The Devil You Know (2022) Movie Script
1
Someone's home.
Supposed to be
on vacation.
Fuck it, we're here now.
- What are you doing in my house?
- Kyle?
- Dad. Mom!
- Go.
House smelled of death
the second we opened the door.
The rook is still in the
bathroom coughing up lunch.
I don't know if it's about
these two or about the kid.
What kid?
I thought he was dead
until he took a breath.
The paramedics have him.
Hey, I hear you're
leaving the department.
Is that true, Joe?
Yeah.
Man, you're not even 50.
What, you hit
the lottery or something?
Sometimes you just know.
You should...
should go canvass.
A man
in Larchmont took his dog
on their normal morning stroll,
something he'd done for years.
Only this time he found
himself being drawn into
what can only be called
a very gruesome scene.
On his walk,
the man noticed
that Nicholas and Wendy
Gervich's front door
was left partially open.
Being friends
with the owners of the home,
he decided to investigate.
Once inside,
he found two people murdered
and their son
brutally beaten.
- Damn shame.
- While we can only speculate
what really happened
in this house last night...
- San Diego?
- No.
Heard about that.
- Damn shame.
- That's what I said.
You still back there
watching the game?
Well, the Padres lost.
I got caught watching the news.
- Lloyd, you know nothing good comes from the news.
- That's right.
I have to get this ready before Marcus gets here.
Hey, hey, hey.
- Hey, family.
- Ha! What's up, Drew?
- What's going on?
- Look at you, boy. You looking good.
- No, no, you looking better.
- Okay, I'll take that.
- What's up, gorgeous?
- Hey, bro.
- Come here. Come on, now.
- Which way we gonna go?
- How are you doing?
- Good to see you.
Pastor, I'm sure I can find that
scripture for you no problem. Okay?
All right, bye.
- Hey, how are you doing?
- Who were you talking to, the pastor?
- Apparently.
- What's up, bro?
What's up, man?
What's up, Dad?
- Hey, son.
- How you feeling?
I'm all right.
- Hey, baby.
- What's up, Mom?
- I'm good.
- Hey, Terry.
The food looks good.
- What's up, Tisha?
- How are you?
Lloyd, Marcus is gonna be
late for his own party.
Has anybody
talked to Marcus?
Four years sober.
I just keep waiting
for it to slip away.
But I keep reminding myself
to stay focused
on my greatest good.
Marcus, would you like
to join in?
Uh, sure.
You all know I've had
trouble staying sober.
Um...
but I think I finally found
a reason to pull through.
That's good,
Marcus.
Would you care to let
us know the reason?
- I got a new job.
- Oh.
Yeah, my dad got me
this great new job.
I'm gonna be driving buses
for the city.
So hopefully,
I'll get my shit together.
Uh, hey, Wanda,
it's Eva returning your call.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Hey.
Yo, Marcus.
Hey, where were you, man?
- You know.
- Oh, that's right. All right. Got you.
Eva. Hey, how you doing?
- Uh, Tisha's in here waiting on you.
- Got to go.
- Okay.
- She's a nurse over at the Cathedral.
Tish and she are good friends.
They're good friends together.
- Mm-hmm.
- Eva, this is Marcus.
Marcus, this is Eva.
- Hi.
- Hey.
No, no, this is the brother. This is the
brother that Tish was telling you about.
Oh, uh, Tisha just said
I was here for dinner.
- She did?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay, come on in. Food...
Food's ready. It's hot.
It's ready.
- Now, Eva?
- Mm-hmm?
Can you do me a favor?
Can you not tell Tish
about this moment
that we just had out here?
Oh, I'm gonna get you
in trouble.
Thank you.
She's really nice.
And Tish told me that she
invited her here to meet you.
But yet here you are in a room
full of men that you already know.
Uh, can y'all tell your
mother to mind her business?
Uh, excuse me, son.
You are my business.
You're my baby.
So does anybody want to
help with the dishes?
Nobody? Really?
Pop?
Pop?
- Hey, Marcus.
- Yeah?
Would you please get
your old daddy a beer?
Oh, my goodness,
you too, Pop?
Yeah, Marcus.
Get your dad a beer.
Be cool.
What's up, y'all?
Hey.
Oh, man,
that food was good.
You know what? Let me go see if I
can find some more dishes, okay?
Mm-hmm.
You have a good time
tonight?
Yeah, I did.
- My mama can burn.
- Mm-hmm.
You?
So you're starting
a new job tomorrow.
You nervous?
Little bit, yeah.
Some advice?
Try not to think
about failing.
Just let things flow.
Hey, yo, Terry.
Huh?
Terry!
Coming, coming, coming.
Hey, give that to Pop.
I'm, uh, gonna help out with the dishes.
You don't do dishes.
Dry-snitching.
You must be the baby brother.
I like her.
Oh, yeah, I'm...
You know, for the record,
I don't have anything to do
with the whole set-up thing.
- Blind date...
- I can tell.
- You've been avoiding me all night.
- No, I wasn't avoiding you.
I just didn't want you
to feel pressured.
I appreciate that.
That's the worst feeling.
You being pressured?
Yeah, I feel like that
all the time.
By who?
Me.
Tish, um, had a lot of nice
things to say about you.
I should have figured
something was up.
Tish talks a lot.
She does.
Yeah.
Did Tish tell you
anything about me?
I mean, no. Like I said,
you were a complete surprise.
Did she tell you
anything about me?
Life's been hard for you,
but you keep trying.
I lost my two oldest brothers
to LA life.
One to drugs,
the other to gang violence.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- Mmm.
I kind of gave up on brothers
who were trying to get
themselves together,
until I realized we're all
trying to get ourselves together.
I haven't dated in a while.
It's hard when you nurse,
and I want to find
a good brother.
And now I sound desperate.
- So now I'm shutting up.
- No, you...
Let me ask you something.
Are you always this honest?
Surprises are for birthdays
and Christmas.
Not when you're trying
to get to know someone.
Hmm.
Go.
So, uh,
I guess this is good night.
Or this is when you
ask me for my number.
555-6433.
Tish gave it to me
when we were...
She texted it to me when
we were cleaning up the kitchen.
Of course she did.
- Yeah. Told you she got a big mouth.
- Yup.
You should use it.
Yes, ma'am.
- I should go. Mm-hmm.
- All right.
- Hey, get home safe.
- I will.
- Bye-bye.
- Good night.
Good night.
I can drive, man.
Let me drive.
You're drunk off your ass.
- I'm gonna get him home.
- You're gonna take him?
Yup, I got it.
I got it, Pop.
No, no, you're going
with Marcus.
- Here you go.
- All right then, you got him?
- Yup, I got him.
- Love y'all.
It ain't cool getting drunk
like that in front of Marcus.
- All right. I love you, Pop.
- It's all good.
- Mm-hmm, you too.
- Goddamn.
Wait, wait,
wait, wait.
Don't throw up
on my walkway.
Uh-uh, uh-uh.
- I love you, man.
- Hey, I love you too.
You're not here much,
are you?
I stay at Rhea's
most of the time.
She won't stay here.
You should try cleaning up
every now and then.
You feeling good
about yourself, huh?
- Yeah, I guess.
- Hmm.
You're sober.
You got a job.
Shit is looking up, man.
You're sounding jealous.
I guess Mama praying to Jesus
and his cousins finally worked.
You know, you like a cat.
Black cat.
You got nine goddamn lives.
You ain't happy for me?
Marcus, sit down.
I think if I keep looking up,
I'ma throw up.
You know...
it's like you and I
traded places.
I lost my job, man.
The gas company?
That job's for life.
Corporate bullshit.
Me and some folks
got caught in the middle.
It's been a few months now.
You'll come through.
I gotta do more
than come through.
Rhea broke up with me.
Drew Jr. needs books
for college, man.
These bills, they're coming
out of my ass right now.
You know, like, shit
is real rough right now.
Like for real,
this shit is rough.
Look.
I'ma be honest,
nobody really
liked Rhea anyway.
So you might have
made out on that one.
As soon as I get paid,
I'll hit you up with some money.
When you get paid,
you're gonna have your fair
share of people to pay back.
- That don't mean I can't help you.
- Oh, there you go.
Reggie Jackson.
Hank Aaron?
Damn, you got
a Derek Jeter rookie card?
Where you get these?
You got these for Daddy?
'Cause he's
gonna lose his shit.
I'm holding them for Stacy.
Stacy-and-Al Stacy?
Drew, you know those cats are trouble.
They always have been.
Man, they ain't never
did wrong by me.
Helped me out a time or two.
Some crackhead
walked into the barbershop
and sold it to him
for pennies.
He googled some of 'em.
Saw that they
was worth something.
He didn't wanna keep 'em
at the shop.
Worth a lot?
Oh, yeah. Hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
Man, I'm just
helping him out, bro.
This ain't nothing.
You're helping out somebody
you need to stay away from.
It's my first day tomorrow.
I don't want to screw it up.
You good, bro?
Yeah. Yeah,
I'll be all right.
Mmm.
Hey, Marcus?
You gonna holla
at that ol' girl?
Eva.
You see how fine she is?
I ain't letting that slip by.
Love you, big bro.
All right,
I love you too, man.
Mmm, shit.
All right,
let me get this straight.
You honestly
want me to believe
that you haven't dated
anybody in two years?
Mm-hmm.
The last dude was just as bad
as the last dude before him.
