'll catch him.
It's only a matter of time.
- Hey, Mike.
- How's my father?
They got another surgeon working
on him. Didn't miss a beat.
And his surgeon,
the one who's shot?
Second surgical team's
cutting into him now.
Are we positive the two
shootings are related?
What are you talking about?
Of course they're related.
Maybe Dr. Williams
has enemies.
The shooter was after
my father.
We won't know for until we can
get in there and investigate.
Right now our Crime Scene
is still in OR.
Colonel Barnfather.
- He's not in there.
- Damn!
He must have escaped when
everybody was rushing out.
Let's get everybody
back inside.
Always wondered myself why they
just didn't do what he said.
Kick the bottom out of the market
by making the stuff legal.
Put me out of business
like that.
So, you're happy
Giardello got shot?
No, no, no, no.
I ain't say all that.
I mean,
it could backfire, the-
what you call it?
Sympathy vote.
You know what our next
question is, don't you?
- Do I got a alibi?
- Yeah.
Maybe I should just call
my attorney.
You don't need
to lawyer up yet.
Come on,
this is still friendly.
You lawyer up, we got to
put you in the system.
Waste of time for all of us.
You Homicide, right?
You know anybody in Narcotics?
Yes, absolutely.
You got any juice
with Steve Fletcher?
I could talk to him, yeah.
'Cause if you could get that
bastard off my back.
I mean, he's camped out
on my front stoop.
My oldest daughter
thinks he's gonna kill me,
just bust in the front door,
and grease me in my own bed.
The stress is just
aggravating her ass.
I'll speak to him.
I ain't do Giardello.
- Well, how about your crew?
- Them neither.
Wait, wait, wait.
We got an eyewitness, says that
Easy Eddie was at the rally.
He don't work
for me no more.
He was spending too much time
running his mouth about Giardello
and not enough time
bringing me the cash money.
Soon as it happened,
everybody thought
the shooter
had to be Easy Eddie.
Okay.
Okay, so we'll
give this to Gharty.
And if this Easy Eddie Moe
is the shooter,
then he's in the wind.
You and I are never gonna
be able to find him,
not on our own.
I could really use
a cup of coffee.
Oh, yeah, good,
I'll be buying.
No, no, I can't.
Because of the stroke.
You know, for a minute,
I forgot.
For a minute there, it seemed
like time hadn't even gone by.
For a minute, it was
eight years ago.
You know, Frank,
I never-
never told you
how much I
enjoyed having you
as a partner.
You know,
how much I loved
working with you.
You think maybe
a cop shot G?
- What?
- A cop.
Why would a cop, one of us,
want to shoot G?
I'm not talking
about one of us.
I'm talking about a cop
with attitudes,
with prejudices,
a redneck cop.
Well, God knows there's
plenty of those around.
A Gaffney. A guy who'll put in
the time, walk the beat,
he sees Giardello
making a reach for power,
decides to change history.
Yeah, yeah, that's a real
interesting idea, Frank.
- Cops as killers.
- Happens.
Kellerman plugged
Luther Mahoney.
Still thinks some
boy in blue finished off
- Gordon Pratt.
- Yeah, me, too.
Hey, you know,
saying you're right,
saying that some
law enforcement officer
shot Giardello, I mean,
How do we find him?
Where do we start?
I don't know.
Needle in a haystack.
Let's go see how Ballard
and Stivers are doing
with that videotape.
You know why
I left Homicide?
Why?
Because I could not hear
one more confession.
I got sick of hearing people
confess to me.
Like some Jesuit.
I'd sit there in the box,
listening to some guy
not only admit to
having just
killed someone,
but cop to all the other crap
in his life
that over the course
of his life had
led him to that point.
You would have made
a great Jesuit, Frank.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
I'm not gonna sugarcoat
reality for you.
Internal damage,
substantial.
Your father was shot twice
in the abdomen.
One bullet pierced
his right kidney and colon.
The other missed the vital
organs but pulverized a rib.
He's looking at several
more operations
to fully repair the colon
and remove the damaged kidney.
And the risk of peritonitis
remains high.
Recovery is gonna take
some time,
but I think the long term
prognosis is good.
He's a very strong man.
His general health is excellent.
When do you think
I can talk to him?
- I don't know.
- Well, that's refreshing.
A doctor who doesn't
know everything.
- You're welcome.
- Hey, I'm not thanking you.
