Tears to a Glass Eye (2025) Movie Script

[tape deck rattling]
[ominous music]
[tape deck humming]
[upbeat guitar music]
[car engine roaring]
Eddie, what can I do?
Make you smart?
I'd like to think so.
Shut up and drive.
A dog! Dog!
[tires screech]
[dog whimpers]
One dead.
One might as well be dead.
Jack knifed.
He'll never walk again.
[sirens wailing]
The driver is dead,
and I'm alive.
If I wore my seat belt,
I wouldn't be
in this wheelchair.
So your friend Eddie.
Mmm!
When did he die?
- 18 months ago.
- Oh, yeah.
How long was he in a wheelchair?
Over 20 years,
the entire time I knew him.
But Eddie was not
an easy guy to know.
Wait, this happened
20 years ago?
Yeah.
Tell me about the money.
Gone.
Disappeared
from the accident scene.
It was in a duffel bag, I think,
because that's all Eddie
would ever talk about.
So anytime you
would go see Eddie,
especially towards
the end of his days,
it was the duffel bag.
Duffel bag?
- Yeah.
- What's that about?
Some kind of emotional artifact,
remind him of before
the accident, when he was a kid?
What is that?
Maybe like Rosebud
from "Citizen Kane."
Oh?
I'm a big film buff.
- That's good.
- Glad you got the reference.
Listen, don't
get your hopes up.
This happened 20 years ago.
Like they say, after 20 years,
it's all forgotten
but the songs.
Yeah, maybe.
And I'm not really
taking cases anymore.
I'm more of a writer now.
Well, yeah, but I saw you
on TV, though.
And on TV, you said, I would
like to get back into the game.
Yeah.
Unless the great
Martin Dye just doesn't
like mysteries anymore?
No, I'm trying to sell books.
- [chuckles]
- I'm making up stuff.
I'm on a talk show.
But obviously, I'm interested,
or I wouldn't be here.
So just let me think about it.
I'll get back to you.
I'm staying with my nephew
next town over.
Oh. Nice.
I guess the Plaza must
have been fully booked.
[laughs] Yeah.
[birds chirping]
Hey, there he is.
So how's my favorite nephew?
Oh, good, but soon to be busy.
Oh.
How was your meeting?
Oh, it was... it was good.
Thanks for asking.
Wait, so tell me, what is
"busy" these days for a kid?
Well, the party boat
will be in soon.
Okay.
I gotta do some cleaning,
fillet some fish.
Then I gotta hose down the boat.
It'll be a lot of work,
but the tips should be good.
Okay, yeah.
Sounds like a lot.
Kinda impressed.
[chuckles]
All right, keep busy.
Keeps you out of trouble.
[laughs]
Oh, can you, by any chance,
find me a whiteboard?
Like a schoolroom-sized
whiteboard?
I'm doing a project.
I think I know
where I can find one.
Today on "Coffee Talk,"
I'm here with Martin Dye,
the author of this book,
"A Drop in the Gray."
What happens when
an adopted daughter searches
for her birth parents and
discovers that her birth mother
might have been murdered
and her birth father
is famous LA detective
Martin Dye?
Well, together,
they solve the case.
And it's a true life tale.
Wow, I wanna read that book.
[laughter]
What an intro. Yeah, it is.
It's all true.
And thank you, by the way.
I'm happy to be here.
Thanks for having me.
I'm so glad you're joining us.
Well, I have to tell you,
this book is a real page turner.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You know, I really
love the relationship
that you have with
your daughter in this book
and how you bond
by solving this case.
I found it funny
and very touching.
I mean, critics and readers
alike really enjoy your books.
So I have to know,
is there going to be a sequel,
a follow-up?
Well, I hope so.
I mean, you know,
I'm always interested
in the next big case, right?
In the meantime, the paperback
is about to come out,
and it can be found at all
your best bookstores.
And hopefully, once your
paperback is launched,
you will come back
and bring your daughter.
We would love to meet her.
Well, thank you.
I would love to come back,
and I would absolutely
love to bring Janet.
Well, thank you so much for
joining us today, Martin Dye.
And to you, stay tuned.
You're not gonna wanna go
anywhere because we have
another very special guest.
Stephanie Powers
is going to be joining us,
and you're not going to want
to miss it.
Hey, Mommy. How's the baby?
Oh, he's great.
He's sleeping.
Something I have to do
every once in a while.
How was the award show?
You know what, it was great.
It really was.
I never won an award
for my chosen profession,
so it was kind of a treat.
No one is ever
private eye of the year.
I know. Can you believe it?
It's such bullshit.
Dad, our talk show run
is over.
"PM Magazine" is never
going to call us again.
I know.
It's gonna be a struggle,
but I'm gonna fight through it.
With you selling your firm,
I think you should find someone.
Irene's been gone a while.
And a fabulous non-award-winning.
PI like yourself
should have someone.
Well, I'll take that
under advisement.
Thank you.
You know what, though, I did?
I talked to a guy today who
had a pretty interesting story
about some missing money.
I might just take the case.
Take the case.
Go back to being you.
Semi-retirement
isn't working for you.
Maybe you'll get
a story out of it.
[tender music]
My husband comes
bearing gifts.
I got it. Here it is.
The Rosetta Stone is here.
So there it is.
That is the duffel bag.
Wow, it's big.
How much money
are we talking about here?
Oh, it was, like,
$25,000 to $35,000.
It would depend.
What did he do
to make this money?
Selling grass.
Wow, that's a lot of grass.
George is fascinated by you
because you were on
"The Geraldo Show."
[chuckles]
They both went
to community college.
Oh, did they?
[chuckles] You know,
you give me two years,
and I'll give you the world.
[chuckles]
Did you go to a
community college, or...?
No, I didn't have the grades.
Oh.
Oh, okay, he's busting my balls.
That's what they do in Hollywood
because... if you're famous.
Okay, some hypothetical
business talk.
If... if I took the case, my fee
would be 20% of the retrieval.
So it's no
out-of-pocket for you.
It's all or nothing for me.
Would that work for you?
Of course, the answer is yes.
You're letting George fulfill
his old movie fantasy.
Oh, yeah.
And you were in charge
of Eddie's estate
near the end, right?
Correct.
Okay, that...
That could be helpful.
Tell me,
where did you meet Eddie?
At Dory Conrad's
art therapy class.
It was a program
funded by the state.
Dory was the instructor there.
Everyone was in wheelchairs.
Eddie was there.
And Dory Conrad,
she still around?
Yeah.
We still see her.
So if I wanted
to meet with her,
you could help make that happen?
Sure, we can do that.
[chuckles]
Okay.
But not for a couple days.
I got some things to do.
You, I have a couple things
for you to do too.
Me? Does that mean that
we're working for you?
Yes, it does.
Great.
[chuckles]
Cool.
Settle down.
Cool.
[chuckles]
- Ta-da!
- All right!
Oh, good. You found one.
Yeah, I did.
I got it from a friend of mine
who works in a janitors' union.
Oh, so it's stolen.
No, it's not stolen.
I just have to return it
before the school starts.
Or else then it's stolen.
Yeah, then it's stolen.
I can live with that.
So what is this case
all about?
Well, this is basically
a straight-up retrieval case.
I'm looking for a duffel bag
full of money
that disappeared from
a car accident 20 years ago.
The Big Four:
Money, power, love, fear.
What could have
happened to that money?
[twangy guitar music]
The answer's
in there somewhere.
[phone ringing]
Hello?
Sammy, hey. It's Martin Dye.
How's my favorite
clipping service guy?
So how many clippings
do you need?
You need more pictures
of yourself?
"Parade" magazine?
"OFF Magazine"?
How many pictures of a dad
standing next to his daughter
do you need?
Aren't you sick of seeing
yourself in the paper?
[laughs]
No, never gets old.
Hey, but this is
for something else.
It's a case I'm working on,
a guy named Eddie Grant.
Edward Grant.
All the clippings are
gonna be 20 years old.
All right. Got my pad.
I got my pen.
20 years ago?
These could come
in drips and drabs.
The first batch
usually has the most.
All right.
When you get more,
send them over.
I'll messenger them to you.
Okay.
Uh, oh, well, first of all, he
was a victim of a car accident.
Oh, first,
where are you staying?
We don't wanna forget that.
I'm Dory Conrad.
You must be Martin Dye?
I am.
Nice to meet you, Dory.
You too.
Do you wanna come in?
- Yeah, please.
I read your book.
It was a great yarn.
Cool.
A case goes
from noise to music.
Like that line.
[soft music]
Thank you.
You know, I have it
around here somewhere.
I should get you to sign it.
I would be honored.
Tell me how you became a, uh...
An art therapist.
So there was this speaker
in the city.
And I went in, and he gave
this incredible speech
on the importance
of art and healing.
Right up my alley.
- [chuckles]
Creation, drawing, painting
improves brain functioning
and increases optimism.
The simple act
of drawing, pen to pad,
changes your brain chemistry,
raises your spirits
while simultaneously
calming you down.
Makes you think better.
Now, a recent study conducted
by the Troty Institute
suggests that people
that suffer severe pain
or severe trauma may benefit
the most from this type
of art enhancement therapy.
It's so successful,
in fact, that the state
is piloting a program
and needs professional artists
to teach these classes.
When I heard that, I lit up.
I'm an artist.
I'm starving, and I need a job.
[chuckles]
So when his speech ended,
I jumped
into the service of mankind
and introduced myself.
Then I may have
exaggerated a little bit
about how busy I was.
I'm presently finishing up some
advertising work right now.
I recently sold some
greeting card drawings.
I might also have
a new wave album cover,
which is also a first for me.
I think you could really
fit into this program.
Is there any way...
Then, as my dad would say,
I pumped him
for all the information I could.
I filled out a ton
of grant papers,
and I met all
the local politicians.
They found me
a couple of sponsors,
and then I found a classroom
at Brentwood Hall.
Wow, that's a lot.
Um, George and Caroline
were two of my students.
The assignment was
to draw something,
anything that you want.
And George decides to draw
Caroline on his sketchpad.
It's his very first sketch,
and it was good.
I mean, it really
looked like her.
Needless to say,
a romance was born.
Yes, it was.
Yeah, they're cute.
So what was Eddie like?
Oh, God.