I was tired of last dudes.
Damn. That's funny.
When was
the last time for you?
What you mean,
dating somebody?
"What you mean,
dating somebody?
I mean, I had some things
with some women and..."
All right, look.
Since you're being honest,
I'ma be honest and just let you know.
I'ma confess.
- Okay.
- All right.
I'm... I'm a born-again virgin.
I'm as clean as the driven snow.
Seriously.
There is no such thing.
- Hi, y'all good?
- Yeah, everything's good.
- May I have some more water, please?
- Yes, yes.
Thank you.
Can I ask...
y'all celebrating something?
Why do you ask that?
Because the vibe
between you two is strong.
It's... You both seem in love,
in a good place.
I'll be back.
- The vibes.
- The vibes.
- Look, it's a vibe.
- It's a vibe.
Yeah, but you know what? She's way off.
Because my girl,
she's gotta be rich
and have one of them big ol'
Megan Thee Stallion booties.
- 'Cause my virginity don't come cheap.
- Okay.
- You know what I'm saying?
- Mm-hmm.
And you ain't rich,
so, hey.
So, hey.
You been looking at my booty.
I made sure you were the right
person, that's all.
- That's all it was.
- You're so stupid.
Shit, let me check
that shit out again.
Good morning.
Morning.
I made breakfast.
I see. It looks good.
What you want?
Why I gotta
want something?
'Cause normally you break off
some eggs, some toast maybe.
- But this?
- It's breakfast.
That's all.
Okay.
Can we go dancing
this weekend?
- My friend's having a party and...
- I knew you wanted something.
You know I can't dance, E.
You gonna have me looking like
a damn fool with two left feet.
Come on. You can't say no to someone
who cooks for you and loves...
likes you.
I... I'm sorry... I...
Normally, when a woman
says that type of shit to me,
- I pull away.
- Marcus,
I know that maybe
that was a little premature...
My brothers are the only people
with a key to my house.
And I'm tired of you waking me up to
let you in after you get off work.
I want you to know
that I want you here.
If I take this,
you ain't getting rid of me.
That is the point.
I love you.
I guess that means we're
going dancing this weekend.
Oh, no, it don't.
Tonight, we'll investigate
the still-unsolved
Gervich murders.
A son survives,
and the question...
Did you hear about this?
Poor kid comes out of a coma
after three months.
His parents were killed.
Kyle,
you survived a horrendous event.
These nightmares you're having,
are they about the attack?
In my dreams,
I still see my dad.
We're...
collecting baseball cards again
like we used to.
A tragic
attack on an innocent family
leads to heartbreak
in the aftermath.
Kyle Gervich,
the survivor of a home invasion,
remembers his father and mother,
who were shot and killed.
Tonight at 10:00, Vernon Nelson
will bring you an interview...
It's a damn shame
something like that could happen.
Ugh, I'm gonna be late,
you're gonna be late.
We'll talk about dancing
when you get home tonight.
I love you too.
She wrote that tell-all
on who she slept with,
who she was making bread off of.
That's when
she crossed the line.
Hey, look, you're sucking dudes
off, just shut the fuck up.
That's what I'm saying. She had to
make sure that that paper was right.
She just better be glad that it
wasn't me she was talking about.
Bitch, you better be glad.
Definitely better be glad
that it wasn't you.
'Cause if it was,
she would've had him stuck up...
Hey, yo, Al here is a captain
of the save-a-ho industry.
- Yo, what up?
- Stupid, bro, stupid.
- What up, bro?
- What's up, D?
Oh, shit,
you in trouble, D.
Nah, nah,
it ain't like that.
But, D, let me holla
at you real quick.
Cop a seat, bro.
Nah, nah, nah.
It's about Ant. Right quick.
Yo, bro, everything all right?
Yo, what happened with Ant?
Nothing. I just ain't wanna
talk in front of them.
Yo, you still got
them baseball cards?
If you're thinking
about talking me into
giving them cards to Pop,
I can't do that.
They were stolen.
- Hey man, how you know that?
- It was on the news.
The parents were murdered.
The boy survived.
They showed a picture
of him and his father
holding that binder
I saw at your crib.
- That can't be right, Marcus.
- I saw it with my own eyes, D.
If you still got 'em,
you need to give 'em back to Stacy
and stay the fuck away from
those two before shit goes left.
The cops ain't gonna know
that they came from Stacy.
- Stacy got the cards from the...
- From the crackhead, I get it.
But if they start looking for
him, it could lead back to Stacy.
How you know Stacy ain't lying about where
he got the cards from in the first place?
- What makes you think that Stacy lying, bro?
- Come on, man.
Al's been a stickup kid
since I was a shorty.
And Stacy's still in the drug game
even though he got the barber shop.
Wow. You can straighten up,
but they can't?
Somebody ran up
in them white folks' house
and murdered the mother,
murdered the father,
and beat that little boy
with a goddamn baseball bat.
And those cards are
connected to that family.
Y'all looking kind of
heated over there.
All good?
Yeah,
everything's good, bro.
Yo, I heard you. All right, man.
- All right.
- Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
- I love you. All right.
- I love you too.
Yup, appreciate that.
Stacy hook you up?
You need it.
Nah, I'm good.
Get that old-man beard
looking all tight.
You sure, bro?
Hello.
Yo, what's up?
It's Marcus.
Hey, what's up, big bro?
You been talking to Drew?
Okay, you know what,
I can tell by your tone
you know he's
in deep trouble.
Nobody wanted to say
anything to you
because of everything you've
been going through, so...
He ain't been doing
nothing stupid, has he?
Nah.
Me and Terry, we just been
kicking him a little money.
It's not much money,
but it's enough to keep him afloat.
And he seems
like he's good?
You know he likes
to keep things inside.
But it doesn't seem like
there's something deep going on.
Why you ask?
Look, um...
Ah, it's just, uh...
I'm just a little worried
about him is all, you know.
Everybody's always
so focused on me, and...
Well, luckily, he's not as
off-the-chain as you used to be either.
Right?
Yeah.
Should we be worried?
Nah, nah, nah.
I just wanted to check in.
Make sure everything
is, you know...
- You sure?
- Yeah.
How are you and Eva?
- Eva's good.
- Eva's good?
Yeah.
Well, y'all two should come by
the crib sometime for some dinner.
Just us and the ladies.
- We could do that.
- All right.
- All right, man.
- All right, man. Love you.
Love you too, bro.
What's up, D?
What up?
So you think
that was a smart move?
Asking me if shit is bad
around niggas that you think
may have it bad for me?
I need you to know
how serious this is.
Look, man, I know you being sober
and all gave you a conscience...
Going to jail gave me a conscience.
Being sober means I live with it.
Drew, just go online
and pull up the news segment.
If Stacy did what you said,
Marcus,
remember this is Al and Stacy
that we talking about.
- I know.
- If I give those cards back,
they're gonna think
that I can't be trusted.
Then what?
You remember
what happened to Bob Cat?
They never found him.
If you think they did that,
then let the police
deal with it.
Don't fuck around and get us
caught up in something, man?
All right?
Come on, man.
Mm-hmm.
You look good, bro.
You still can't play ball.
So your girl
dresses you now, huh?
And what I've heard from
every neighbor that we've spoken to,
is that this was
a loving family.
A family that would do
whatever they could
to help people in need. And they did
not deserve this tragic, brutal end.
Any idea if the police
are close on any suspects?
That's the sad part, Rick.
There was no trace
of evidence left behind,
which makes the police think these
were cold, calculated invaders
who may have done this before.
There's hope that someone
will stop these criminals
before they kill again.
Reporting live,
I'm Vernon Nelson for KRAC.
God, what a terrible
position to be put in.
To snitch?
Yeah.
Would you be good
knowing someone
who might have
been involved?
I hope I ain't ever
put in that situation.
Would you?
How you doing? Um, I have information
on the Gervich home invasion.
Tell Nate I'm gonna let them sit for the
night. Give them something to think about.
Copy that.
Hey, man.
Leave that other team alone,
the purple and gold.
All right?
That's the way.
Hey, what up, D?
Yo, Al and Stacy got arrested.
- Really?
- I need to know that they ain't being taken in
because of you.
Me? You said I was
overreacting, so I fell back.
All right.
All right, man.
Why'd you keep me here overnight,
Officer Blue Over Black?
So why'd you keep me overnight?
You ever watch
reality cop shows on TV?
We separate you.
Then we ask questions.
Then we shake you up
to see if the answers jibe.
At least you started
with the truth.
Good, your turn.
I want you to think back
maybe three months ago.
Tell me your whereabouts
three months ago
- on the night of the 16th.
- Hmm.
My guess, Chops.
Chops.
You know,
try to have a few drinks,
hang out with the ladies.
But I do remember
it was crowded that night.
So we, um, probably
took off maybe 11:30?
Actually, maybe like
11:00, 11:15?
You were in a club
all night?
In and out. You know,
some of the ladies
like to hang out outside.
Do all their, like,
videos and shit.
What'd you think
a handsome cat gonna do?
I'ma be in and out.
Um,
but I don't know, man.
I don't really remember.
It was a while ago.
Three months?
Had a few drinks...
And we usually
go as a crew.
And we usually run into
a bunch of people we know.
We always bump
into folks that we know.
And for some reason, we didn't bump
into anybody we know that night.
- Nobody was there.
- Hmm.
So we bounced early.
I had to work.