I have been here all day
worried to death.
I have big problems
with the way this place is run.
I'm two under par on the 15th
green with a four foot gimme,
about to go to three under
when I get beeped.
I drop my club,
I don't even take the shot.
I got here, OR is a war zone.
Kosovo on ice.
You'd rather we held your hand,
or saved your father's life?
Putz.
The gun, the gun, the gun.
Where the hell is the gun?
Right there.
Pull it up.
- This guy?
- No, that guy.
You want to see what
he's holding in his hands?
Yeah, do your voodoo.
Okay, see, he's holding
something in his right hand.
- Anything?
- Maybe, look.
He's definitely
holding something.
- No, it's a tape recorder.
- A microcassette recorder.
Well, you guys
got anything?
Yeah, maybe. We got a
drug dealer with a grudge.
We passed that on to Gharty.
- How far into these tapes are you?
- About halfway.
You mind if we sit in?
- Not a problem.
- Please.
Need some help, need some help.
Get an ambulance, come on.
- Let's go!
- What?
I'm buying you
breakfast.
What are you doing?
Get back in bed.
I feel fine.
Never felt better.
You've been shot twice.
You shouldn't be out of bed.
I feel fine.
Let's go down to Jimmy's
get some scrapple.
Get some funnel cakes,
with frim-fram sauce,
chufafa on the side.
- What?
Nat King Cole was a very old soul.
A merry old soul was he.
Wait, wait, Pop. Are you sure
you should be doing this?
My cholesterol is down.
I'll risk it!
I don't mean breakfast
at Jimmy's.
I mean checking yourself
out of the hospital.
Don't ask, don't tell.
I won't if you won't.
Pop, you know you're not
making any sense.
Why don't you lay back down
and let me call a nurse?
Last one out is a rotten egg.
Pick up extension 169.
That is, extension 169.
Mike?
Hello, Dr. Bristol.
Do you know Julianna Cox?
She was my predecessor's
chief medical examiner.
Hi. I'm really sorry
to hear about your dad.
Thank you.
We've been talking to his
doctor, getting the full story.
His prognosis
sounds promising.
Knowing G the way I do,
I'm sure he's
gonna pull through.
Excuse me.
I gotta take a walk.
Dr. Wessler, call on 1536.
Dr. Wessler, call on 1536.
Hey, Mike? I'm gonna take
your grandmother home.
She's exhausted.
Oh, thanks, Megan.
Get some rest.
Ciao.
Speaking of rest,
you could use some.
- Grab some nap time.
- I'm too fired up to sleep.
- Will you call me later?
- Yeah.
Mike.
They told me downstairs
your dad's out of surgery.
Yeah, yeah, he's in ICU.
You hear anything from Homicide?
They catch the shooter?
I've been so caught up here.
I don't know.
I'm sure they're all over it.
I wanna go down there
in a little while anyway.
I have an idea I want
to tell Gharty about.
I could go with you.
Look, I know I'm
not a cop anymore.
I know there are people
who'd be just as happy
never to see my mug again, but
G was always good to me.
And fair.
Yeah, sure.
Come on.
Brodie!
Hey, I just filmed
a triple bypass operation.
It was awesome, man.
Do you guys know that this is
the very hospital
where Edgar Allan Poe
died of rabies?
News to me. I guess
they must have remodeled.
We're gonna head down
to headquarters for a while.
If my dad comes to,
would you beep me?
Sure.
That kidney is definitely
history.
It is amazing
how effectively
they treat gunshot
traumas nowadays.
Even 10 years ago, these
bad boys would've been fatal.
The upside
of automatic weapons.
They've expanded the boundaries
of medical science.
Talk about your silver lining.
Wish I knew what caliber.
What's your best guess?
- It's odd.
- What?
I'm just not used to seeing
a body still breathing.
So judging from the damage,
the internal damage,
the assassin was how far away
when he fired, would you say?
15 feet, max.
Maybe as much as 25?
No, no, the injuries
are much too severe for that.
Much too severe
for that distance.
I would love to get in there,
and have a good look around.
- Not that I want him-
- No, no, no. No, no.
No, of course not.
I know what you mean, though.
I'm sure you do.
When I first moved back
to Baltimore,
there were a series
of murders in Little Italy.
- Your cousin, right?
- Mario.
Mario?
It's Al.
Oh, my God.
Now eventually we caught
and we convicted
the two children of one
of Mario's enemies.