Eddie was a completely
different cat.
Eddie was kind of a surly guy
with a dark sense of humor,
almost cryptic.
He had issues.
He would hang out with George
and a few others,
but he was kind of
a far away guy.
I still see George
and Caroline from time to time.
Did Eddie ever
talk about money?
Eddie, oh, he had a past
I wanted nothing to do with.
Okay.
What do you got for me, Sammy?
[sighs]
"Good to see you
back doing honest work.
"More to come. Sammy.
"PS, the messenger
was my nephew.
You don't have to tip him."
I just tipped him, Sammy.
Maybe put the note
on the outside.
Unbelievable.
What do we got?
All right.
"Death crash ends
friends' night out."
Yeah, that's why we're here.
"Condo for sale."
Okay,
that's, uh, Eddie Grant's condo.
Contact, George.
[mysterious music]
"Townie makes specialty vehicle
for the handicapped."
Eddie Grant.
Oh, look at that.
This is Dory's art therapy class
from 20 years ago.
And there's Eddie.
[sighs] "Local cinematographer
Tom Tully at accident."
"One dead,
other critically injured.
Both went through
the windshield."
Damn.
Photo by Tom Tully.
Tom, you are first.
[somber guitar music]
No, I didn't read your book.
I thumbed through it
at the library
to see if you were real.
- [chuckles]
Well, I guess you're real.
You're the only cameraman
in the Yellow Pages.
Right, it's just me.
I've been a cameraman
for over 40 years.
Retired now.
Started in the service
with the navy.
Came out, shot newsreels,
you know, like these two.
Oh, wow.
So you worked with MacArthur
and Casey Stengel?
I did.
Casey was the better general.
[chuckles]
Also worked in TV news,
uh, weekend documentary,
commercials.
To pay off the mortgage?
You name it, I shot it.
Woodstock?
No, I missed that one.
[chuckles]
Strangest weekend
shoot I ever had
was filming Richard Nixon
at a dental convention.
Wow, I wouldn't have
guessed that one.
So you were never
an employee of the paper.
No. No.
No.
That was a freelance gig,
the night you're talking about.
Yeah, I used to shoot
safety films for the IIA,
the International
Insurance Association.
IIA.
You know, I shot car crashes
and accident scenes.
I would show up at the car crash
accident scene and document.
I had ins, you know, contacts
with the local police,
newspapers.
See, I even had a police radio,
ham radio set up.
The footage was used
to make safety films, PSAs,
trainings, things like that.
[siren wailing]
The night the call came in,
there was one dead,
and the other was split in half.
I took some footage
and then took two stills
at the end for the paper.
I mean, I've shot worse.
But two young guys, way sad.
What'd you do
with the footage?
The footage?
We used the footage
to make two PSAs
on seat belt safety, you know.
They're here somewhere.
Wow, that is strange.
Politicians, dental
conventions, I don't know.
Where's the sound?
Do you really wanna hear?
[siren wailing]
I didn't wear
my seat belt that night.
I was the passenger.
The driver didn't live
to tell his story.
Wear your seat belt.
Well, dramatic.
Okay, now my shot.
The driver is dead,
and I'm alive.
[tense music playing]
If I wore my seat belt,
I wouldn't be
in this wheelchair.
They didn't need
the second one.
For the record, Eddie got paid.
Yeah.
He even was talking
about residuals.
That never happened.
I never saw him again
after that night.
You know, he gave off
a sullen vibe.
After years of doing this,
you know who to avoid.
Do you remember exactly
where that accident happened?
It wasn't that tree, was it?
No.
The tree is gone.
The site was cleared.
They always clear the site
of a deadly accident.
Death site changes
the vibe in the community.
Sure.
You know, it's not good
to be reminded of a tragedy.
The International Insurance
Association recommends this.
Oh, okay.
What about, uh,
duffel bag or money?
Did you hear
anything about that?
Money, not that I know of.
Do you know anybody else
from the accident
that's still around?
Mm, it's been 20 years.
People retire,
some go to heaven.
I know one of the cops.
There you go.
And he's a snowbird,
and he's back.
Would you like to meet him?
- I would.
In the TV commercial.
A chance for stardom, dashed.
Dreams die hard.
So close.
[chuckles] So you're a snowbird?
Yeah.
Yeah, I do November
to tax time in Florida.
The rest, I'm here.
I left at 55.
I don't miss the winter
nor my kids.
Well, sometimes.
Did you find any...
Any cash or drugs at the scene?
Didn't find any drugs.
I don't know if drugs
were in their system.
That's for the medical people,
nurses.
Thank God they cleared the site
before it became a shrine.
Right, Tommy?
That's for sure.
[chuckles]
What about cash?
Look, accident sites always
bring out strange behavior,
especially when there's a death.
Some people always believe
there's money there.
What, you're gonna crash
your car then bury your loot?
Think about that one.
[laughter]
Do you know who called 911?
Probably someone
from a payphone.
Back then,
we didn't record calls.
Payphone?
How do we figure out where
those payphones were?
Is there, like, a master
location list or something?
This is America.
Every town in America has a
retired phone company employee.
We're all over the place.
There's 15 retired phone
company employees alone
at the Knights of Columbus.
Two out on parole.
Really?
So this is where
the payphone was.
It was originally here
to service the people
of the Indian Lanes.
Indian Lanes?
Oh, the developer,
he named all
the streets with Indian names.
Mohawk, Iroquois,
Pequot, Mrowki.
Hence the nickname,
the Indian Lanes.
Huh.
Oh, yeah, there's Mohawk.
Yeah, when these houses
were first built,
a lot of people
didn't have phones.
They were bungalow houses,
low income,
first-time starter homes.
So in case of emergency,
they use the payphone.
Of course, nowadays
everyone's got phones.
Company pulled it out.
Collecting dimes
from a payphone, lousy job.
[chuckles]
No, I always like
being around the money.
Oh, yeah?
Well, hey,
I appreciate your time.
Thanks a lot.
I... I understand you're single.
You know, my wife's sister,
she's available.
Oh.
She has a pension.
[chuckles] Pension now?
See, I knew it.
I see what you're doing there.
[rotary phone ratcheting]
[soft music]
Hey, Tom. Martin Dye.
Yeah, do you know
anybody at the hospital?
Uh, let me look into it.
It's been over two decades,
and I think I may be
losing my charisma.
But I'll look into it.
I've lost my charisma.
Between mandatory retirement,
death, Florida,
I can't find anything.
No one is around.
So I plan on going
back to Golden Pond
and wish you the best
of luck with your case.
Well, thank you, Tom.
Don't sweat it.
I'll figure it out.
And thanks for all your help.
I'm really glad I met you.
You're welcome.
Take care.
[fire blazing]
Oh, my gosh.
- It's a towering inferno!
- Do you hear what I live with?
Now if only he'd clean his room.
One second.
George,
it's Martin on the phone.
He's coming.
[wheelchair rattling]
- Hey.
- Hey, George.
Hey, how much did you
actually hang out with Eddie?
I mean, I didn't see Eddie
for long periods in my life.
But at the end,
I did see quite a lot of him.
Mm-hmm.
He spent most of his days
just watching news on TV
and making the occasional phone
call, if you can believe that.
Okay.
But you did... you did handle
the funeral stuff, right?
Yeah, I helped manage
the funeral arrangements.
Okay.
Yeah, that could be useful.
Well, remember, I had this
idealized version of Eddie,
kind of like... "I could have
been a contender" kind of thing.
You know, everybody knew that
Eddie had these anger issues.
They were mostly on the surface.
- Uh-uh.
- Hmm?
Okay, hold on.
Eddie loved to provoke people.
Well, okay, he did
provoke people.
Like the time that he
dressed up like a Vietnam vet
at the rally.
Remember that?
- Oh.
- He had that big argument.
That was all wrong, man.
You were never even in Vietnam.
- [laughs]
You're pretending to be
something that you're not!
Come on,
I did it for a friend.
We all pretend to be
something we're not.
It wasn't an award-winning
performance.
You're not
an actor, Eddie, okay?
That's not a goddamn movie!
[laughs]
You're deliberately
hurting those people.
They loved it.
It made their day.
Donations are pouring in.
You're a sick
pup, you know that?
[laughs]
I'm done with your shit.
[somber music]
George was furious.
Well, he really pissed me off.
Yeah.
You know who
you should go visit?
Who?
Marie from art class.
- Oh, yeah.
- She dated Eddie.
And I'm sure there's
some story there.
Okay, yeah.
I'll do that.
All right, that's enough.
Thank you, guys.
I met Eddie
in Dory's art class.
Everybody likes Dory.
I like Dory.
Eddie wasn't much
of a boyfriend.
My Aunt Nora was a nurse
and worked in the ER
the night of Eddie's accident.
Mm-hmm.
She disliked him. [Chuckles]
But I dated him anyway.
Of course, you did.
Is Nora still a nurse?
No, she passed away
two years ago.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
At the funeral,
Mallory, Dave's sister,
the boy who died
in the accident, she was there.
And she told me that my
Aunt Nora had great honor,
and she always took her advice.
I do have regrets about not
listening to my Aunt Nora.
Well, it sounds like
she was a special lady.
So... so you didn't
date Eddie long, then?
No, no.
It started off nice,
then it declined.
I think I wanted something
like George and Caroline,
but that never happened for me.
What do you mean,
never happened?
Still could happen.
Don't give up.
[laughs] Thank you.
You know, Eddie,
he smoked grass.
He hung out at strip clubs.
He knew the owners.
Yeah, that's a bad sign.
Yeah.
Yeah, Eddie missed
being a somebody.
He never grew up, you know.
He wasn't cool anymore,
hanging out
with rock star Mud Mulligan.
Talk about parties and groupies.
The 365 Club? I mean, really?
So what happened with him
and Mud Mulligan?
Oh, Mud Mulligan dropped him
after the accident.
I think he got a letter,
and that was that, you know.
Most relationships, they don't
survive big accidents.
People don't wanna hear that.
Oh, they don't.
Eddie... Eddie
never fully got it.
We're all beautiful.
No matter what shape we're in.
[tender music]
There you go, as promised.
Please place it next to
"To Kill a Mockingbird."
Never read it.
You've never read
"To Kill a Mockingbird?"
No.