I had to start cutting early
the next morning.
Got out of there like...
what did I say before?
11:30, 11:15?
Something like that.
You work at
Dillaman's Department Store.
What gave it away?
Mr. Gervich ate
at Dillaman's Caf a lot.
He valeted when he did.
He left his tickets in his door panel.
I don't know that, man.
I don't go to Al's job.
I got my own shit.
Look, man. A lot of people
eat lunch at Dillaman's.
Lunch time is a very busy time.
And even if I did see that dude,
I wouldn't remember him.
I see a lot of faces in there.
So you don't know him?
I don't know him.
And you don't know me
unless you been to Chops.
So it was just you and
Stacy at Chops that night?
Nah, it was me, Stacy,
and Drew Cowans.
He can vouch for us.
He's here, right?
- Got it. Yeah.
- Got it?
Hey, you guys wanna head
over to the Advent with me tonight?
Hear what kind of lies
Andrew is gonna be telling?
The worst ever.
The absolute worst.
If it wasn't for him,
I'd have never met your mama.
Really?
You think Marcus
might wanna come?
No, no. Marcus is
all cuddled up, Dad.
- All cuddled up.
- Mmm.
- He good.
- Yeah?
- Yes, sir.
- Yes.
Good, good, about time
he found some peace of mind.
"Peace of mind."
Mm-hmm.
Looking for Drew Cowans.
Detective Joe McDonald, LAPD.
I'm his father.
Nice to meet you.
Just need to ask him
a few questions
about Al Edwards
and Stacy Griffin.
- Why?
- And you are?
I'm his older brother.
Why are you at this house?
This is the address he put
down for his, uh, former job.
Former?
He hasn't worked
in six months.
That's my son.
Yeah, but before you put
a hand on him,
you need to tell me what your
gonna speak to him about.
- All right.
- No, hey.
- Hey.
- You need to tell me
- what you gonna speak to him about.
- Daddy, what's going on?
Drew, these men
are here to talk to you.
- Drew Cowans, you're under arrest.
- Under arrest?
Your friends Al
and Stacy implicated you
in an investigation
regarding a home invasion
- that occurred about three months ago.
- A home invasion?
What the fuck you talking about?
Get off me! Daddy!
- I got it. Don't worry.
- Daddy, I ain't do nothing!
I know you didn't. What are you
talking about? A home invasion?
- The Gervich family.
- The Gervich family, you mean
that husband and wife
that got killed
- and the little boy survived?
- Yes, sir.
My son didn't have
nothing to do with that.
My son didn't have
anything to do with that!
Calm down!
I'll call your mother.
I'm going to call your...
Dad, Dad!
If you kill
my fucking daddy, I swear...
I swear to fucking God!
- Get off me, man!
- Get an ambulance here now.
Open the fucking door!
Let him down. Put him down.
Get the fuck
out of here, man.
What happened?
Cops came to the house
looking for Drew.
It's about that murder.
That, um,
that fucking home invasion.
Drew's a suspect?
It was Al and Stacy.
They must have lied
about something
that got Drew brought in.
Drew's in custody.
Where's Mama?
She's in there with Daddy.
Look, why don't you
be with your brothers?
I'll check in with you
later, okay?
Marcus, you know anything about how
Drew got caught up in all this shit?
Hanging with Al and Stacy.
Hanging with someone
isn't a good enough reason
- to bring him in for murder, Marcus.
- Okay.
Watch it, we're here for Dad.
- It's Drew.
- Look, look.
Look, why don't you all
both go home, get some sleep,
I'll stay with Mama
the rest of the night.
- Are you sure?
- I'll let you know if anything changes.
- Bro, I can stay here with you.
- No, I got it. Get some rest.
Love you too.
Hey, boy.
Hey, Pop.
How you feeling?
Yeah, had my ticker attack.
It's funny how
all the beating up my body took
when I was working
at the post office...
never thought
that I'd get laid out
just 'cause a policeman
come to the door.
Hey, man.
What you gonna do?
- You just getting old.
- Ain't nobody old.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Where's your mama at?
She's right over there
sleeping.
No, I ain't.
I can hear you fools.
So y'all hear, uh,
anything about Drew?
No, ma'am, not yet.
"Della, I ain't gonna let
nothing stress me out."
You old lying ass.
Look, you old man.
Since Marcus is here,
- I'm gonna go stretch my legs, okay?
- Mm-hmm.
All right.
You behave yourself.
Just when we get you
out of trouble,
hell's come knocking again.
No, Pop.
You ain't got to worry
about none of that.
Yup. I think I'll just
rest my eyes a bit.
- Hey, baby.
- Hey, Ma.
So is he asking
for me already?
Nah, he fell asleep.
How are you holding up?
Oh, baby, I'm tired.
I just can't believe that
Drew got pulled into this.
I mean, that he got dragged
into this bullshit.
I know, it's...
It's crazy.
Ma, I got something
to tell you.
Okay.
I need you to
hear me out, okay?
All right.
All right,
you remember the story about
that family that got killed
in that home invasion?
Yeah,
it was on the news.
This is gonna
sound crazy, but...
So, I saw their son on TV,
and he was talking about these stolen
baseball cards that his father got for him.
Yeah, Marcus, I know all that.
Just get to the point. What?
Now, you remember, uh,
the night we were at the house
and Drew
got really drunk, right?
Now, that family,
I think they got killed
the night before
or something like that?
- That's the night I drove Drew home, right?
- Mm-hmm, right.
I saw those cards
on Drew's coffee table.
Oh, Marcus,
are you trying to say
that Drew killed
those people?
No, I'm not saying that.
I'm saying I saw those cards
on his coffee table.
But listen, he told me
that Stacy got the cards
from some crackhead
at the barbershop,
and he was giving them to Drew to
just hold them for safekeeping.
But I saw those cards.
Baby, I'm sorry,
but right now,
with my son in jail and my
husband in that hospital room,
I can't wrap my mind around
anything that's being said, Marcus.
Just like I didn't
want to believe
when everybody said
that you killed Tooley.
I don't want
to hear this right now.
Good night, Marcus.
- Ma.
- Baby.
I said good night, son.
Yes, ma'am.
- I'll call you later.
- Okay.
Okay, so, tell me what
you know about these people.
Have you seen them before?
No.
It looks like
a beautiful white family.
The parents were murdered.
And...
everybody in here thinks it
was somebody Black who did it.
So...
right now, there's a hunt.
Are you comfortable
with that?
No, I have no control over that.
Actually, you do.
If you tell me
that you were involved
and you tell me that you
know who else was involved...
nobody else has to get hurt.
Like I said, I really hope you
find who did that to them people.
Okay.
Okay. You can go now.
Well, what about Al and Stacy?
It's 5:00.
I spent spent so much time
here with you that I forgot
to tell the guys up front
that they could cut 'em loose.
So?
So they're here for the weekend.
Hmm. Because you think
they did it.
Because it's an ongoing
investigation, Andrew.
Right.
I just never thought I'd end
up in an interrogation room.
I don't know bullshit.
This is my brother's territory.
So you're saying you think your brother
may have something to do with this?
- You okay?
- Yeah.
- Huh?
- Yeah. You all right?
Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine.
So why'd they keep you
overnight?
No idea.
Have a seat, Pop.
Yeah, sit down, Daddy.
- You're good?
- Yeah, all right. We good. We good.
- Well, they asked me some questions.
- Mm-hmm.
- I told them where we were that night.
- Mm-hmm.
And then they let me out.
Hmm.
Well...
Della wants to
sue the city.
And I agree.
It'll cost us a bit,
but we can come up with it.
We would do this one.
We'd mortgage the house.
- No, no, no, that's not...
- No... Hmm?
That's not necessary, Pop.
We need to focus on you
getting your strength back.
Yeah, but come on, Drew,
I mean, the only thing
that's gonna really make him
better is if we clear your name.
I'm fine. We're fine.
All right?
- All right, boy.
- All right, Pop.
Look, this thing's
gonna blow over. All right?
Okay, okay,
okay, okay.
- Father God, we come to you in the name of Jesus.
- Mm-hmm.
Lord God, we want to thank you
for the food that nourishes...
And thank you God, Jesus, thank you
for people coming to the end of prayers
when it's time to eat
this food on the table.
We thank you, Jesus.
Thank you. Amen.
- Thank you, Jesus. I'm just saying.
- Baby.
Seriously, man?
I mean, y'all do recognize
I'm the one that keeps
this family together.
With my good words
to the Lord, that's me.
- Why don't you just let me finish my prayer?
- It's long.
- It's long?
- It's long.
Look here,
Daddy's gonna starve.
- That's true.
- Okay, so let the church say...
Amen.
Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
All right, Pop.
Did the doctors say when you can go home?
They said they've got a couple more
tests to run to make sure he's okay,
- but, um, it should be end of the week, right?
- Thank you for telling us, Daddy.
- You're welcome.
- Why?
Why are you saying
when he's right there?
- She asked a question.
- Not to you.
I can't with you, bro.
I can't with you.
Eva, it sure is good
to have you here.
Oh, I'm so glad to be here.
It's been a long time since Marcus
brought someone home as nice as you.
I agree.
I ain't the only one
to say it.
Hey, Drew, uh,
what time Rhea coming?
- We took a break.
- Mm-hmm. "Break."
She wasn't good enough
for you anyway, if you ask me.
Probably called the police
to see if she can get the money.
Mm-hmm.