- Carlo Rolletta.
- Yeah, I remember.
Maybe another member
of Rolletta's family
is responsible
for Dad's shooting.
- It's possible.
- Put one of your guys on it.
Maybe I ought to
put you on it.
- Me?
- Yeah.
You know the people
in that neighborhood,
they'll talk to you.
Oh, yeah.
Just casual conversation
between me
and some old friends.
You wanna talk to me now?
You wanna talk to me now?
Talk! Talk!
You tell me.
Tell me what I want to know.
No, he knows!
Mike, Mike. Enough.
Enough.
Look, one of the things
your father taught me
was how to recognize
a dead end.
- Dead end?
- Uh-huh.
And this is a dead end.
Michael?
Michael?
Dad?
Yeah?
They get the guy
who shot me?
No, not yet.
But everybody is working
every side of the equation,
including Bayliss
and Pembleton.
Pembleton?
That doesn't smell like
hospital food to me.
Nonna brought me
some gnocchi.
But the doctor won't let me
eat any of it.
Mangia.
Grazie, but I wish
I had known.
I just finished whipping down
some bad Chinese takeout.
Michael, because you became
a policeman,
doesn't mean you have
to eat like a dog.
Yeah, well,
you've always said that.
When I went to Rome,
We would sit down,
and have a two hour lunch
with three full courses,
and a good wine.
That's why the Romans
never get anything done.
But they knew
how to live.
That's important, Michael.
I hear you.
To know how to live,
in the little time
that we have.
Okay. No more bad takeout.
Promise me.
I promise.
Bene.
Okay.
That was Falsone.
That day-old dead drug dealer,
Yin-Yang Hardwick?
What, that K.C. and Lewis
picked up this morning?
Yes. The lab boys did
a comparison of the slugs
out of G and our
dead dealer. Same gun.
Well, we have a witness
that places a dealer
named Easy Eddie Moe
at the scene.
And another dealer that says
that Eddie had it in for G.
Well, maybe Easy Eddie
shot Yin-Yang too.
Yeah, maybe he did.
Let's you and me meet Falsone,
see if we can help him out.
Maybe there's a connection
between this Easy Eddie
and Yin-Yang and G.
Fine by me. I can't look
at these tapes another second.
Okay, back it up for me.
I was looking
out of my kitchen window
and I saw the man,
clear as day.
Well-dressed. Good-looking.
Walked up the alley
to that boy, that Yin-Yang.
Spoke to him for a moment,
I figured he was buying drugs.
Then the well-dressed man
took out his gun
and shot that boy dead away.
- What'd he look like?
- Who? Which one?
The well-dressed man.
40 or so. Gray at the temples.
Beard. Glasses.
- Distinguished.
- Black?
Oh, yes.
Blacker than you or me.
Sound like Easy Eddie to you?
Not much.
You watch these tapes
of G getting shot,
over and over, frame
by frame, in slo mo,
the act itself stops
being shocking.
That's the problem
with the job.
Things stop shocking you.
You know that murderer,
Luke Ryland?
The one you said
made me jumpy.
Those women that he killed,
those murders,
they still shocked me.
They angered me.
Good. Whoa, what's that?
Go back.
We want Al! We want Al!
Wow, you see that?
Wow.
That's pop, pop, pop,
followed by a puff
of white smoke, pow.
Right here.
Just a wisp. Right-
- Where?
- Okay, hold on.
Go forward.
- I still don't see it.
- Okay, give it to me bigger.
Okay.
Daniels, cameraman.
- See that?
- Well, it could be,
I just didn't see a gun.
I mean, where's the gun?
YAT, I don't know. Boom.
But if this smoke
is coming from a gun,
then it's right next
to the YAT cameraman.
Pow.
You hear that?
You're saying the shooter
was the cameraman from WYAT?
Maybe, maybe.
Now this is tape
from Channel 11.
See that, see that puff
of white smoke?
Yeah, I see it.
That's with the pop, pop, pop.
Not just showing him
with the gun?
No, no, of all the tape
that we looked through,
there's no gun visible
from any angle.
You feel there's
something to this?
Could be, yeah.
Frank and me,
we'll go suss it out.
Yeah, well, Bayliss,
you go, but Pembleton,
I think you should
back off right now.
Right now?
It's not my decision.
You saw, I had my lunch
handed to me
for letting you take over
that homeless guy.