What about
"Catcher in the Rye"?
[chuckles]
That's for serial killers.
Okay.
And you both work in a library?
Yes.
Huh.
Well, I guess you guys see a lot
of each other, though, huh?
No. We job-share.
- You what?
- Job-share.
Three days a week, a piece.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Our husbands work
together, though.
They're brothers.
The O'Brien brothers?
You're sisters who
are married to brothers?
[chuckles]
Yes, we are
our own ethnic group.
[laughs]
Yep, that's for you.
Pristine copy.
No autographs.
Thank you.
Eddie's in this yearbook?
Yeah, yeah.
This is gonna be
really good for research.
Thank you.
And we'll help you
find people.
Oh, right, you guys have
all the juicy reunion gossip.
Oh, yeah.
We want something
from you, though.
Okay.
Will you speak at our library
mystery book club
when you're done?
Oh, yeah.
We found your first person
for you, Sheila Farrow.
She dated Eddie Grant
in high school.
Oh, that's really
gonna be helpful.
Thank you.
You must be Martin Dye.
I am.
I'm Sheila Farrow.
Hi, Sheila.
I don't think the Galasso
sisters ever left high school.
[chuckles]
Do you know their... their
husbands, the O'Brien brothers?
Sure.
The twins with
the gap-toothed smile.
Oh. [Chuckles]
Couldn't forget them
if you wanted to.
Oh, see, now I gotta look
them up in the yearbook.
You know, when
I got your call, I thought,
I haven't talked
about Eddie in years.
And I never look
at that yearbook.
But my husband said that
I should talk to you.
He says that it's a cautionary
tale, and I should tell it.
Well, thank you.
He's probably right.
So how would you
describe Eddie?
Eddie was
the ultimate bad boy.
My life would have
been a disaster
if I had stayed with him.
Really? How?
And my father hated him.
Of course.
[chuckles] I thought
he was cool in that
faux hippie sort of way.
[chuckles]
Oh, he had
tickets to everything.
I was a rebellious,
silly teenage girl.
Right after I graduated
from high school,
my father shipped me
right off to Europe
with a couple of girls
from the Hewitt School.
It was the right move.
Eddie had a real
self-destructive streak.
He took dumb chances and did
some really deplorable things.
Besides selling drugs?
And people thought
that was cool.
Selling grass
shouldn't be illegal.
It was a public service.
It's a pretty common opinion.
He had a really
malicious sense of humor.
He did some really
shitty things,
including the ultimate teenage
male fantasy, which...
I am not even
going to talk about.
That was it.
I broke up with him
before the accident.
And after Europe,
I never spoke to him again.
I don't think he missed me.
My dad forbid me from visiting
him after his accident.
He didn't want me
to feel sorry for him.
I don't feel any guilt
over this guy.
But you did.
But I did.
[somber music]
He was lucky to be alive.
The other kid was dead.
I didn't know him.
Did you know anyone that
visited him in the hospital?
No.
No, my friends
were not his friends.
Did you ever hear anything
about missing money?
The Eddie Grant legend.
No, I don't think there was ever
any missing money.
I mean, Eddie carried cash,
sure, but Eddie was small time.
Let's not kid ourselves.
[chuckles]
Just talked
to the Galasso sisters.
Yeah, wow.
The Galasso sisters
were hot in high school.
So whenever I was near them,
I could barely control myself.
[laughs]
Ah. That's right.
Okay.
To me, he was a rock star.
He used to hang out with some
real unsavory characters.
But in reality,
he was small potatoes.
You know who you should talk to?
You should go
to Vaccarro Insurance.
Talk to Joey.
Thanks.
So how long have you
been in business here?
Well, I inherited
the agency from my dad,
but it's been in my family
for nearly 50 years.
50 years.
Wow.
Your family's seen a lot.
Mm-hmm.
So what about Eddie?
Can you tell me more about him?
Eddie's accident,
or should I say the PSA,
sold a lot of insurance.
For years, people would
come into the office
and talk about that commercial.
It was shot in the neighborhood.
I'm a member of the IIA,
the International Insurance
Association.
Still go to their meetings
every year.
Guess the commercial
covered your dues.
[laughs] Yeah, I guess so.
Eddie's parents gave him
the house when they passed.
We didn't insure it.
He had an entry-level union job
at the time of the accident.
What union?
32B.
He was fully insured,
and he was lucky to have it
because they covered everything.
Do you know if he got a union
settlement from the accident?
Mm, no, I doubt it.
Maybe life insurance
from his parents.
So what happened to the...
The company, the union job?
The Sagamore factory was
bought out by a Japanese firm
a few years back.
They closed it down,
and now all the manufacturing
is done in Asia.
They lost union business
when they left.
Happens all the time now.
Mm-hmm.
Well, thank you, sir.
You have been a great help.
Oh, yeah.
Before you go, hang on.
Take my card.
And that is a stress test card.
So put your thumb on the square.
If it turns blue, that means
you're calm, relaxed.
If it turns red,
you're stressed.
- I'm gonna use that.
- Yeah, you should.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you. Bye now.
Thank you so much
for stopping by.
Thank you.
Okay, let's review.
Eddie had a union job.
32B, fully insured,
life insurance, maybe.
[upbeat music]
And I am relaxed.
Hey, there he is. How you doing?
- Doing all right. You?
- Good.
I've been interviewing
former students all this time.
Now I'm meeting with
an actual teacher.
- Lucky you.
- Yeah.
Have a good day.
You've got
an interesting profession.
Yeah.
Yeah, it pays the bills,
and I get to talk
to interesting guys like you.
Yeah, I'm the last
guy standing,
so I get invited
to all the reunions.
- Well, it could be fun.
- Mm.
You have a few drinks,
meet people
you haven't seen in years.
It could be interesting.
I see how
my students are doing.
See how my students turned out.
See if I had
a positive influence
or no influence at all.
- Could be a good thing.
- Mm.
Yeah, well, many of my
students, I don't remember.
But some of them
remember me, so, well.
Then you pretend like
you remember each other.
- Yeah, I've done that.
- Yeah.
Look, Mr. Taylor,
I need some information.
No, I'm not gonna talk
about my fellow faculty
or the intimate affairs
in the faculty lounge.
- Okay.
- Not a chance.
And Eddie was not
interested in school.
Couldn't care less.
Did he have any
favorite teachers?
I don't think
I was one of them.
But you knew about
him dealing drugs?
Everybody did.
I mean, I'm sure that
there were some...
Someone from the faculty
who bought from him.
But that would be an intimate
detail from the faculty lounge.
Hmm.
His accident was tragic,
and the other boy died.
I didn't know the other boy.
Was he worth knowing?
I don't know.
Eddie was out of school by then.
Look, Eddie wasn't
the pride of the county.
All right, were there
any fights, any incidents?
Any memorable moment...
I'm doing this
for the Galasso sisters.
They're nice.
[whimsical music]
Oh, Mr. Teller.
Not telling the intimate
affairs of the faculty lounge.
And then Sheila,
she's not telling the ultimate
male teenage fantasy.
Huh.
Shame, shame, shame.
[chuckles]
[sharp ringing sound]
Eric?
I swing my club, and the next
thing I hear is, hey, asshole,
it's caddy's day. [Laughs]
I wrote those lyrics.
I used to be a caddy here,
and now I'm a member.
[chuckles] It's life.
Better than the other
way around, I guess.
Yeah.
You know, when I got
that call from you,
I was thinking about
guys like Eddie.
I have a teenage boy.
Teenage boys seem
to think that, you know,
they're stronger than the sun.
I know I did.
Eddie was a treacherous
little shit.
Anybody who hung out with him
and his buddy, Jimmy Kyle,
got damaged.
How so?
Well, there was three guys
they went to high school with,
you know, they died
in a boating accident.
Drugs provided by Eddie.
Stoned out their minds.
They hit another boat at night.
A real tragedy.
You know, three, you know,
wise-ass kids, but you know,
we just thought it was a phase.
You think Eddie
was responsible?
Directly, no.
But you know, look him up
in the yearbook, you'll see.
You'll agree with me.
There was another group,
a group of girls
from the posh Hewitt School.
You know, all-girls school.
They got busted,
grass provided by Eddie.
You know, they had lawyers.
They were privileged,
so they got off.
Oh, so they really
dodged the bullet there.
What if these girls were
from a working class family?
They'd have a felony record.
They wouldn't be
able to get bonded.
They couldn't work
at a hospital.
They couldn't work at a bank.
They probably couldn't
even get any job.
They couldn't even write
the civil service test.
Nothing.
Their lives would be ruined.
Yeah.
Hey, a felony record kills you.
Yeah, well I think
about these things.
I got a teenage boy, you know.
He is not stronger than the sun.
You know, he's a stupid
fucking kid, you know.
And these... and these guys,
they take advantage
of their stupidity, you know.
You get damaged, so what?
Yeah, a lot of people
think that way.
I don't know,
I think, Eddie, it's karmic.
I don't know.
That's...
You know about a...
A teacher, Mr. Teller?
Talked to him the other day,
kinda odd.
That smug fool.
Like a complete fraud?
You know, he still goes to the
reunions to pick up the girls.
He's a piece of work.
You know,
he has complete disdain
for people who pay his salary.
Yeah, you could sense that.
Fuck.
You know, he was...
He was there to undo
all the changes,
all the bad things
that were taught at home.
And you know, who are these
people that are raising kids
these days, he would say?
Yeah?
I wonder if he still thinks
that Walt Disney is frozen.
You know, he was real
concerned about not
telling the intimate affairs
of the faculty lounge.
What's that about?
Oh, I know who
he's talking about.
He's talking about Miss Magnus,
Roxanne Magnus.
Rocks off with Roxy.
She was only a few years older
than us, right out of college.
You know?
I bet he was pissed that she
probably turned him down.
Yeah, rejection is a bitch.
Yeah.
You know, the rumor...
There was rumors,
and I thought it was true.
But you know, everybody sort of
knew about the affair.
You know, I figured it was true.
Because once she started
selling her grass, you know,
she's probably partying with
her students, not a big leap.
I think you're
on to something there.
The rumors got
bigger and bigger,
and the next thing you know,
she's gone to another school.
You know, Eddie's probably
graduated by this time.
You, uh...
You like the reunions?