What is it that
that woman has ever done
to make you hate her so?
Well, if she was anything
like Tish or Loren or Eva,
which she is not,
I wouldn't have
a problem with her.
Tish, you gotta do for Drew
what you did for Marcus.
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
Drew, what kind of women
you like?
Hey, babe, what you doing?
You pimping people out up in this house?
- It's not what it is.
- I might date Eva.
Uh-oh.
- Shots fired.
- It's a joke.
It's a joke. It's a joke.
It's good to see your dad getting better.
It is.
Who are you avoiding?
Terry wants me
to come to Bible study.
I got too many sins for that.
Oh, well.
Let me take you to the water.
Ain't mad at that.
You ain't got
no real cereal, bro?
That is real cereal.
And I need my key back.
I knocked.
I called a couple of times
after you left
the hospital last night.
You ain't pick up.
Went to bed early.
You don't want to know what happened
with me at the police station?
I figured you ain't
wanna talk about it.
Nothing happened.
Not a goddamn thing.
And that ain't good.
They let me go early.
But they kept Al and Stacy
over the weekend.
You lied, bro.
About what?
You told me you ain't snitch.
Cops said the only reason
that they brought me in
is because Al said
that the three of us
was together the night
of the home invasion.
But they let me out.
Which mean, Marcus,
whoever gave them that information
didn't say shit about me.
So if Stacy bought them cards
from somebody in the shop,
he tells the truth,
this all blows away.
But that ain't
going to happen, is it?
Al and Stacy pulled
that home invasion.
- I was with them.
- Drew!
Man, they talked me
into going along with 'em.
Said it would be
an in-and-out thing.
That Gervich...
he had some money at the crib.
We get there and, uh...
Man, Al goes in there, man,
and he shoots up the fucking place.
Fucks up that little kid, man.
I go in there after,
and, uh...
...I see the...
I see the husband and wife.
How was I supposed to know they was gonna
go in there and kill those people, man?
I'm broke, Marcus.
Man,
I've been broke for months.
They said that
they'd done this before.
That it was
an in-and-out thing, man,
that they rarely hurt anybody.
All I did was drive,
Marcus. That's it.
They ain't let me do anything because
I'm too new to this shit, man.
Why you let them talk you
into doing that, Drew?
Did you make the call?
Man, did you make the call,
Marcus?
If I did, it would have
been to protect you, Drew.
From getting caught up
in Stacy and Al's shit.
Yeah, well, that's
what the fuck happened, man.
Go to the cops.
Fuck that.
What you trying to do? Hmm?
You trying to send Dad
to the grave?
He barely survived
your shit, nigga.
I see you got company.
What up, Eva?
You knew he was involved?
Let's give God the glory.
Now I planned to talk
about family and connection,
and being there for your family,
But I'm sure
that after 20-plus years,
you've heard different versions of
the same speech over and over again.
So instead, I'm gonna turn
the pulpit over
to someone who has
served this church well.
Welcome,
Assistant Pastor Terry Cowans.
- Did you know about this?
- I did.
Thank you,
Pastor Thomas.
Good morning, everyone.
Good morning.
- Good morning, family.
- Good morning.
- Mama.
- Baby.
Today I want to talk about
embracing your loved ones...
with the utmost care
during trying times.
Letting your faith lead you and them
when the path in front of you
seems to be at its darkest.
Sure, we have angels
that protect us.
God's love
is always surrounding us.
But who do we protect?
Who are we responsible for?
Fellowship, a family...
coming together
when times get hard.
How are we doing this
with each other?
So Terry did good, huh?
Yeah, yeah.
The pastor said
he's gonna do another sermon.
Oh.
Oh, I wish
I could have seen that.
- I don't.
- Oh, listen to you. Listen to you.
You ain't worth a quarter.
Now look, um, I need you all
to make sure...
you look out for Drew.
You hear?
Don't let this
get him down. Okay?
- We'll do what we can.
- No, no.
Do everything you can.
Hmm?
Yes, sir.
Marcus Cowans.
Yes?
Detective Joe McDonald.
Homicide.
You shouldn't have went
to my parents' house.
It's the only address
I had for Drew.
So what you doing here?
I wanted to ask you if you knew
anything about an anonymous tip
that was called in
about the Gervich case.
It's the reason we
brought your brother in.
Why you coming to me?
I just told you.
You have any evidence
on Drew and his friends?
It's an active
investigation, Marcus.
Pick up a piece here,
pick up a piece there.
Picking up pieces.
That's the same shit
the cops did
when they tried
to hit me up in my case.
- Can't trust y'all in these situations.
- I understand.
That's why I
try to be thorough.
Thorough isn't
harassing family members.
Try telling that
to the victims' family.
That's a shitty way
to try to get info.
Had to take a leap.
Don't take a leap.
Solve the case.
Hi, it's Eva.
I can't take your call right now.
But please leave your name,
number, and a message.
And I'll call you back as soon as I can.
Thank you.
Eva, it's, uh... it's me.
It's been two days.
Will you please call me back?
Maybe somebody at your job
figured out what you been doing.
It wasn't anyone
at my job.
Or my crib, Drew.
Do you know why?
'Cause I don't fucking talk to
nobody about what Stacy and I do.
No one except for him.
And he ain't
saying shit.
So the question is,
homeboy...
- Who'd you tell?
- Look, man, don't put this shit on me.
We're putting it
on someone.
Cops on us.
Our names are in front of this.
Maybe this did find its way
to us through y'all.
You say that you don't be talking
to nobody. Doesn't mean that people
- don't see the shit that you be doing.
- Don't nobody be seeing shit, D.
However it got started,
this is gonna be a problem.
Then we get rid of
the stuff at the house.
Everything.
Jewelry, whatever we found,
the cards.
That's a lot of money
to just fuck off.
- Versus our lives in prison, which one sounds better?
- Let us think about it.
Just, um, chill,
till we figure some things out.
We'll hit you.
We need to make a move
on this sooner than later.
I'm serious, man. Y'all fucking around.
Make moves on this shit, nigga.
You think he told?
I think all this shit started
from when Marcus came in here.
And I told your fucking dumbass
not to give him those cards.
- Thank you.
- See you soon.
See you.
Hey, what's up, Greg?
You good? How's everything?
Well,
thanks for coming, Anthony.
So, um, Mr. Carruthers wanted me
to come out and talk to you.
And the old man,
he's got, uh,
people in law enforcement,
and they said that your brother got
pulled in on that family that was...
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Drew didn't do that.
I mean, yeah,
he got pulled in, but...
I'm... I'm confused.
What's this have to do with me, though?
Um, Mr. Carruthers
is an old guy,
and he thinks about
what other people say
and think.
I'm sorry.
Fired me from
my fucking job, man.
What...
You know what?
You should sue
them motherfuckers.
I ain't got no money
to be trying to sue
some rich old white man.
I'm just praying that Drew
ain't got shit to do with this.
I mean, I could...
I mean, you think Drew
had something to do with this?
That's your phone.
Okay.
Oh. Hello.
Yes, ma'am.
Ah, good. Okay.
Yep, we're on our way.
- Finally some good news.
- What's up?
There he is.
- Come on, come on with yourself.
- There he is!
- What's up, Dad? How you doing?
- Hey. What's that?
- You sure look old, Daddy.
- Oh, man, ain't nobody talking...
- Good to see you, man.
- That's because all y'all driving me crazy.
No, I don't need that.
I don't need it.
You get in it.
- Thank you, man. Appreciate it.
- You're welcome.
- I'm all right.
- You good?
- Yeah. Your mama get home yet?
- No, she's not home yet.
- The game's on though. Yeah.
- The game's on?
Well, what we waiting for?
Why y'all walking so damn slow?
You the one walking slow.
Your mama and I are talking
about mortgaging the house.
Get you a lawyer.
Pops. Y'all can get me
12 lawyers.
If the cops think I'm guilty,
they're gonna keep coming after me.
The question is,
do you think I did it?
No.
That's all that matters
then, Pop.
Still smart to get you a lawyer.
Yeah, you see,
Marcus got experience with these things.
Need to listen to him.
Pop, you already stressed out
from your helping out Marcus.
I don't wanna be a burden.
Since when did you start
making decisions for me?
Be quiet so we can watch the game.
I got something to do.
I'll see y'all later.
- You out?
- Yeah.
Be safe.
All right, bro.
Yeah, I'm worried
about him too.
He okay?
Yeah, I mean, he got a lot on his
mind, but he's good.
He's a lot stronger
than he used to be, Dad.
Getting you a lawyer, boy.
Hey, how you doing?
Uh, I'm looking for Eva Dylan.
I'm a friend of hers.
Uh, she works here.
Um, never mind.
Uh-uh, Marcus.
Come on.
Tish, Tish. I got this.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, Tish. I got this.
I ain't gonna ask
if you got my calls,
'cause I'm pretty sure
you got all my messages.
You knew there was a chance your
brother may have been involved
and you kept it to yourself.
There was nothing to talk about.
Eva, I was just trying
to figure out what was going on.
You understand by not telling
me, you put me at risk?
I didn't know enough
to tell you anything.
I mean, come on, Eva.
You know how crazy this type of shit is.
Everything you've been through
with your brothers.
One of them is dead
because of shit like this.
Everybody suffers.
This kind of thing consumes you.
You think
I don't know that?
I'm the one who called in the
anonymous tip on Al and Stacy.