When Bayliss called in the tip
on Easy Eddie Moe,
I knew you guys
were working out there.
I didn't say squat,
but this is-
Okay, look, look. It's-
It's not like I ever had
a lot of respect for you.
Okay?
But what are you doing?
Putting up with this nonsense
from Gaffney.
I had to get off
the street.
I could smell it.
I wasn't gonna last.
I live with Gaffney and
the rest of the brass because
that's what this job is.
I'm just a stooge.
I know that.
But it's better
than being out there.
Al Giardello had nothing
but respect for you.
He stood up for you.
For the rest of his men.
Covered our asses and didn't
give a crap about Gaffney
or anybody else because it was
all about putting down the cases.
So take a cue from G.
See, you're heading
a detective squad,
and they're
looking to you.
Give them something
or else walk
the hell away.
All right, all right,
wait, wait, wait.
Go over to YAT and find out
who this guy is.
That was spoken
like a champ.
A true murder police.
Kiss my ass.
The guy you're looking for,
his name's Eric Thomas James.
Okay, is he still
on the job?
He was down at the hospital,
but he's off now.
We'll need
his home address.
You have any idea what he thinks
about Al Giardello?
I don't have a clue.
I never heard him talk politics.
I don't know anything about the
man at all. He's a freelancer.
Works weekends, mostly,
evenings.
He comes and goes.
What can I tell you?
He's a cameraman.
He's removed.
He sits behind his lens
and observes people.
Cameramen.
They're all a little ''hinky,''
if you know what I mean.
Mr. James? Eric Thomas James?
Yes.
Detective Bayliss,
Baltimore Homicide.
This is my partner.
Frank Pembleton.
I suppose you better
come in, yeah.
I've got some coffee here.
Would you like some coffee?
- No, thank you.
- I'll take a cup. Sure.
I know it's late, you know,
but I don't sleep much,
you know.
Well, neither do I. Thank you.
You're welcome.
I've been expecting you.
Why is that?
See this? It's my boy's room.
Any weapons in the house,
Mr. James?
- I don't have a gun.
- We're just having a check.
Were you at the Inner Harbor
this morning, Mr. James?
- And at the hospital?
- I was working.
But I'm going
to show you something, okay?
It's my boy.
It's my son, Tommy.
You know?
No, look.
He's got it all, you know.
He's got smarts and
he's good-looking and he's
got girlfriends, you know,
He's gonna make his mark.
He's gonna leave his imprint
on the world.
He's just got
his license, and
me and the wife, we're gonna,
get a hold of a used car,
you know, for college.
And where is Mrs. James?
Who knows?
She left.
I don't know,
a couple weeks ago, she just
left.
Buffalo. No, Buffalo.
- Her sister.
- Sit down.
But I haven't called her,
you know. She hasn't-
I don't have the energy.
You haven't asked, but
yes.
I shot that man
this morning. Giardello.
Mr. James, we're going to have
to advise you of your rights.
My rights?
I have the right to have things
as they were three months ago.
I play by the rules.
I pay my taxes.
I cut my lawn.
I mean, that's what you're
supposed to do, right?
So, I don't deserve
to have my son die.
Your son is dead?
Yes.
Well, I'm sorry.
Why?
No one should have
a child that dies.
Maybe you should tell that
to all those bigshots.
You know,
want to legalize drugs,
give everybody the right
to get high on whatever they want.
Okay, okay.
You've admitted shooting
Al Giardello?
Yes, I shot him.
I wanted to kill him.
But, hey, why should I expect
to be a sharpshooter?
And why should I expect my son,
go all the way into Baltimore,
buy his dope
and OD right on the street.
And his friends, why?
Why did they leave him?
Why'd they leave him
on the street?
They just left him
there to die.
Three months ago
to the day.
This is how he left
his room, you see?
I'm sorry
about the doctor, okay?
I never meant that.
And
I meant to shoot the drug dealer
who sold my Tommy the drugs.
And that man, Giardello, because
he was trying to legalize drugs.
'Cause that's what
I'm trying to stop, you see?
I'll shoot whoever
says it's okay.
I'm just trying to save
all those innocent kids.
I understand.
Yeah.
You know what, I don't have
any cuffs on me, Frank.
You don't need them.
Hey, hey.
He had the gun
attached to the camera,
which is why
no one saw it.
And it's right here that
he keeps the camera rolling
after he shoots G.