[scoffs] Hell, no.
[laughs] Shoot me dead, man.
[laughs]
I figured.
[mysterious music]
[sighs] Mm, a memorial.
Tragic Seneca Bay boat crash.
Friends dying
in a boating accident.
All students at Red Willow
High School died in the crash.
Their parents have
been notified.
They are Hal Renith, 17,
recently accepted into
the Somerset Junior College,
General Studies program.
Jim Coats, 17,
who played on the golf team
and worked summers
at the Sagamore factory,
and Bill Stafford, 18,
a musician
who planned on joining
the Peace Corps upon graduation.
Planned to join
the Peace Corps?
Well, that is sad.
"Tears to a glass eye" sad.
Where's Miss Magnus?
Her picture's not in here.
She's not
in the faculty listing.
Okay, according to that,
he was born in January,
so that makes him 18 for the
second half of his senior year.
He was an adult. He could vote.
[mellow country music]
Hey, you know, my cousin
used to buy a lot of drugs
off that guy.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Quite a place you got here.
It's the only thing my wife
didn't get in the divorce.
My own personal Taj Mahal.
- [laughs]
- Let's sit.
Thanks.
You knew Jimmy Kyle?
Yeah, I knew Jimmy Kyle.
I think Eddie followed his lead.
Back then, everybody knew
who the dealers were.
Mainly grass, so they weren't
really thought of as criminals.
Vendors providing a product.
Herb for a healthy consumer,
gentler, better society.
That's good.
We're talking hippies,
an era gone by.
[chuckles] Nothing sadder
than an old hipster.
It's almost embarrassing if
people thought this was cool,
you know what I mean?
Was it profitable?
He made money.
Plenty of customers.
Kyle's family had a steak house.
A lot of local kids
worked there.
Kyle's dad was a tricky fellow,
and Jimmy was definitely
a chip off the old block.
Like father, like son, huh?
You know,
you can easily launder
drug money in a restaurant,
a steak house.
And no matter what happens
in your business life,
you always wanna keep around
one cash business for laundry.
I'll write that down.
Look, Kyle liked the money
more than the action.
Eddie liked being cool.
Did they go
to the same high school?
'Cause I can't find Jimmy Kyle
in the yearbook.
Jimmy dropped out,
got his GED.
Actually, I doubt
he ever took the test.
Remember, his life was
basically planned out.
Be like Daddy,
and Daddy always had his eye
on the wallet of the town.
How do you mean?
Jimmy had cash.
People came to him
with business ideas.
What kind of business ideas?
Oh, they invested
in various downscale ventures...
Strip clubs, dirty bookstores,
X-ray video stores.
You know, that type of thing.
The cash coming in
from all the sources,
they bought some real estate.
You know, businesses
pressure each other
to get what they want.
How?
I mean, dentist doesn't wanna
be next door to a porn shop.
Chiropractor doesn't wanna be
near a massage parlor.
You pressure them to leave.
Place a sketchy shop
on either side of them,
and they will
start negotiations.
And you start
buying up property.
So that's it.
He's buying up property.
That's the plan?
Well, the plan is
to degrade, then upgrade.
Look, people want the porn shop,
the massage parlor gone.
You own them, you close them.
That's good PR, right?
Right.
Then you get
the politicians to rezone.
And with rezoning, you attract
respectable businesses
back to the community.
Better retail, boutiques,
upscale eateries,
that type of thing.
And after a while,
people forget all
about your sleazy businesses.
The rezoning improves the town.
Property values go up.
And when you start
hiring people,
your sins are
completely forgiven.
Enter sainthood?
Yeah, exactly.
Sponsor some dumb local charity,
donate to politicians,
hire their kids for summer jobs.
What goes around comes around.
And that means?
How many of these
politicians who
hold a fundraiser
at your steak house,
which you don't charge them for?
How many of them
were your customers
from your pot-dealing days?
Shared values.
There's nothing
like honest nostalgia.
Once you get there, no one
cares how you got there.
Look, I don't know
if I've been much help.
But if there was any
missing money, Kyle found it.
[mysterious rock music]
I knew Mrs. Grant
for quite a while.
Mrs. Grant was a client
of mine for years.
The woman had
a thick head of hair,
colored it every six weeks.
The Grants could
be tricky, though.
How's that?
Well, Mrs. Grant had
a no-show union job.
When she retired,
she gave it to her son,
Eddie, who was barely 18.
But thank God the benefits
covered everything.
How were they
after the accident?
I think Eddie's disability
overwhelmed them.
I know Mrs. Grant was
afraid of his anger,
and it always got worse when
he went to visit Jimmy Kyle.
And she would tell me that.
There was a lot
of tension there.
Do you know anybody else
who knew the Grants?
Well, Kristine Miller
sold the family home.
You know that the Grants died
within months of each other.
Mm.
Yeah, Kristine owns the local
real estate firm in town,
and she still knows Jimmy Kyle.
I saw her sign
in one of his buildings.
You should talk to her.
I will. Thanks.
Have you heard anything
about any missing money
from Eddie's accident?
No.
Always rumors about
missing money.
[chuckles] I ain't got it.
[chuckles]
Hey, can you cut my hair?
Of course.
Hey, now we can officially
gossip with each other.
Perfect.
Put me in the chair.
[intriguing music]
Hey, good morning.
You're Martin Dye.
- [chuckles] I am.
- [chuckles] Nice to meet you.
I'm Kristine Miller.
- Hi, Kristine.
I didn't finish your book,
but Mary did.
- I loved it.
- Oh.
And I really
like your daughter.
Oh, thank you.
I will relay the love.
Do you want me
to autograph that?
Yeah.
Are you working on a project?
I am.
I'm staying with my nephew
in, uh...
Well, a couple towns over.
And your boss is gonna help me.
I am.
Okay.
Let's talk.
So you sold
the family home, right?
It had too many memories,
according to Eddie.
I found the perfect assisted
living home for Eddie.
After he passed,
I didn't get the listing.
The people in charge
of handling the estate
took care of it.
Ah, yeah, George and Caroline.
Right, yeah, I know them.
They're a fun couple.
So did Jimmy Kyle own
the condo project?
'Cause he and Eddie
were good friends.
The Kyles didn't own that, no.
I wish they did.
Senior living, assisted living
is a new wave of the future.
Did you... did you know Eddie
before the accident?
A little.
I knew his parents.
The accident was tragic.
It took its toll.
Yeah.
To be expected, I guess.
Eddie was a wild kid,
but not like people thought.
When you work local real estate,
you got a pipeline
to all the rumors.
Mm, I bet.
See, now, that... that stuff,
that works great
in my book idea.
On the day of the accident,
did you ever hear about
any missing money,
that proverbial bag of cash?
No.
There's no missing money.
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
It's just sometimes, you know,
a large amount of money
disappears, and it turns up
in, like, a big real estate
deal or something.
So I'm just, you know,
following up
on the old rumor pipeline.
After the condo, there were
no purchases made with me.
Okay.
Yeah, no, I figured that.
It's just, you know,
he had a bunch of money.
Then he got in a wreck,
and then he didn't have it.
And so, you know,
stuff keeps popping up.
I'm just looking into it.
Collecting small town legends
for the, uh...
For the book.
Mm. That's a stretch.
But this book idea sounds fun.
What other legends
are you checking out?
I got, uh, three teenage boys
who died in a boating accident.
Apparently, they went
to school at the same time as...
As Eddie.
And then there were three
rich girls who got busted
in their upscale private school,
and they apparently
kinda knew Eddie.
So that's why his name keeps
popping up in the conversation.
Hmm, I've never heard
of any of that stuff.
Okay.
Guy in the picture,
is that your husband?
No, I don't keep pictures
of my ex-husband around.
Oh, yeah, I guess no one does.
That's the town supervisor.
He's not really my type.
So you must know a lot
about taxes and regulations
and stuff like that.
That's probably good
for your business, right?
The conversation has devolved
into taxes and regulations?
Okay, you're right.
Listen, you have
been a great help.
It was really nice
to meet you and Mary,
and always nice to meet
a fan of the work.
I'm so glad you could come in.
Let me give you my card.
Call me if you wanna move here.
Thank you.
I like it here.
Here's my card.
Let's keep in touch.
Okay. So what do we have?
Kristine Miller, she sold
the Grant family home
and other Jimmy Kyle properties.
Mrs. Grant gave her no-show
union job to her son, Eddie.
[sighs] What else
did Loretta tell me?
Check out the Thornton
Savings Bank.
Those same people have
been there forever.
And you... you know
those three private schoolgirls
who got busted doing drugs?
They were partying
with a female teacher
when they got busted.
Same teacher who taught
at Eddie's school.
Yeah, Mr. Grant pulled
a lot of strings
to save that woman's reputation.
Just a thought.
Thank you.
Driving on the Pittsburgh
Highway,
three police officers...
Was our Miss Magnus
at that drug bust?
Continuing coverage
of the Gambidge case...
Just a thought.
Thank you, Steve.
I'm here in front of this
apartment building with Carl.
Carl?
Yeah, my... my partner
recently passed away of AIDS.
I was with him for ten years.
I am so sorry for your loss.
Now, is the landlord
trying to evict you?
Throw you out of this building,
your apartment?
You mean my home? Yes.
This is a RAT building...
Refuses a tenant.
- Thank you.
- We're not the only ones.
We're group tenants.
We built everything in this
neighborhood from the slums,
and now the greedy
landlord wants us out.
Hey, I know her.
I was on her talk show
promoting my book.
Huh.
Yeah, I went to school
with Natalie.
I think she did
a lot better than me
in the career department.
Oh, come on.
This is just a product
of gentrification.
Gentrification?
This is a murder.
This is a soul-killing.
- Poor guy.
Thank you, Carl.
And you are?
I'm Jeff Connors.
I'm an attorney
representing the tenants.
And are you planning
to sue the landlord?
Oh, we are taking the entire
corporation to court.
AIDS is a terrible disease.
It is not a method to abuse.
Oh, he's a good guy.
Yeah, isn't he?
You know, this lawyer
is from our town.
This is their community,
and people are more important
than corporate greed
and profits.
And if the public would
like to help, how can they?
We set up a nonprofit fund.
It's the 1649 Argyle fund.
They can contribute there.
You can have famous
people live here.