But not on your brother?
I was trying to protect my
brother from all this shit.
You gonna fault me for that?
I'm not gonna
question your choice.
I was blind to a lot of shit
my brothers did.
So you just do
what you gotta do.
As long as it don't
come back to you, huh?
Thanks, man.
Hey, you're out late.
Good to see you, man.
I know, I know, I know.
I owe you a drink.
It's all good.
I don't even need
- to ask this from you.
- How's the night going?
- It's going all right. It's a little slow.
- Slow?
Should have been in here Tuesday.
They got this...
Where's that... No, the...
- I know who you're talking about. You talking about Karen?
- Mm-hmm.
Hey, homey.
Let me holla at you.
Oh, you on one? Huh?
'Cause you think you know shit?
You ask him
about some baseball cards?
I know what
your brother told you.
- Al, back up, man.
- But he ain't so innocent.
Look, man, we don't want
no shit with this dude.
You talk to the cops, Marcus?
Dumbass, don't do
this shit right here.
Shut the fuck up.
Second your little brother
steps in the joint, he's dead.
- Al!
- So maybe,
you want to rethink this, huh?
Yo, what the fuck, man! Come on!
Al!
Oh, shit. Whoa, whoa!
Whoa.
What's up?
You better fucking kill us.
Because if you don't,
I'm gonna find you
and I'm gonna finish this shit.
We can finish it now,
motherfucker.
Okay, okay.
We'll see you.
Anyone in your family
wanna talk to the cops,
you tell 'em
Drew killed that family.
- Hey, what the fuck! Come on.
- Huh? You heard me?
Drew killed those people!
- Come on!
- Tell 'em that. You'll get yours.
Let's go, man.
Come on. Let's go!
The fuck?
Why? Why?
Marcus, Marcus.
Well, then,
what do you want us to do?
Why'd you even do the thing
in the first place?
- You could have just came to your family.
- You ain't got no money.
- What are you talking about?
- Okay, it's not about that...
He called in the anonymous tip
just to protect your Black ass.
I wasn't a part of the robbery, Ant,
that's what I tried to tell Marcus.
But you were there!
You know what?
I just figured out something.
You made that call, 'cause by helping
me, it makes me look like
- a piece of shit, just like you.
- Hey!
Those assholes
do not get to put their hand
on anybody in the Cowans family.
You understand me?
Do you fucking understand me?
Heard you, man.
So we gonna go talk to 'em.
- Let's go.
- No, we're not doing that.
- So now you're protecting them?
- No.
I'm trying to keep this shit from
getting crazier than what it already is.
I'ma go talk to 'em tomorrow.
Drew, you need to stay away
from both of 'em.
You right, T.
But do you think they really
gonna listen to you and Ant?
Come on, man.
- Let him go, T.
- After what they did to you,
- you wanna let him go down there?
- Let him go.
They're his friends, right?
So if they beat him up,
then we can go to the cops.
Then Drew can tell the police
everything they need to hear.
And this will all go away.
Look, I'ma call y'all
as soon as I talk to 'em
tomorrow, all right?
Drew, Drew. Drew, don't go around
there screwing with these guys.
Just go there, and tell 'em
to leave Marcus alone,
and put these motherfuckers
in your rearview. All right?
All right.
- Ant.
- Hey.
Don't do nothing stupid.
Al told me
you killed that family.
You of all people should know, Marcus,
that when shit is falling apart,
you don't want to go down alone.
In a week,
if they get desperate,
they're gonna say that your ass was there.
How does it feel
to be a fucking snitch?
Mind your fucking business.
I know. You ain't got to say it.
You ain't got to say it.
You told Marcus
I killed that family?
Yo, man, what the fuck!
Back the fuck up!
Yeah, I did.
I was sick of his bullshit.
Boy, you better
calm your ass down.
Nigga, how stupid are you?
The cops interviewed us.
And we all told them
the same damn thing.
They don't have any evidence
to know that it was us.
If they had more,
they would have held us.
Oh, shit.
Maybe it wasn't your brother
who left the tip.
Maybe Drew here bitched up.
And now his ass is trying
to set us up.
Call the cops to keep himself clean.
Is that what you did?
And risk pissing you off?
And get my own self stuck up?
Come on, man.
Outside of Stacy, I ain't putting
anything past anyone, especially you.
I know what most of you two
crazy-asses gone and done
in the past few years,
and I ain't said shit.
So I don't know where you get off
thinking that you can't trust me?
Did your fucking dumbass
not hear me outside?
Man, who the fuck
are you talking to?
I don't fucking trust nobody!
And if it ain't you,
then someone's gonna be put down.
Whether it be
your junkie-ass brother,
who I heard was taking dicks
for bags,
- or whoever the fuck it is. I don't give a fuck.
- Calm the fuck down.
Drew.
If Marcus is behind this shit,
your ass got decisions, bro.
Because it's all three of us
against every-fucking-body
or it's you against me and Al.
Yeah. You think this is funny.
Okay, clap all you want.
Nobody fucks with my family.
Whoa.
You gonna do me like that?
- Hmm.
- When all this shit is your fault?
Shut the fuck up!
Shut the fuck up!
Fuck!
Wait. What are you
guys doing in my house?
- Dad?
- Go.
Dad. Mom!
Honey, what's wrong?
Nicholas. Kyle. God...
Stay the fuck down!
Yo,
what the fuck are you doing?
Search the house.
I'll take care of the kid.
So why didn't you tell us about
it when you first found out?
Honestly, I just had a hard time
wrapping my head around
what I knew.
What you doing back here, man?
I thought you went home.
I, um...
I thought this through.
I shouldn't go talk
to Al and Stacy alone.
Maybe one of you can go with me.
You ain't gotta do this alone.
That's what we're here for.
Love you, man.
Always here for you.
Seriously.
Y'all two, man.
Yeah, Marie says she'll take
over the next few days. Yeah.
Hey, uh, let me call you back.
All right, bye-bye.
- Good morning, my love.
- Good morning, sweetheart.
- How you feeling this morning?
- I'm good, I'm good.
You know, you should go in,
'cause that place falls apart without you.
No, we're not in tax season,
so we're good.
And who told you
to come in here without me, huh?
Look, I ain't no invalid.
Although, I did feel
a little tired
when I was trying to make it
over to turn on the radio.
Could you help me just
turn on the radio?
Oh, so now you need me, huh?
Mr. I Ain't No Invalid.
You know, you ain't no badass just
'cause you're turning on the radio.
I'm the one
who had a heart attack.
- That you did.
- Yeah.
- You want some coffee?
- Huh? Yeah.
...Stacy Griffin and his
friend Al Edwards were found murdered
this morning
at Stacy's barber shop.
Sources say police at the
scene seem to strongly believe
that it was
an armed robbery gone wrong.
...killed both men,
then proceeded to ransack the shop.
So far
there's been no witnesses.
Now, both men have been
in and out of trouble...
Hello.
Hey.
Why'd you get involved
with this shit, Drew?
I got desperate.
And I was broke.
I saw how much Marcus was costing the
family, man. I didn't want to add to that.
It was dumb.
And you're lucky that
you weren't there last night.
I think Marcus
did a really good thing
calling in that tip.
So... So don't be
too hard on him about that,
especially since he was trying
to protect you.
I won't.
- I'ma take a shower.
- Yeah, I'm gonna lay some clothes out for you, all right?
- All right.
- Hey, um, wait a minute.
Listen, those dudes being dead
might not be such a bad thing, bro.
Okay?
Well, at least what had happened
to you wasn't on the news, Drew.
- Yeah.
- No, it still don't stop them nosy-ass neighbors
- from talking.
- Mm-hmm.
You know the word had got out.
Mom, I don't care
what people saying now.
I got y'all.
If I didn't, I probably...
- Did anybody hear from Marcus?
- No.
What, he didn't call
none of y'all?
- Hey, you talk to him?
- I'll try him again. I'll try him again.
You know, Marcus is probably still
mad that Al and Stacy attacked him.
Hmm. Yeah I would be, too.
What do you think really
happened with those dudes?
Well, I think
it's like Mama said.
Bad catches up with bad people.
I'm just glad
I ain't go talk to 'em.
Shit.
I might have been there
when they got shot.
Drew, baby, let me
talk to you for a minute.
Yes, ma'am.
What happened?
I told Mama and Daddy that that
lawyer might not be a bad idea.
Coming, Mama.
Terry, let me ask you this, bro.
Knowing what you know about what Drew
did, does that bother you?
A lot.
I pray on it every night.
But praying
doesn't change everything.
Hey, what's up, baby?
- Hey, Marcus.
- Hey, what's up? I miss you.
Marcus, have you been drinking?
Eva, Drew's homies,
Al and Stacy, they...
they got killed.
Police say it was a stickup
or some shit.
What do you say?
Some dirty niggas, E.
Could have been anybody.
But I know Drew was at the house
with Anthony when it happened.
I know that for sure.
- I just wanna talk to you, baby.
- Marcus, I don't have...
I wanna talk to you.
- I don't...
- I just gotta talk to you.
I gotta tell you something.
Okay?
And hopefully,
it will make you understand
why I tried to protect
my brother.
All right?
Tish, she ain't tell you
everything about me.
I was accused of murder too.
But I ain't kill nobody.
Dude's name was Dwight Tooley.
He owed me some dope money.
I went to collect.
We got into it. Shit got ugly.