Although he neglected
to turn the cassette in to YAT.
We show this tape in court,
Eric Thomas James is done.
We got two counts
of attempted murder:
Giardello and Dr. Williams.
30 years each.
Not to mention
the spare change he'll pick up
for killing the drug dealer.
Congratulations.
Thanks.
I'll need you both
to testify.
Yeah, yeah, we'll be there.
I know
how James feels.
You gotta stop those
that are gonna hurt the innocent.
James is a lunatic.
He's certifiable.
His son gets killed.
He's gotta do something.
Hey, say-
say one of your kids
gets hooked on drugs.
- One of my kids what?
- Gets hooked.
- They wouldn't.
- Just say that they did.
They're not going to.
It's not gonna happen.
Case closed.
You have no sympathy for James,
for what he's going through?
James is trying to lay
the blame on G,
because in his heart of hearts
he knows that he's responsible
for what happens
to his kid.
I appreciate how he feels.
You can appreciate it
all you want to, Tim,
but there's a line
between right and wrong.
Yeah, well, you're the expert
on that, Frank.
Nothing lumpy about you.
You know all.
The city looks clean
tonight.
We can't all be you,
Frank.
Think I'm gonna take my wife
out to dinner in the harbor.
Sometimes you can lose
your bearings.
Sometimes, the line
isn't so clear.
Of course the line
is clear.
There's good,
there's evil.
You never shot anyone,
did you?
- No.
- No.
And you never would?
I never had to.
I've been lucky.
Yeah.
The righteous cop.
Line's always been
clear to you.
Not always.
Time for one more
confession, Frank.
Defendant is set free.
Confession?
I killed a man.
I'm not in the mood,
all right?
Luke Ryland.
Be seeing you, detectives.
- Who?
- I shot the bastard dead.
Good. Go to jail.
Go directly to jail.
Do not pass Go-
I'm not kidding, Frank.
I killed him.
Come on, Tim.
You couldn't kill anybody.
Frank, he got off
on a technicality.
Defendant is set free.
The bastard had to die
before he went out
and he murdered
another innocent woman.
Don't screw with me.
You killed this, whoever?
Luke Ryland.
Internal cleared you?
Frank,
I'm saying that I hunted
the bastard down,
and when I found him,
I blew his brains out.
I executed him in cold blood.
And I'm saying, Internal
rules this as a good shooting?
No, no.
Internal doesn't know crap
about me killing Ryland.
You're standing here
telling me you killed somebody?
Yes.
- In self defense?
- No.
You're standing there with
your weapon, it went off
and you don't remember how.
- Frank.
Guns go off accidentally.
Happens all the time.
It was no accident.
No, I'm saying
this is an accident.
For you to shoot somebody?
It's got to be a mistake.
No, no, no. It's no mistake.
No accident.
Tim.
Frank, you're a good cop.
I'm not a cop anymore.
No, you're always
gonna be a cop.
No, I'm a teacher.
I teach. Civilians.
No. I murdered
this son of a bitch,
because he was
a predator, Frank.
He preyed on women.
What? Why are you doing this?
I put the gun right up
to the mother's brain
and I pulled the trigger.
Shut up! Just shut up!
You put this on me.
You son of a bitch.
In here, I know
that I did right.
But for here.
So you waited 'til
I came back, so you could
unload this?
Unburden yourself?
What's supposed to happen now?
You tell me.
I'm not bringing you in.
No, huh?
I'm not a cop.
It's not official.
Really? What are you
going to do, not say a word?
Gonna keep my little secret
to yourself?
Son of a bitch,
you son of a bitch.
You murdered him.
I executed him, Frank.
Who's the primary?
- Lewis.
- You talk to him?
No. I came to you first.
Who else would I tell, Frank?
But did you talk to Lewis?
About this case? No.
So nobody suspects
you're the shooter?
No, no, man.
I mean, are they gonna
suspect me?
Good old Tim Bayliss,
the Zen detective?
So,
you'll take me in.
I'm gonna take you in.
Are you wild?
No.
You'll take me in, Frank.
No.
Did I take a bullet for you?
No, no.
Cut it out.
- Did I take a bullet for you?
- I'm not taking you in.
Did I take a bullet for you?
I take a bullet for you,
and you take a bullet for me.
Now that is
square business, Frank.
This is not
taking a bullet for you.
This is you wanting me to toss
your ass in the junkpile.
You're confessing to a murder.