Okay, a congressman.
Okay, the rock star
Mud Mulligan,
maybe he could throw
a charity contribution
concert for our building.
Well, let's hope
he's watching this report.
Now back to our studio.
Hi.
Stuart Holden. Glad you came.
Thanks, Stuart.
You're my first
private detective.
Hopefully your last.
- Have a seat.
- Thank you.
So you're... you're retiring.
In a month.
All the papers are in.
Obviously, I'm not
your typical banker, right?
But I am gonna miss this place.
Yeah, well, apparently
half the town's gonna miss you.
I've been talking to a lot
of business people
the last few days, and they all
recommend you and this bank.
Well, thank you.
Baseball fan?
That's my grandson's Little
League team we're sponsoring.
And that's the charity
I mentioned over the phone.
Oh, yeah.
Is that Kristine Miller
in the lower one?
I didn't know
you knew Kristine.
Yeah.
Yeah, I just talked
to her the other day.
Huh, perfect timing.
So you do business
with Ms. Miller?
Sure have.
You wanna hear about
our business dealings?
No, I was just asking.
Let me tell you why I'm here.
You mentioned that
you knew Eddie Grant.
This is a mystery novel,
though, right?
Well, I can't
tell you everything.
It's a mystery.
No, I'm doing a little
investigating as well.
Eddie was a customer
of ours for years.
Okay.
First at
our Gates Point branch,
which we sold years ago,
and then here.
But he was like
a "cash customer," right?
As a kid, he carried
a lot of cash,
which we recommended him
not to do.
Put it to work, right?
- Yeah.
He took our advice,
and that really solidified
our banking relationship
with him.
So you knew him before
and after the accident, right?
Yes.
Tell me more about that.
In many ways,
a typical young man.
He liked the tellers.
Why?
Tellers were young and pretty.
Oh, okay.
Sometimes he would
just come for a visit.
The tellers did like him.
What about after the accident?
There's a sadness.
We at the bank acted
as normal as possible, but...
Eddie, Eddie was
a respected customer of ours.
He was good to us,
and he brought
many customers to the bank.
Really?
What kind of customers?
We were always
wheelchair-friendly.
But he recommended
many handicapped people
that are still with us.
The others,
we'll keep the mystery.
Okay, fair enough.
So you know about
the legend of Eddie
and the missing money, right?
You've heard that.
Do you think Eddie was carrying
around a bunch of money
on the day of the accident?
Eddie quit carrying cash,
I believe, before the accident.
We were always afraid
he was gonna get robbed,
so we advised him to stop.
So I can see...
I can see how that rumor
could be around.
Oh, yeah.
Did he come around a lot?
- After the accident?
- Mm-hmm.
We saw him less and less.
Yeah.
Well, it makes sense, I guess.
So when you guys sold
the Gates Point branch,
was Kristine Miller
the agent, by any chance?
'Cause that woman's a go-getter.
- No, no.
Back then,
she just sold residential.
Oh.
Now she sells
business properties,
office buildings,
things like that.
[sighs] So I'm guessing
you remember
the tellers pretty well.
Sure.
And they stayed with the bank.
Really?
'Cause I'd really like
to talk to some of them.
Can you make that happen?
I think so.
Great.
You know, my son
played Little League,
and I sponsored his team.
So before I go, I'd love to get
a better look at that picture.
Yeah, tell you what, let me
show you my favorite team.
[soft music]
Stuart left us alone,
me and the other bank tellers,
after he was married.
His second wife keeps him
on a tight leash.
Probably a smart move.
I could tell by talking to him
he was pretty smitten
with you girls.
[chuckles]
How did you feel about Eddie?
Eddie?
There's always
a mystery about Eddie.
We all knew there
was something there,
but we didn't know quite what.
Before the accident,
he was kind full of himself.
His swagger was
kind of fun, though.
On Valentine's Day,
all the tellers
would get a box of chocolates.
Oh, smooth Eddie.
[chuckles]
Our guy Stuart was jealous
and would warn us
about taking gifts.
Eddie heard about this and left
him a bottle of champagne.
No more lectures
from our superior. [Chuckles]
He was easily persuaded.
- Was he?
- Mm-hmm.
So Eddie just did typical
banking with you guys, right?
Mm-hmm.
Basically, Eddie would
deposit his union checks
and cash every once in a while.
That's what he did with us.
How'd Stuart feel
about all the cash?
There was always a question,
how does a young guy
get a lot of cash?
The pretty green.
[chuckles] What do we know?
We were as young as him.
Oh, yeah. That's true.
I liked working at the bank,
but there was no
career advancement at all.
So when I got married, I went
to work for my husband's firm,
keeping the books.
Well, good.
You got to stay in finance.
That's good.
I have two boys.
It makes it easier for me
to look after them.
When they get
their driver's license,
I am telling them
all about Eddie.
That is probably a smart move.
Mm-hmm.
You know who you should talk to?
- Who?
- Greta Beckett.
Oh, Eddie had
a mad crush on her.
[somber music]
Eddie was a sad story.
He would ask me out all the time
before the accident.
Not a chance.
- [chuckles] No?
Okay.
Yeah, probably for the best.
[chuckles] You know how it is.
Eddie had a reputation.
Before the accident,
he would regularly deposit cash,
which created a bit of talk.
What kind of talk?
Talk of Eddie's life
as a criminal.
The bank would take his money.
Everybody knew that
he was involved
with some creepy
businesspeople in town.
His parents had accounts
at the bank.
They had to know.
Yeah.
So did you see anything
out of the ordinary or odd?
Yes.
After the accident, I was
there for his happiest day.
He deposited a large check.
It might have been insurance.
And he was beaming,
smiling ear to ear.
A couple weeks later,
I was there for his worst day,
when he withdrew it all.
There were these guys
waiting for him.
And you could tell
he was emotionally drained.
You could see it in his face.
They were scary.
How much was it?
It was over 20 grand.
[curious country music]
So I got the funeral
wake registry here.
I got the thank you card list
and some other things
that I thought might
be of interest to you.
Perfect. Thank you.
Oh, do you... do you guys
know about a teacher
named Miss Magnus?
- I don't know.
- Mm-mm.
I don't... I didn't go to
community college with Eddie.
I don't know any
of his teachers.
Oh, yeah. That's right.
Okay, what about the...
The Vietnam vet?
The one Eddie pretended to be.
I'd love to talk to him.
Eli.
Dory would know.
You should give her a call.
He was in class with her
for a short time.
Okay.
Yeah, I'll definitely call her.
Okay, so here's the thing.
Did Eddie ever do anything nice?
Wait, what do you mean?
What do I mean?
You hate to speak ill
of the dead,
but the guy was
kind of hard to like.
Who are we kidding?
He was nasty.
I mean, the guy
treated girlfriends like shit.
He sold drugs.
Everybody around him
either got busted or died.
So my question is, did Eddie
ever do anything nice?
Yeah.
You're not gonna believe it,
but Eddie was a Big Brother.
What?
He was.
He was a Lifeline Big Brother.
Oh, come on.
Yeah, the Lifeline, it's like
for the handicapped foundation.
It's kind of like
a Big Brother program
for kids in wheelchairs.
But he was a Big Brother
to a kid named Tommy Preston,
and Tommy's still in town.
He's a great kid, a good kid.
Eddie donated to the foundation.
Oh, come on.
But we can set up
a meeting easily with Tommy.
Totally.
Oh, you should meet him.
I would love that.
Yes, please.
[soft music]
Hey, I got us some coffees.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
I'm Martin Dye.
Tommy.
George says hi.
Back at him.
So tell me all about Eddie.
Oh.
Um.
My mom thought that
I should have somebody older
for my situation.
Yeah.
As a role model,
somebody I could talk to.
But Eddie was not
your typical mentor type.
[scoffs]
No, he was sort
of a anti-role model.
Yeah, this is gonna be good.
Yeah, my mom
thought that he was
going to be a successful
middle class businessman.
[chuckles]
The foundation
gave that impression.
They had a little bio
that sort of leaned that way.
Well, yeah, that...
That was not Eddie.
No. [Chuckles]
No.
Eddie had some business
ventures, all nefarious.
He liked smoking dope,
visiting strip clubs,
partying with rock stars.
You know, my kind of role model.
Perfect.
His stories of the 365 Club,
that fascinated me.
And the adventures
of the rock star Mud Mulligan
turned me on to no end.
Yeah, I bet.
But while we're on it,
where the hell is this 365 Club?
I can't find it.
Oh.
Yeah, the 365 Club
is a different girl
for every day of the week.
- What?
- There is no actual location.
[laughs]
It was the goal
of Mud Mulligan.
Well, yeah, I thought
that Mud Mulligan
was named after the blues guy,
Muddy Waters.
No, no.
He was named after
his favorite drink,
Mud Mulligan, Irish coffee
with chocolate whipped cream.
Whipped cream, right.
Yeah.
So you know how when you're
a high school kid, a teenager,
you can't wait
to hear this stuff?
Well, of course, my mom heard me
telling all my friends
about Eddie and the 365 Club,
and that sort of put an end
to my mentors hip with Eddie.
Yeah.
Well, he was a lousy mentor
but a fun character.
I really enjoyed our meetings.
You know, he used
to tell me something.
You find something
you like to do,
and then you find people
who like you doing it,
and then you work for them.
[soft music]
So I did.
That's why I'm working here.
That's why I'm at this job.
Well, hell.
I mean, that sounds
to me like great advice.
So, you know what, maybe...
Maybe Eddie was good for you.
You know, when
Eddie died and I heard that
he left money to the foundation,
I was in shock.
Completely surprised.
I went to his funeral,
and a few days later,
I got a knock on my door.
And this guy says,
I'm here to build you a new car.
Eddie put down money
for a customized vehicle.
What?
Hi, I'm Mitch Whalen.
I built Eddie's car,
and I'm gonna
build you a better car.
Wow.
Unbelievable.
My mother broke down in tears.
That was Eddie.
Eddie was impossible.
[twangy country music]
Thank you.
Hey, Dory.
Do you remember Eli?
He's a Vietnam vet.
He would have been
in your art class with Eddie.
Yeah. No, I know Eli.
Do you happen
to have his number?
I'd really like to talk to him.
I do have his number.