He hit his head.
Next thing I know, police is
arresting me for assault and battery.
And then two months later,
he dies of a brain aneurysm.
- An aneurysm can happen at anytime.
- Exactly.
It's the same shit
my lawyer was trying to say,
but the family, they wasn't trying
to hear me doing a year for assault,
so they got the judge to up
my sentence to manslaughter.
They said if we didn't get into the
fight, then he wouldn't have died.
They put years on my sentence.
Years I ain't deserve.
E, if my brother got anything
to do with this,
that's never gonna
sit well with me, ever.
But I don't want to lose you
to this, E.
I don't want to lose you to this shit.
I don't want to lose you to nothing.
I'm so sorry
this happened to us.
I love you so much.
Come back to me, baby.
God... No, I can't.
- Come back to me.
- I can't. Not with this...
Not with this going on.
Really?
Got a nigga picking you up
that quick?
If that's what you think,
then you never got
how much I cared about you.
He's my cousin.
What are you doing here?
I'd like to talk to you
about your brother.
You're telling me the same gun
that killed Stacy and Al,
is the same gun
- that killed the Gerviches?
- Yeah.
Doesn't mean the gun
didn't belong to either of 'em.
But it wasn't a murder-suicide.
Someone else wanted them
shut down.
Instead of you following leads, you drop over here with coffee?
Yeah, with good reason.
Those bullets led me back
to the night
that they were all brought in.
Most importantly, Drew.
Why is that?
Because of how
he talked about you.
He... He mentioned me?
He never mentioned you by name,
but uh, wow, you know,
once he started tearing you apart, he...
he couldn't stop.
How could you know he was talking about me?
He's got three brothers.
Only one's an addict
and did jail time.
He covered everything.
Like what?
He said he felt like
he was living your life
now that shit had
gotten better for you.
He lost his job,
he lost his girlfriend,
he was being dragged into
a bullshit murder charge,
which he... he wasn't mad about.
But when I asked him
if he was living two lives,
boom.
He went into his brother.
If you think
Drew's behind all of this,
then fucking arrest him.
That would be a waste of time.
The more missteps you make in a
homicide case, the more messy it gets.
And I don't...
I don't fucking do messy.
Like you being here right now
ain't messy?
You know...
...my mother told me
when I was a kid that
the biggest Christian
was probably the biggest sinner
and that the second they
took Jesus into their heart,
that's when they could only
see in black and white.
You know who else
is super judgmental?
Addicts who get clean.
The anonymous caller
was someone
who wanted a reward.
Someone who wanted to do right.
There was no reward
being offered, Marcus.
What you trying to say?
You think it was me?
I'm just trying to see
where the puzzle pieces fit.
I'm sorry, bro. It wasn't me.
My first year as a detective,
I knew that if I could
get information
from a murderer's wife,
I could close the case,
but every time I tried to talk to
her, she shut me out.
I mean, he was abusive,
but she was...
she was ride or die.
So one day I waited for the
husband to leave and, um...
I remember I brought her a carton
of her favorite cigarettes.
And within 20 minutes
of sitting on her couch,
she told me everything,
because I just happened to show up
right after
he put hands on her.
When people have information
that they really wanna share,
they're hoping that somebody
will coax it out of 'em.
It is my job to catch them
at the right time.
Ain't none of that shit
my concern.
Drew was with my brother,
Anthony, that night.
- So I guess you came here for nothing.
- I disagree.
I think you know more
than you're letting on.
Too bad I don't smoke.
Well, most alcoholics
turn to coffee
when they quit drinking.
All right.
Does Drew own a .45?
No.
Whether you believe me or not,
this is my last fucking case.
I...
I've really grown tired
of this shit.
Because at some point...
most of the cases I've had...
they end with either a Black
man holding a gun in his hand
or inside the chalk lines.
Fucking wearing on me.
It's eating me alive.
It makes it hard to fucking sleep.
How's that for oversharing?
All right.
How do you sleep, Marcus?
Yeah.
Finally, my brother calls.
Tell Mama and Daddy
I'll be by for Sunday dinner.
Now you're talking. Sound like you're
serious too. You're gonna really be there?
You gonna be there?
- All right, bro, later.
- All right, I love you, brother.
You really don't
watch reality shows?
- No.
- I've learned a lot from them.
How to center myself,
not depend on a man,
- get myself out of debt.
- Okay, wait a minute. I thought you said
Skanks on the Boulevard
was your favorite show.
- Mm-hmm.
- Please tell me what in the hell you learned from that?
Well, all of those women
overcame their situations.
You know, people who watch reality
shows usually end up jobless.
Terry.
What was that John Wayne movie
you used to like
when you was a kid? Um...
- Stagecoach.
- Stagecoach. That's it. That's it.
You used to say,
"When I grow up,
I want to be a white cowboy."
Did I say white?
Yeah, you said white.
Well, that's all you saw on TV then.
- I said I wanted to be a white cowboy?
- White cowboy.
You good?
Yeah.
Bad shit happens, Marcus.
Sometimes
you're on the giving end,
sometimes
you're on the receiving.
Hmm.
Which end were Stacy and Al?
The end of unnecessary bullshit.
We good?
Oh, here they come.
Here they come.
Okay.
- Terry, go ahead, say the grace.
- Yes, sir.
Dad.
- Marcus...
- Come on, man. I'm only gonna say something like...
- You know, why don't we get Marcus to pray?
- Okay, Marcus.
No, I usually keep my prayers
to myself,
or my AA group.
Baby, you've been
drinking again?
You sure know your son, huh?
It's been a rough few days,
Mama.
Can I talk to you outside?
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
- What's going on now?
Drew.
Excuse us.
I'll wait.
Wait for what?
What's going on here?
You'll see.
Come on, we out.
Did I do something?
What's going on?
He's drunk.
I don't want you to see that shit,
and I don't wanna stick around
to hear that, all right?
Do you think he'll
say something about you?
Why don't you take the car?
Let me go back
and hear what happens.
Okay?
I'ma call you.
She ain't family
and I didn't want her to see
Marcus make an ass
out of himself.
So go ahead, bro.
You know, I really thought
I found some light
when I met Eva.
When you got me that job
driving the bus, Pop,
yeah, I really thought...
I turned the corner.
That all went to hell
once I seen that boy on TV.
Son, we already
talked about this.
What little boy?
The Gervich boy.
He was on TV
talking about this, uh,
collection of baseball cards
that his father had for him,
and how they was stolen.
Marcus, why are you bringing
that shit up, man? Hmm?
- This shit is over, bro.
- Watch your mouth, boy.
Watch your mouth.
You still at my table.
I asked you
where the cards from.
You said Stacy gave 'em
to you for safekeeping.
I didn't know if he was telling
the truth 'cause with those dudes,
you can get caught up in
something you can't say no to.
But I wanted to protect you.
So I called in
that anonymous tip.
Nigga, you drunk.
Mama, he drunk.
Look at him.
It's embarrassing,
coming in the house drunk like
that, lying and shit.
- Drew.
- That's embarrassing, Daddy.
- It's fucking embarr...
- Hey, Drew.
What is Marcus saying here?
Don't you lie to me.
He was with Al and Stacy the
night those people got murdered.
Wait a minute, son.
You were with Al and Stacy
the night that they
murdered those people?
Goddamn it, boy!
You gave me those cards to hold
and you lied to me!
- Della, Della...
- What do you mean? You knew about this?
Lloyd, he gave me the cards.
He asked me to hold them, 'cause he said
Stacy was gonna try to pin
the murder on him.
- Wait a minute.
- But he swore to me
- that he didn't have anything to do with it.
- Do you know...
Are you that low that you
would take another person's life?
Did we not teach you
anything, boy?
- You knew about this?
- Yes, Lloyd, I knew!
Well, what did you do
with the cards?
I burned them, Lloyd.
When you went into the hospital,
I burned them.
Why didn't you tell me about it?
'Cause I was trying
to save our son.
- "Save our son"?
- Man, why are you doing this?
- Save your son? What about saving your...
- Man, shut the fuck up!
And you brought
our mom into this?
Why you doing this, man?
That cop said that the same gun
that killed that family
killed Al and Stacy, nigga.
No, no, no.
A .45, like the one you own!
Drew.
Drew.
What in God's name
did you do?
Son. Come on.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
So I guess...
I guess I'm the black sheep
now, right?
- Huh?
- No.
Are you happy, huh?
Are you fucking happy?
Stay the fuck down.
Stay down.
Don't get up, bro.
Don't get up.
It's not that bad.
She... She call 911?
Yeah, she called.
She called. Tisha!
Okay, it's okay. It's okay.
It's okay, boy.
I love you.
I love you.
You're gonna be fine.
You did good. You did good.
You did right.
Morning.
Marcus.
Marcus. Oh, baby.
Hey, Mama.
Hey, boy.
Hey, there. Hey, there.
Hey, there. Hey, there.
Hey, boy.
- That's my boy. How you feeling?
- I'm all right.
- You all right?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Baby.
He's gonna be all right.
He's gonna be all right.
Morning.
May we help you?
Here to have a conversation
with your son.
- Marcus, who is this?
- That's the cop who arrested Drew.
What you doing here?
Marcus, I, um...
I'ma keep this simple for you.
If your brother's attempt
to kill you
had anything to do with
the Gerviches...
Nobody gives a damn
about the Gerviches.
...he might not get charged
with a home invasion.