Do you understand that?
You want someone else
should take me in?
Someone else should bust me.
Is that what you want?
- No.
- Then it has to be you.
No, no, no.
Frank, listen.
Listen to me.
I've thought about eating my gun,
and I'm gonna eat that gun
right now if you don't
do the right thing for me, Frank.
For right here-
I have no other-
no other option, Frank.
Please?
You thought about putting
a gun to yourself?
Yeah.
You'd be saving my life.
I don't know for how long.
For now, at least, you would.
I believe that you did not
mean to do this killing.
You believe
what you want to believe.
That's okay.
So we're gonna
turn around
right now
and we're gonna go
back inside.
Okay.
Never put off
the inevitable, Frank.
It's got to be
what it's got to be.
Son of a bitch.
Frank.
If you absolve me-
Absolve you?
I can't.
Can't?
That's remarkable.
I mean,
'cause I was certain
that you could.
I think maybe
Mary and I are going
to stay home tonight.
Have dinner
with the kids.
Thank you.
I would like to make
a toast, actually.
To Al Giardello,
too badass to die.
And to Bayliss
and Pembleton.
Where are Bayliss
and Pembleton?
Oh, come on, you really
expect to see
the notoriously antisocial
Frank Pembleton here?
Bayliss, who knows?
Yeah, really,
who does know?
What's up with that
Bayliss anyway?
Is he pitching,
or is he catching?
Meldrick, who cares?
Hey, hey,
I'm making a toast.
It's bad luck
not to finish the toast.
- Says who?
- Says me.
So, to Bayliss and Pembleton,
who doggedly pursued
the case,
despite interference
from the bosses,
and brought the shooter
to justice.
And to new friends.
And old friends.
To pathological friends.
Hey, you know, Lewis,
I really love this joint,
maybe I will be your partner.
- You serious, man?
I'll sell you my third
in a New York minute.
Not so fast. We're still married.
I own half of your third.
Hey, hey, Brodie.
Brodie! Brodie!
- Brodie!
- Where's your camera?
I was at the hospital.
So what's the latest?
He died.
Lieutenant Giardello died.
That's not funny, son.
Wasn't meant to be funny.
Doctor said it was
some kind of aneurysm.
It was fast.
And there was no pain.
No pain, huh?
That's what the doctor said.
Hello, I'm Frank Pembleton.
Mike Giardello.
I heard about G. I'm sorry.
Thanks,
for catching the man
that killed my father.
I'm good at catching
the bad guys.
Caught me a couple tonight.
Lot of people worked in this
squad room over the years.
Lot of them have died.
Beau Felton got killed
in the line of duty.
Steve Crosetti
committed suicide.
To this day, nobody knows why.
Do you miss it?
Homicide.
I don't know.
It's not like you could
escape it, you know?
Death is every day.
Death goes on
and on and on and on.
And that's because life
goes on and on.
Tina?
Hey, hey, hey.
G.
Felton?
We've been waiting for you.
- Crosetti.
- Have a seat.
Okay.
Jack of spades
for Mr. Beau Felton,
a 10 of diamonds
for my esteemed lieutenant,
and a whole lot of nothing
for the little Italian
salami brain.
- What are we playing?
- Five card stud.
Who's the fourth chair for?
We don't know yet.
But they'll be here
sooner or later.
Anybody I know?
Maybe.
It's not like
it's written in stone.
It's not preordained,
or anything, Lieutenant.
I suddenly got worried.
My son.
He's a cop.
- I thought maybe
- I wouldn't worry, Lieutenant.
Life is short,
and once you're dead,
you're a long time dead,
if you know what I mean.
Your son?
Michael.
- He's a good kid?
- Yes.
You taught him well?
I tried my best.
- I wish-
- G,
no regrets, huh?
You know what the best thing
about this place is?
All the worries and cares
that you had in life
they don't matter anymore.
"Rest in peace,"
means what it says.
Lieutenant, do you want
a cup of coffee?
Coffee.
"Crestfallen"
by The Smashing Pumpkins
Coffee would be good.
- Do you have any espresso?
- No espresso.
Where do you think
you are, heaven? Sit!
- $20 to you, G.
- I'm in.
Okay, we got one more card
coming up here.
We have another card there.
Who am I to need you
when I'm down
And where are you
when I need you around
Your life is not you rown
Who am I ?
Who am I ?
Who am I ?
Who am I ?