I think it's in my address book.
Yeah, I can grab that.
Thanks.
By the way, you left
without signing my book.
I know. I remember. Sorry.
I'll... I'll make sure
you get one.
Okay. Hang on one second.
Where is that?
Me and Eddie met
at an art class.
We were not artists.
[chuckles] Though many
would say that Eddie was
a particular kind of artist.
Anyway, I'll tell you
about the rally.
I was home,
sick as a dog with the flu.
Doctor said I couldn't
leave the house.
Yeah.
Eddie was there
to take me to the rally.
He starts screaming,
you gotta go to this rally!
I'm sick. I got the flu.
What are you doing here?
What do you want?
I need your coat.
Where's that dumb-ass hat?
What do you want my coat for?
I'm going as you.
Have you lost it?
Are you kidding?
Eddie grabs his speech.
You are such an asshole.
He's got on my Vietnam jacket,
my dumb-ass hat.
Nothing you do works.
- Hey, where's your speech?
He goes to the rally
and pretends to be me.
Yeah.
Son of a bitch
gets away with it.
No way.
Yeah.
I guess everybody in a jacket
and the wheelchair looks alike.
Raised a couple thousand bucks.
No shit.
Yeah, no shit.
I took credit for it.
[chuckles]
We kept it a secret.
Till now I guess.
Eddie wasn't a friend.
Eddie was an ordeal.
Eddie was a big "what if?"
Yeah.
[smooth guitar music]
So how'd you know Eddie?
Eddie was a teenage kid
with plenty of money
and a love for cars.
I like cars, so we got along.
And then after his accident,
I customized a van for him.
Oh, man, he loved it.
And I enjoyed fixing up
a car for Tommy Preston,
who was also delighted,
so it was this
full circle moment.
It was a really great gesture.
So you liked him, Eddie?
Yeah, I liked Eddie.
Eddie was a strange guy.
He liked being
a small town big shot
with his caper friends, but not
when it was just me and him.
He was really down to earth.
So what about Jimmy Kyle?
Did you know him?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, Eddie helped me out
with Jimmy.
See, I knew the tow company
was up for sale.
It's a good business.
Let's be honest,
there's not a bright future
in customizing vehicles
for people with extra cash.
[chuckles] Yeah.
People never seem
to have extra cash.
Yeah. No.
So I didn't have any money,
and no one wanted to invest,
not in a car towing company.
No one wants to get involved
in a low status business.
And I get it.
And let me tell you,
people definitely
don't wanna hear your car
tow company business pitch.
[laughs] Right.
So... so what'd you do?
What'd you do?
I went to Eddie.
Yeah.
Mind you, he didn't
have the cash.
But no, Eddie was gonna
introduce me to some bankers,
see if I can get a loan.
You help me, I help you,
one of those situations.
Okay.
Our first business meeting
was down at the strip club.
[upbeat sultry music]
Yeah, that club's
been closed for years.
Jimmy had some money
tied up into the strip club,
and Eddie was a frequent
provider to their bottom line.
Oh, that's a good thing,
I guess.
Yeah, no, that's a good thing.
Let me tell you what
a better thing is, though.
Better thing was Jimmy Kyle
knew how to get
the towing contracts
from the county.
So Eddie convinced Jimmy to give
me some seed money
to get the ball rolling,
which was huge.
So Jimmy introduced me
to a couple of bankers
down at the strip club,
and Jimmy told them that
we had a bunch of contracts
with the county lined up.
[glasses clinks]
So what happened next?
The finesse meetings
Eddie was telling me,
he said they'd handle it.
I didn't have to do anything.
No, Jimmy would go down,
he'd talk to the county
and the politicians.
They'd have the... I don't know,
the bigwig conversations,
promising jobs, trading favors.
Hey, my kid's
in town for summer.
Can you help him out?
"Yeah, give me a call."
No, he ended up
giving me the loan.
18 months later, I was able
to pay off Jimmy.
About a year after that,
Eddie actually convinced Jimmy
to stop being my silent partner.
All right.
So let's talk about the rumor,
all the money that went missing
from the accident scene.
Yeah, all the money, right?
That's the... that's
the big rumor.
No, that's the thing.
There was no money.
People just like
to add to tragedy.
Which is a shame,
because I think it's bad enough
that Eddie had to live the rest
of his life in a wheelchair.
See, people don't remember.
Eddie lived a lot longer
after the accident than before.
Oh, yeah, you're right.
Look...
I want you to be kind to Eddie
in your book.
That's why we're sitting
here talking today.
I'm gonna be kind to Eddie.
I... I feel for the guy.
Here's the thing.
That strip club
keeps popping up.
I'd really love
to talk to somebody
who worked there back then.
I know someone
you can talk to.
Yeah?
So tell me about
this Mitch Whalen.
Whenever a customer
was harassing us,
Mitch would come
and he would tow their car.
[chuckles] Nice.
Around the holidays, we would
give Mitch a big tip from us.
He was a dancer's favorite.
[chuckles]
Yeah, makes sense.
So how long were you
an exotic dancer?
About 200 bachelor parties
and about 500 photos
with the grooms to prove it.
Ooh.
So why ever quit?
- Eddie.
- Really?
Every time that I left
the VIP room, he was there.
He'd be like, Noreen,
you deserve better.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I've been there.
Get a few drinks in you,
you wanna rescue everybody.
Yeah, I was paid to listen.
But anyhow, he did convince me
to take a couple classes down
at the Dowling.
- Where?
- It's a local college nearby.
It was to better myself.
And there, I met a nice
Irish boy from Woodside.
Uh-huh.
They're always working,
and they never stray, so.
I'm gonna use that.
[chuckles]
And I started my new life.
So tell me about
the... the VIP room.
Okay.
It was called
the Islip Skinny Room.
The what?
It was a gag
on the Minnesota Fats.
The famous pool player?
Yeah.
Well, Eddie,
he hung out there so much
that when the club closed,
they gave him the sign.
And then when Eddie died,
he willed it to me.
[laughs]
So now it's currently
in my downstairs playroom,
which I don't necessarily think
is a good thing.
But my husband
gets a kick out of it, so.
So did Eddie hang out with
Mud Mulligan in the VIP room?
Yeah, all the time.
Anytime that Mud
played the Coliseum,
they would party there,
days at a clip.
So, like, Mud was
Eddie's hero, right?
Sex and drugs,
and rock and roll, all that?
So I guess the 365 Club
and playing guitar
was what Mud was good at.
He was much better
at playing the guitar.
[laughs]
I heard that when
Eddie was in the hospital,
he got a letter from...
From Mud and never
saw him again.
That's not what happened.
Mud was messed up,
and he left for, like, a year.
And one day, he just came back.
Mud.
Do I know you?
It was just never the same.
Did Eddie have a falling out
with Jimmy Kyle?
I know who you should talk to.
[pensive music]
[glasses clink]
So for Eddie, that was like
his home away from home, right?
Eddie was there all the time.
And you could tell Jimmy
was growing tired of him.
"Are there any other places
you could drink?"
You know, that type of thing.
- Yeah.
God, Eddie was
such a nasty drunk.
- I heard that.
- Yeah.
And he could hide his anger
in the cloak of a joke.
How?
Telling the people that
he worked for the telethon.
And that didn't really bode
too well for people, you know.
Yeah.
So.
No.
Well, didn't anybody
ever, like, retaliate,
slap him around or something?
No, he knew,
like, when to stop.
He had a good sense of that.
It was weird.
Also, at Christmas,
he would send out cards
with, like, a little cash
in them
to everybody he
basically annoyed.
And he would promise them that
he would be better next year.
I swear, it was like
Eddie's version
of "It's a Wonderful Life."
[laughter]
Right.
But there was this one time
when a major scream and shout
broke out in the VIP room.
My dad is dead.
Whatever debt my family
owed you by knowing you,
that's paid.
You got this all wrong.
Whenever anyone
did business with you,
especially me, as soon
as that check cleared,
you were right there to take it,
waiting at the bank
to suck them dry!
- That's my money!
- You remember that?
You remember that?
Yeah, I always covered my bills.
Oh, that fucking delivery
you sent me on
had put me in this
fucking chair.
So fuck you!
Fuck you!
Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!
[panting]
Suck on this, pus bag!
You're out
of your mind, Eddie.
You're just out of your mind!
So, you know a lot
of employees
from that club, right?
Mm-hmm.
'Cause I'd really like
to talk to some of them.
- [chuckles]
- Think you can hook me up?
Sure.
- Oh, yeah.
- Okay.
But you gotta do me a favor.
Okay.
Mm.
Okay.
[grungy rock music]
Well, when you're
a manager of a strip club,
you see all kinds of things.
Yeah, I know the teacher you're
talking about, Mr. Teller.
- That's him.
- Yeah.
He used to come in and tell
the same bad joke
every time you saw him.
"Hey, you know that your club
is named after an Ibsen play,
'A Doll's House'?"
As if anybody who ever went
to a strip club read Ibsen.
[laughs] Yeah, I see.
Different crowd.
The waitresses,
they called him a CF.
CF?
Yeah, cheap fuck.
Ah. Clever.
Hey, look,
it was a cash business
with a lot of drugs
and some sad customers,
including your friend Eddie.
Well, luckily, Eddie had Mitch.
He was his weekend caretaker,
you know.
He used to bring him home.
So what happened to the club?
How did it all end?
Well, you know,
people tired of clubs.
Things get seedy.
And girls, they develop
problems. [Chuckles]
You need new girls
because people tired of looking
at the old girls and, well...
Fights become more frequent,
and the cops just stop
being your friends.
So that's the trend.
Mm. Yeah, you know.
The old NBA business model.
Go-go club, strip joint,
becomes a disco, right?
So you take the disco ball away,
and now the disco
becomes a comedy club.
Well, old Jimmy didn't
want any part of that.
No?
No, no, no, he wanted
to build an empire.
You know, do better than Dad.
So he sold the club and all his
other businesses around town,
and he bought a radio station
and a few buildings.
You know, some fixer uppers
in the city.
Tell me about the...
The radio station.
How'd that come about?
[chuckles]
Well, sobriety visited
the neighborhood guitar god,
Mud Mulligan.
So when Mud sobered up, he told
Jimmy about the radio station.
You see, Mud used to do
concert promotions
for the radio station, right?