But filing charges
will make sure
that he pays for this
in some way.
- If you press charges...
- So you want him to do your job.
- Mom, Mom...
- Just do your own goddamn job and leave us alone!
Della, stop it.
Yeah. If Drew did this crime,
- then he's gonna have to pay.
- Really, Lloyd?
- Really.
- Dad, calm down.
- Don't "Dad" me.
- Do we need to do this?
- Stay out of it!
- We do not have to do this.
- Lloyd!
- Everybody calm down!
- Ma, Ma, Ma, Pop.
- How can I? Don't tell us to calm down.
Y'all, stop.
It's my family.
It's my brother.
Someone's home.
Supposed to be
on vacation.
Fuck it, we're here now.
- What are you doing in my house?
- Kyle?
- Dad. Mom!
- Go.
House smelled of death
the second we opened the door.
The rook is still in the
bathroom coughing up lunch.
I don't know if it's about
these two or about the kid.
What kid?
I thought he was dead
until he took a breath.
The paramedics have him.
Hey, I hear you're
leaving the department.
Is that true, Joe?
Yeah.
Man, you're not even 50.
What, you hit
the lottery or something?
Sometimes you just know.
You should...
should go canvass.
A man
in Larchmont took his dog
on their normal morning stroll,
something he'd done for years.
Only this time he found
himself being drawn into
what can only be called
a very gruesome scene.
On his walk,
the man noticed
that Nicholas and Wendy
Gervich's front door
was left partially open.
Being friends
with the owners of the home,
he decided to investigate.
Once inside,
he found two people murdered
and their son
brutally beaten.
- Damn shame.
- While we can only speculate
what really happened
in this house last night...
- San Diego?
- No.
Heard about that.
- Damn shame.
- That's what I said.
You still back there
watching the game?
Well, the Padres lost.
I got caught watching the news.
- Lloyd, you know nothing good comes from the news.
- That's right.
I have to get this ready before Marcus gets here.
Hey, hey, hey.
- Hey, family.
- Ha! What's up, Drew?
- What's going on?
- Look at you, boy. You looking good.
- No, no, you looking better.
- Okay, I'll take that.
- What's up, gorgeous?
- Hey, bro.
- Come here. Come on, now.
- Which way we gonna go?
- How are you doing?
- Good to see you.
Pastor, I'm sure I can find that
scripture for you no problem. Okay?
All right, bye.
- Hey, how are you doing?
- Who were you talking to, the pastor?
- Apparently.
- What's up, bro?
What's up, man?
What's up, Dad?
- Hey, son.
- How you feeling?
I'm all right.
- Hey, baby.
- What's up, Mom?
- I'm good.
- Hey, Terry.
The food looks good.
- What's up, Tisha?
- How are you?
Lloyd, Marcus is gonna be
late for his own party.
Has anybody
talked to Marcus?
Four years sober.
I just keep waiting
for it to slip away.
But I keep reminding myself
to stay focused
on my greatest good.
Marcus, would you like
to join in?
Uh, sure.
You all know I've had
trouble staying sober.
Um...
but I think I finally found
a reason to pull through.
That's good,
Marcus.
Would you care to let
us know the reason?
- I got a new job.
- Oh.
Yeah, my dad got me
this great new job.
I'm gonna be driving buses
for the city.
So hopefully,
I'll get my shit together.
Uh, hey, Wanda,
it's Eva returning your call.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Hey.
Yo, Marcus.
Hey, where were you, man?
- You know.
- Oh, that's right. All right. Got you.
Eva. Hey, how you doing?
- Uh, Tisha's in here waiting on you.
- Got to go.
- Okay.
- She's a nurse over at the Cathedral.
Tish and she are good friends.
They're good friends together.
- Mm-hmm.
- Eva, this is Marcus.
Marcus, this is Eva.
- Hi.
- Hey.
No, no, this is the brother. This is the
brother that Tish was telling you about.
Oh, uh, Tisha just said
I was here for dinner.
- She did?
- Mm-hmm.
Okay, come on in. Food...
Food's ready. It's hot.
It's ready.
- Now, Eva?
- Mm-hmm?
Can you do me a favor?
Can you not tell Tish
about this moment
that we just had out here?
Oh, I'm gonna get you
in trouble.
Thank you.
She's really nice.
And Tish told me that she
invited her here to meet you.
But yet here you are in a room
full of men that you already know.
Uh, can y'all tell your
mother to mind her business?
Uh, excuse me, son.
You are my business.
You're my baby.
So does anybody want to
help with the dishes?
Nobody? Really?
Pop?
Pop?
- Hey, Marcus.
- Yeah?
Would you please get
your old daddy a beer?
Oh, my goodness,
you too, Pop?
Yeah, Marcus.
Get your dad a beer.
Be cool.
What's up, y'all?
Hey.
Oh, man,
that food was good.
You know what? Let me go see if I
can find some more dishes, okay?
Mm-hmm.
You have a good time
tonight?
Yeah, I did.
- My mama can burn.
- Mm-hmm.
You?
So you're starting
a new job tomorrow.
You nervous?
Little bit, yeah.
Some advice?
Try not to think
about failing.
Just let things flow.
Hey, yo, Terry.
Huh?
Terry!
Coming, coming, coming.
Hey, give that to Pop.
I'm, uh, gonna help out with the dishes.
You don't do dishes.
Dry-snitching.
You must be the baby brother.
I like her.
Oh, yeah, I'm...
You know, for the record,
I don't have anything to do
with the whole set-up thing.
- Blind date...
- I can tell.
- You've been avoiding me all night.
- No, I wasn't avoiding you.
I just didn't want you
to feel pressured.
I appreciate that.
That's the worst feeling.
You being pressured?
Yeah, I feel like that
all the time.
By who?
Me.
Tish, um, had a lot of nice
things to say about you.
I should have figured
something was up.
Tish talks a lot.
She does.
Yeah.
Did Tish tell you
anything about me?
I mean, no. Like I said,
you were a complete surprise.
Did she tell you
anything about me?
Life's been hard for you,
but you keep trying.
I lost my two oldest brothers
to LA life.
One to drugs,
the other to gang violence.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- Mmm.
I kind of gave up on brothers
who were trying to get
themselves together,
until I realized we're all
trying to get ourselves together.
I haven't dated in a while.
It's hard when you nurse,
and I want to find
a good brother.
And now I sound desperate.
- So now I'm shutting up.
- No, you...
Let me ask you something.
Are you always this honest?
Surprises are for birthdays
and Christmas.
Not when you're trying
to get to know someone.
Hmm.
Go.
So, uh,
I guess this is good night.
Or this is when you
ask me for my number.
555-6433.
Tish gave it to me
when we were...
She texted it to me when
we were cleaning up the kitchen.
Of course she did.
- Yeah. Told you she got a big mouth.
- Yup.
You should use it.
Yes, ma'am.
- I should go. Mm-hmm.
- All right.
- Hey, get home safe.
- I will.
- Bye-bye.
- Good night.
Good night.
I can drive, man.
Let me drive.
You're drunk off your ass.
- I'm gonna get him home.
- You're gonna take him?
Yup, I got it.
I got it, Pop.
No, no, you're going
with Marcus.
- Here you go.
- All right then, you got him?
- Yup, I got him.
- Love y'all.
It ain't cool getting drunk
like that in front of Marcus.
- All right. I love you, Pop.
- It's all good.
- Mm-hmm, you too.
- Goddamn.
Wait, wait,
wait, wait.
Don't throw up
on my walkway.
Uh-uh, uh-uh.
- I love you, man.
- Hey, I love you too.
You're not here much,
are you?
I stay at Rhea's
most of the time.
She won't stay here.
You should try cleaning up
every now and then.
You feeling good
about yourself, huh?
- Yeah, I guess.
- Hmm.
You're sober.
You got a job.
Shit is looking up, man.
You're sounding jealous.
I guess Mama praying to Jesus
and his cousins finally worked.
You know, you like a cat.
Black cat.
You got nine goddamn lives.
You ain't happy for me?
Marcus, sit down.
I think if I keep looking up,
I'ma throw up.
You know...
it's like you and I
traded places.
I lost my job, man.
The gas company?
That job's for life.
Corporate bullshit.
Me and some folks
got caught in the middle.
It's been a few months now.
You'll come through.
I gotta do more
than come through.
Rhea broke up with me.
Drew Jr. needs books
for college, man.
These bills, they're coming
out of my ass right now.
You know, like, shit
is real rough right now.
Like for real,
this shit is rough.
Look.
I'ma be honest,
nobody really
liked Rhea anyway.
So you might have
made out on that one.
As soon as I get paid,
I'll hit you up with some money.
When you get paid,
you're gonna have your fair
share of people to pay back.
- That don't mean I can't help you.
- Oh, there you go.
Reggie Jackson.
Hank Aaron?
Damn, you got
a Derek Jeter rookie card?
Where you get these?
You got these for Daddy?
'Cause he's
gonna lose his shit.
I'm holding them for Stacy.
Stacy-and-Al Stacy?
Drew, you know those cats are trouble.
They always have been.
Man, they ain't never
did wrong by me.
Helped me out a time or two.
Some crackhead
walked into the barbershop
and sold it to him
for pennies.
He googled some of 'em.
Saw that they
was worth something.
He didn't wanna keep 'em
at the shop.
Worth a lot?
Oh, yeah. Hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
Man, I'm just
helping him out, bro.