So they wanted to sell,
they needed a buyer,
and Jimmy, well,
he was flush with cash.
- From selling everything.
- Absolutely.
But also Jimmy, he had
the political connections
to help him, you know,
every step of the way,
with licenses
and things like that.
- Mm-hmm.
- You know?
I mean, this was a win-win
situation for Jimmy.
Mm. So then what happened?
Well, all the crazy
got ramped up
once Jimmy got
the radio station.
You know, the parties
just got bigger.
You know, celebrity,
music people.
In fact, a lot
of people around here
started to believe that
they were celebrities.
Their head started
to swell, both of them.
Oh, it's a real danger.
Anyways, Mud Mulligan,
he was getting older, right?
The girls, they were
getting younger.
So between the drugs,
the underage girls, the payola,
a scandal broke out.
And old Jimmy, well,
he was saved by the bell.
What saved him?
Well, he sold everything
to a Christian broadcast outfit,
the FBC,
Faith Broadcast Corporation.
Then he went all out, you know,
urban, family,
complexes, the whole nine.
The sell really
cleansed him, you know.
But he still owned a little
piece of the radio station.
But the FBC wanted him gone.
I was done with him
way before that.
Hi, Dad.
Hey, honey.
Can you do me a favor and
autograph four books for me?
Okay, Dad.
You seem happy
to be back at work.
I am. [Chuckles]
I'm happy to be busy.
Oh, can you overnight
those to me?
I need them tomorrow.
Will do.
Thanks, kid.
This is great.
Yeah, your mom and two sisters
and family podiatrist
ought to be happy.
Oh, yeah,
he's gonna read this.
- Good.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- Yeah.
By the way, I got
the perfect guy for you.
Okay.
- Steve.
- Steve?
- Steve.
- All right.
Okay?
V-E, that's it.
[laughs] You got it.
[laughs] Okay, so he used
to work at the steak house.
And for a short while,
he worked at the club.
But he didn't like girls.
This is where
the old steak house was.
It was torn down years ago.
I worked with Dave.
I was three years older,
so I could serve drinks.
Mm.
We were the gay guys
at the shop.
We kept it quiet.
Yeah, I could see that.
Jimmy Kyle hated gays.
He would fire "fairies."
I was working the night
of the accident.
Tell me about that.
It was the end of a shift.
Dave was readying to go home.
Oh, and Eddie and Jimmy Kyle
were bickering as usual.
Hey, Dave.
Dave.
[tense music]
I need you to do
a little favor for me.
Uh, that's more than
you made tonight.
Put on this hat, this coat.
Make a little delivery for me.
All right?
It's a few steaks.
Sounds good.
I needed extra cash.
Drive Eddie to the location.
You just stay in the car.
Eddie, give him your car keys.
When you get back,
I'll double that.
Yeah, I will do it.
They wanna see you, but...
They'll think it's me.
Quit being a little fairy.
All right.
It's two stops.
It's no big deal.
- All right.
- Got the book?
- Let's go.
- Destination's in there.
All right, fellas.
That was the last time
I saw Dave alive.
I went to the funeral.
Jimmy Kyle gave me
the day off with pay.
Big of him.
Did you visit Eddie
in the hospital?
No.
Why not?
Jimmy Kyle gave
the impression that Eddie
wasn't taking any visitors.
It's Martin Dye again.
He's called three times
and wants to speak to you.
Do you even know him?
Uh, he's a snoop.
Get rid of him.
[suspenseful music]
Look at this place.
It's a disaster.
You've gotta clean this mess up.
Honey, I'm going through
all of Eddie's old boxes.
I'm just trying to find
anything that will help Martin.
I understand that,
but we're in the middle
of a home improvement.
The workers are
about to get here,
and we're not even up to code.
Okay. Okay. Okay.
I'll... I'll start
to clean all this up.
Sorry.
[tense music]
I want you to tell
your friend, Martin Dye,
to quit talking to people.
Quit investigating.
What?
What are you doing here?
He's ruining business.
He needs to quit
talking to people.
Get out of my house!
You weren't invited in here!
You don't belong here.
Door was open.
I walk into houses all the time.
Send him my message.
Get out of my house!
You have a gun?
Is that really necessary?
Get out!
Get out!
- I'm done.
- Leave!
- I'm done.
- Stop talking and leave!
- Okay, I'm done.
[sighs]
You need to call
Martin right away.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
You know, I really didn't see
you guys as, like, gun people.
Oh, Caroline's a member
of a skeet shooting club.
Seriously?
Wow.
Live and learn.
Do you guys have
a place that you can
maybe go for a couple days?
You think there's more to this
than that nutty
real estate agent?
Maybe.
I know where we
can go, Aunt Norma's.
There we go.
Oh, and George has
a package for you.
Right, right.
Oh, you're gonna love this.
I found Mud Mulligan's letter,
and it's framed.
Oh, well, let me have it.
I don't mean shoot me.
I'm just reaching over
nice and slow.
Come on, guys, we gotta go.
Let's go.
[intriguing music]
"Get well, bud. Mud."
And he framed it?
This is a thank you card list.
Wake registry, there it is.
Tommy Preston.
"I'm glad the foundation
sent you to me."
Mitch Whalen.
"Miss you.
You were my favorite car."
Vaccarro Insurance.
"Can't buy happiness,
but you can buy insurance."
Wow.
Roxanne Graham.
"A student shouldn't
die before his teacher.
I miss you. Rest in peace."
Well, that's Roxy.
That's Miss Magnus.
She's married now.
Hmm.
I was full
of myself back then.
Well, we were younger.
I didn't visit him
in the hospital.
Looking back, that might
have caused more problems.
The first time I saw him
in a wheelchair,
I ran back into my car.
It was too much.
It's understandable.
I went off and got married,
and that didn't work.
The whole teaching thing
didn't bring me any happiness.
Everything that could
go wrong went wrong.
And Eddie?
I didn't talk to Eddie much.
Every once in a while.
You wanted to keep it quiet.
Yes and no.
I was trying to find a new
start, and I told Eddie.
He told me
of the radio station sale,
and the new owners were going to
hire a whole new staff, and
suddenly, the old Eddie
came out.
Roxy, I can get
you the interview,
but you have to land the job.
The new station
would be Christian
faith-based programming.
This is before
I accepted Christ.
[chuckles] I'm a Christian now.
Good for you.
I wanted this.
Good job.
Yes.
In the interview, I told them
I was looking for a fresh start.
They liked that.
My years of teaching told them
I knew young people.
They wanted that.
I liked them, and they
liked my enthusiasm.
I wanted to work on every
project they threw at me.
And did you?
Everything and anything.
[chuckles]
I was working
on the transition team
when Jimmy Kyle was
selling his remaining
shares in the station.
[pensive music]
And at one
of the final meetings,
I saw Jimmy Kyle
and a former student of mine,
Jeff Connor, who was a member
of the legal team
representing
the client's interests.
To me, that was the omen.
I've gone full circle.
Two people from the past...
Jimmy Kyle and Jeff Connor,
a student of mine,
guiding me into the future.
Mm.
The station.
This is where I was meant to be.
I hope Eddie found peace.
[intriguing music]
"Unlucky Night."
Neighborhood around...
Oh, there it is.
[sighs] "Tragedy on Iroquois."
"The accident, a car crash
near Iroquois Avenue,
"killing one passenger,
permanently injuring
the other passenger."
New wrinkle.
A new wrinkle in the story.
Hitchhiker Billy Webb.
Yeah, I was
the hitchhiker that night.
Had a few too many beers.
The girl I thought was mine
left with another guy.
[chuckles]
- Yeah, my best friend.
- [chuckles]
Yeah.
So he had the car,
and I had to hitchhike home.
Oh, that sucks.
Okay, so you're hitchhiking.
Yeah.
Um, there weren't too many
cars on the road that night,
so when they pulled up,
I was delighted.
Though it felt like they were
in the middle of an argument.
[soft music]
Can you give me a ride?
Going to Clark & Hanson.
It's only a couple blocks
before Mohawk.
What are you doing?
Quit being a little fairy.
Come on, get in. We got room.
Y'all partying?
- Yeah.
Did you get lucky?
No, that's why I'm hitching.
I guess you and the guy
in the back seat
got a whole lot in common.
[chuckles] Is he hitching?
No, he never gets lucky.
That's why he's
hugging on to that bag.
Keep it up, dumb-ass.
I picked you up
just to piss him off.
- Keep it up.
- Do you want me to leave?
No, you can stay.
We'll drop you off.
Got plenty more driving to do.
The guy in the back seat
was not happy to see me.
I got out of the car,
didn't think much of it,
and went home.
Stop. Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
Hey, we gotta go.
Radio said it's gonna rain.
A couple days later, my mom
told me about the accident.
It was in the paper, I guess.
This one?
Yeah, that's the car.
My parents wanted me to talk
to the police, so I did.
Told them the story I told you.
I also told them
they were sober,
which is what
they wanted to hear,
so they sent me home.
I kept quiet about it, went
to school upstate that fall,
put it out of my head.
And you didn't know
these guys, right?
No, I went to Catholic school.
I didn't know 'em.
Okay.
The cops, did they
mention anything about a...
About a duffel bag or missing
money or anything like that?
No, that was it.
They sent me home.
Yeah, this is Dave's room.
On the... the night
of his accident,
he was making a delivery
to make a few extra dollars.
He worked a few nights
at Kyle's steak house,
mainly as a busboy.
My brother was such a good guy.
I have two teenage sons now,
and, uh
yeah, they could use an uncle.
My brother would have
made a great uncle.
I'm sure he would have.
[chuckles]
My brother meant a lot to me.
He was special.
I can tell.
Yeah.
Tell me more about
what his life was like.
Um, yeah, well
he had all the problems
a gay teen had back then.
Believe me, bullying,
few friends, secret life.
I mean, our lives
and our school lives
were completely different.
I was a cheerleader.
I went to prom.
We learned a lot more
from a journal he kept.
And no, I'm not gonna give you
the journal.
I wouldn't ask.
Oh, I occasionally see
his old friend Jeff on TV.
He's a successful attorney now.
And I... I see him, and I think
that could have been my brother.
So Dave didn't...
Didn't really talk
to a lot of people then?
No.
I mean, a few.
It was probably just Jeff
and a priest
they both talked to.
Father Bill.
He's no longer a priest.
He's married now.
Yeah, he was a great comfort
to them, a kind man.
[somber music]
Is he still around?
Mm.
So who's this?
Well, that's my wife, Martha.
She wished she could have
been here to meet you,
but she had some
family business.
She really wanted to meet you.
[chuckles]
Well, that's really nice of her.
Wait, was she in the same
line of work
as you there, Father Bill?
Maybe.
And it's been a long time since
someone called me Father Bill.
Coffee's ready.
- Oh.
[sighs] Certain things
I can't talk about.
I understand.
Dave had anger,
and he wasn't gonna take it.
He tried out
for the football team
just so he could
tackle the quarterback.
And he used to
tackle him so hard,
the coach would scream,
what are you doing?
He's on our team!
- [laughs]
And the quarterback would
be laying there just in pain.
Yeah, that was Dave.
Dave fought the bullies
and gave them back
as much as he took,
sometimes more.
Good.
Fighting back's a good thing.
But to Dave, it was justice,
not revenge.
Now, Jeff, you know,
was the studious type, softer.
He was just a kid
from Indian Lanes,
the poorer section of town.
It was just him
and his mom, Kate.
She was a... a willful woman.
I liked her.
They were typical of the era,
a working-class family
just getting by.
Well, it must have worked
because I heard Jeff's
doing pretty well these days.
Well, yeah, he's an attorney.
You don't happen to still
keep in touch with him?
Yeah, I got it
around here someplace.
You want it?
- Yeah.
All right.
Yeah, that's a few blocks
before Mohawk.
The payphone serviced
the people of Indian Lanes.
Jeff was just a kid
from Indian Lanes.
A few blocks from Mohawk?
Payphone service
to Indian Lanes.
Jeff was a kid
from Indian Lanes.
Whoever made that phone call
knows where the money is.
We share a reporter, you and I.
Natalie Joyce.
And she interviewed me
for her talk show,
and she interviewed you for
your, uh, 1649 Argyle project.
Yes.
I was on TV.
And you spoke to Father Bill?
Yeah, well,
he's just Bill now.
But, yeah.
I spoke to Mallory,
Dave's sister.
I haven't talked
to her in years.
There's a lot
of story here, Jeff.
I mean, you've got... you've got
Dave's death, Eddie's injury,
and some missing money.
See, that night, Dave was
making a delivery with Eddie.
Eddie Grant.
And Steve, a server
at the steak house, you know.
Steve told me.
They wanna see you.
That was the plan.
- They barely know me.
- That's not the point.
All right, you're a big boy.
You can handle it, okay?
All right, look,
just trust me, okay?
Just, um...
[suspenseful music]
I got an idea.
Hey, Dave, come here.
Dave, he's kind of my height.
They'll think it's me.
Okay, I know what
I'm doing, all right?
I'll handle this.
Dave, I need you to make
a delivery for me.
Okay, it's more than
you made tonight.
Just put on the company
colors here.
Okay?
Just make a delivery for me.
- Okay.
- All right.
You just drive Eddie
to the location.
You just stay in the car.
Eddie, give him your car keys.
When you get back,
I'll double that.
Sounds good.
I could use the extra cash.
All right, we'll do it.
They wanna see you, but
we'll do it, we'll do it.
They'll think it's me.
Don't worry about it, okay?
Just quit being a little fairy.
Here, take this.
Dave, let's go.
All right.
Thanks, Dave.
So on the drive, they picked
up a hitchhiker, Billy Webb.
Can you give me a ride?
Going to Clark & Hanson.
Spoke to Billy.
What are you doing?
Quit being a little fairy.
Come on, get in. We got room.
Thanks. Thanks a lot.
So then, they... they
dropped off Billy Webb.
And ten blocks later,
they crashed the car.
That night,
someone called the police.
You.
You called the police.
That night...
[sighs] Did you hear
about the accident?
Two boys might be dead.
They crashed their car
near Iroquois.
Where'd you get that money?
The accident.
I was there.
I saw Eddie Grant
and Jimmy Kyle lying there,
and this bag and money.
I called the police
and came running home.
Eddie Grant and Jimmy Kyle?
Weren't they the boys
that beat you up?
[foreboding music]
Eddie, as I live and breathe.
Fairy. Hey.
What's up, asshole?
What are you doing?
- [laughs]
- Stop!
Thought you could
handle this, guys.
[grunting]
[guys laughing]
- Does it hurt?
- [coughs]
Does it hurt?
Does it hurt?
What else is in the bag?
[gasps]
I'll take care of this.
We're gonna keep the money.
This is your ticket out of here.
You are to say nothing.
You understand me?
In a few months,
this will all be forgotten.
[somber music]
I didn't know it was Dave
until days later.
You didn't tell anyone.
No.
No.
I... I told Father Bill
a few weeks later.
It was weighing heavy
on my conscience.
[sighs] And so
I went away to school.
I tried to put it
all out of my mind,
and for a while, I did.
But then one day at the firm,
they asked me to be
a part of a transition team.
I went to the meeting,
and I saw Jimmy Kyle.
We were helping him
with some business,
some rental agreement
transactions
he was dealing with.
[tense music]
In the same meeting,
I saw an old high school teacher
of mine, Miss Magnus.
And seeing those two
bad memories.
I knew I had to leave that firm
and get a different job,
and so I did.
And at the new firm,
two paralegals came in
and told me a story
about how much trouble
they were having
with the building
and the landlord at 1649 Argyle.
Somebody told them that
I was very familiar
with that building owner.
Jimmy Kyle.
And I listened
as they told me all about
how the landlord was kicking out
these gay men with AIDS,
evicting them,
displacing them.
I convinced our firm to take on
the case pro bono, get justice.
About the money in the bag,
what happened to the money?
It paid for college
and law school.
[twangy country music]
So this bag, this stupid bag,
this was in a Hefty bag in
Jeff's mom's attic for 20 years.
And in the side pouch,
look at this,
Eddie's journal of debauchery.
Yeah, everything's in here.
And the last journal entry says,
last stop, 1649...
- Argyle.
- Argyle.
The drugs were
going to Mud Mulligan.
He lived at that address.
Oh, and that... that rumor
about Eddie and the teacher?
Yeah, that's... that's real.
It's all in here, every detail.
Listen, I feel terrible
about this.
Okay, let me write a check.
$25,000 ought
to cover all the expenses.
- What? Stop.
- Well, what about Eddie...
No money's going anywhere.
You paid it back
a million times over.
Look at you.
You think I'm gonna collect
20% commission
when there's people losing
their homes over a disease?
Okay, but what about
Eddie's estate?
This whole thing, you wouldn't
be running around the city...
[both arguing]
- Stop! Stop! Stop!
You've already spent the money
in the best possible way.
You've done a lot
of good with your life.
You know that?
- Yeah.
It's not about the money now.
It's about that
lawsuit with Kyle
and the 1649 Argyle building,
because you're gonna win.
And then all these
other domino pieces
are gonna come falling down.
That book, here, give it to me.
I know just where to put this.
You're one
of the good guys, Jeff.
Keep doing what you're doing.
And I think you know
what you need to do next.
Yeah.
Yeah.
[soft music]
[gentle music]
We need to talk.
[door opens]
Hey, Uncle Marty. I'm back.
Hey, wait.
Where are you going?
Wait up. Hold on. Sit down.
I think I got it.
The key to this whole thing
is the building, 1649 Argyle.
That was Jimmy Kyle's
building, right?
And that was
Mud Mulligan's address.
That's where the money was
headed when it disappeared.
These guys were despicable.
They were putting AIDS patients
out on the streets.
- Ugh.
- Yeah.
And... and I think that
Eddie just wanted
to get over on Jimmy Kyle
just once.
I think he reached out
to those paralegals
that lived there and said,
tell your story to Jeff,
knowing Jeff's a good guy.
He's gonna find a way to help.
And he did.
Right?
Right.
Which brings us
to the Big Four.
Number one, money.
Think about it.
Eddie gets in a car accident
and gets paralyzed for life.
What does Jimmy Kyle do?
He says, oh, you lost my money.
You owe me.
Ugh.
What a dick.
So did Eddie pay it back?
Of course, he did.
He had to, out of his
parents' insurance money.
Why?
Power.
Jimmy had the power.
Eddie knew it.
- Yeah.
He had Jimmy on the brain.
Which brings us to love.
Jeff's mom, Kate,
this woman loved her son so much
that she was willing
to have him do the wrong thing
for the right reason.
She knew that that was the only
chance her son was ever
gonna have to get
out of Indian Lanes
and get a real life, and he did.
He got an education
and became a lawyer.
He helps people
who need it the most.
Talk about money well spent.
Yeah.
And fear.
Eddie's whole life
was about fear.
He was afraid of one unlucky
night, and it happened.
And the people around Eddie,
they were afraid to go near him,
especially after the accident.
They wouldn't even visit him.
As if that was gonna rub off
on him or something.
Poor guy died broken and alone.
- Mm.
- See?
The Big Four, kid.
You solve those,
you're on your way.
Uncle Marty,
I think you just did it.
- I did it.
- You solved the case.
I solved the case.
- You're back.
- [laughs]
- You're back!
- I'm back.
[laughs]
We gotta do something.
We gotta celebrate.
We gotta grab some beer
or something.
We will.
We will,
tomorrow night, I promise.
I'm taking you and your girl
out for a nice dinner.
- All right.
- Okay.
Tonight, though,
Uncle Marty has plans.
Oh.
Don't let me get in your way.
- I will not.
- [chuckles]
[playful music]
[doorbell rings]
- Hi, Dory.
- Hi. [Chuckles]
Wow. You look great.
[chuckles] Oh, nice tie.
Van Gogh.
You noticed.
As promised, one autographed
copy of my book.
Oh, that's sweet.
You know, I have
a copy of your book.
Yeah, I... I just didn't
wanna show up with a pen.
[laughter]
These are for you.
Thank you.
I'm really looking
forward to dinner.
Yeah, me too.
You ready?
Uh, a couple more minutes.
You wanna come in and sit down?
Yes, I do.
[chuckles]
It has been a long day.
[static crackling]
[upbeat music]
[soft music]