This ain't nothing.
You're helping out somebody
you need to stay away from.
It's my first day tomorrow.
I don't want to screw it up.
You good, bro?
Yeah. Yeah,
I'll be all right.
Mmm.
Hey, Marcus?
You gonna holla
at that ol' girl?
Eva.
You see how fine she is?
I ain't letting that slip by.
Love you, big bro.
All right,
I love you too, man.
Mmm, shit.
All right,
let me get this straight.
You honestly
want me to believe
that you haven't dated
anybody in two years?
Mm-hmm.
The last dude was just as bad
as the last dude before him.
I was tired of last dudes.
Damn. That's funny.
When was
the last time for you?
What you mean,
dating somebody?
"What you mean,
dating somebody?
I mean, I had some things
with some women and..."
All right, look.
Since you're being honest,
I'ma be honest and just let you know.
I'ma confess.
- Okay.
- All right.
I'm... I'm a born-again virgin.
I'm as clean as the driven snow.
Seriously.
There is no such thing.
- Hi, y'all good?
- Yeah, everything's good.
- May I have some more water, please?
- Yes, yes.
Thank you.
Can I ask...
y'all celebrating something?
Why do you ask that?
Because the vibe
between you two is strong.
It's... You both seem in love,
in a good place.
I'll be back.
- The vibes.
- The vibes.
- Look, it's a vibe.
- It's a vibe.
Yeah, but you know what? She's way off.
Because my girl,
she's gotta be rich
and have one of them big ol'
Megan Thee Stallion booties.
- 'Cause my virginity don't come cheap.
- Okay.
- You know what I'm saying?
- Mm-hmm.
And you ain't rich,
so, hey.
So, hey.
You been looking at my booty.
I made sure you were the right
person, that's all.
- That's all it was.
- You're so stupid.
Shit, let me check
that shit out again.
Good morning.
Morning.
I made breakfast.
I see. It looks good.
What you want?
Why I gotta
want something?
'Cause normally you break off
some eggs, some toast maybe.
- But this?
- It's breakfast.
That's all.
Okay.
Can we go dancing
this weekend?
- My friend's having a party and...
- I knew you wanted something.
You know I can't dance, E.
You gonna have me looking like
a damn fool with two left feet.
Come on. You can't say no to someone
who cooks for you and loves...
likes you.
I... I'm sorry... I...
Normally, when a woman
says that type of shit to me,
- I pull away.
- Marcus,
I know that maybe
that was a little premature...
My brothers are the only people
with a key to my house.
And I'm tired of you waking me up to
let you in after you get off work.
I want you to know
that I want you here.
If I take this,
you ain't getting rid of me.
That is the point.
I love you.
I guess that means we're
going dancing this weekend.
Oh, no, it don't.
Tonight, we'll investigate
the still-unsolved
Gervich murders.
A son survives,
and the question...
Did you hear about this?
Poor kid comes out of a coma
after three months.
His parents were killed.
Kyle,
you survived a horrendous event.
These nightmares you're having,
are they about the attack?
In my dreams,
I still see my dad.
We're...
collecting baseball cards again
like we used to.
A tragic
attack on an innocent family
leads to heartbreak
in the aftermath.
Kyle Gervich,
the survivor of a home invasion,
remembers his father and mother,
who were shot and killed.
Tonight at 10:00, Vernon Nelson
will bring you an interview...
It's a damn shame
something like that could happen.
Ugh, I'm gonna be late,
you're gonna be late.
We'll talk about dancing
when you get home tonight.
I love you too.
She wrote that tell-all
on who she slept with,
who she was making bread off of.
That's when
she crossed the line.
Hey, look, you're sucking dudes
off, just shut the fuck up.
That's what I'm saying. She had to
make sure that that paper was right.
She just better be glad that it
wasn't me she was talking about.
Bitch, you better be glad.
Definitely better be glad
that it wasn't you.
'Cause if it was,
she would've had him stuck up...
Hey, yo, Al here is a captain
of the save-a-ho industry.
- Yo, what up?
- Stupid, bro, stupid.
- What up, bro?
- What's up, D?
Oh, shit,
you in trouble, D.
Nah, nah,
it ain't like that.
But, D, let me holla
at you real quick.
Cop a seat, bro.
Nah, nah, nah.
It's about Ant. Right quick.
Yo, bro, everything all right?
Yo, what happened with Ant?
Nothing. I just ain't wanna
talk in front of them.
Yo, you still got
them baseball cards?
If you're thinking
about talking me into
giving them cards to Pop,
I can't do that.
They were stolen.
- Hey man, how you know that?
- It was on the news.
The parents were murdered.
The boy survived.
They showed a picture
of him and his father
holding that binder
I saw at your crib.
- That can't be right, Marcus.
- I saw it with my own eyes, D.
If you still got 'em,
you need to give 'em back to Stacy
and stay the fuck away from
those two before shit goes left.
The cops ain't gonna know
that they came from Stacy.
- Stacy got the cards from the...
- From the crackhead, I get it.
But if they start looking for
him, it could lead back to Stacy.
How you know Stacy ain't lying about where
he got the cards from in the first place?
- What makes you think that Stacy lying, bro?
- Come on, man.
Al's been a stickup kid
since I was a shorty.
And Stacy's still in the drug game
even though he got the barber shop.
Wow. You can straighten up,
but they can't?
Somebody ran up
in them white folks' house
and murdered the mother,
murdered the father,
and beat that little boy
with a goddamn baseball bat.
And those cards are
connected to that family.
Y'all looking kind of
heated over there.
All good?
Yeah,
everything's good, bro.
Yo, I heard you. All right, man.
- All right.
- Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
- I love you. All right.
- I love you too.
Yup, appreciate that.
Stacy hook you up?
You need it.
Nah, I'm good.
Get that old-man beard
looking all tight.
You sure, bro?
Hello.
Yo, what's up?
It's Marcus.
Hey, what's up, big bro?
You been talking to Drew?
Okay, you know what,
I can tell by your tone
you know he's
in deep trouble.
Nobody wanted to say
anything to you
because of everything you've
been going through, so...
He ain't been doing
nothing stupid, has he?
Nah.
Me and Terry, we just been
kicking him a little money.
It's not much money,
but it's enough to keep him afloat.
And he seems
like he's good?
You know he likes
to keep things inside.
But it doesn't seem like
there's something deep going on.
Why you ask?
Look, um...
Ah, it's just, uh...
I'm just a little worried
about him is all, you know.
Everybody's always
so focused on me, and...
Well, luckily, he's not as
off-the-chain as you used to be either.
Right?
Yeah.
Should we be worried?
Nah, nah, nah.
I just wanted to check in.
Make sure everything
is, you know...
- You sure?
- Yeah.
How are you and Eva?
- Eva's good.
- Eva's good?
Yeah.
Well, y'all two should come by
the crib sometime for some dinner.
Just us and the ladies.
- We could do that.
- All right.
- All right, man.
- All right, man. Love you.
Love you too, bro.
What's up, D?
What up?
So you think
that was a smart move?
Asking me if shit is bad
around niggas that you think
may have it bad for me?
I need you to know
how serious this is.
Look, man, I know you being sober
and all gave you a conscience...
Going to jail gave me a conscience.
Being sober means I live with it.
Drew, just go online
and pull up the news segment.
If Stacy did what you said,
Marcus,
remember this is Al and Stacy
that we talking about.
- I know.
- If I give those cards back,
they're gonna think
that I can't be trusted.
Then what?
You remember
what happened to Bob Cat?
They never found him.
If you think they did that,
then let the police
deal with it.
Don't fuck around and get us
caught up in something, man?
All right?
Come on, man.
Mm-hmm.
You look good, bro.
You still can't play ball.
So your girl
dresses you now, huh?
And what I've heard from
every neighbor that we've spoken to,
is that this was
a loving family.
A family that would do
whatever they could
to help people in need. And they did
not deserve this tragic, brutal end.
Any idea if the police
are close on any suspects?
That's the sad part, Rick.
There was no trace
of evidence left behind,
which makes the police think these
were cold, calculated invaders
who may have done this before.
There's hope that someone
will stop these criminals
before they kill again.
Reporting live,
I'm Vernon Nelson for KRAC.
God, what a terrible
position to be put in.
To snitch?
Yeah.
Would you be good
knowing someone
who might have
been involved?
I hope I ain't ever
put in that situation.
Would you?
How you doing? Um, I have information
on the Gervich home invasion.
Tell Nate I'm gonna let them sit for the
night. Give them something to think about.
Copy that.
Hey, man.
Leave that other team alone,
the purple and gold.
All right?
That's the way.
Hey, what up, D?
Yo, Al and Stacy got arrested.
- Really?
- I need to know that they ain't being taken in
because of you.
Me? You said I was
overreacting, so I fell back.
All right.
All right, man.
Why'd you keep me here overnight,
Officer Blue Over Black?
So why'd you keep me overnight?
You ever watch
reality cop shows on TV?
We separate you.
Then we ask questions.
Then we shake you up
to see if the answers jibe.
At least you started
with the truth.
Good, your turn.
I want you to think back
maybe three months ago.
Tell me your whereabouts
three months ago
- on the night of the 16th.
- Hmm.
My guess, Chops.
Chops.
You know,
try to have a few drinks,
hang out with the ladies.
But I do remember
it was crowded that night.
So we, um, probably
took off maybe 11:30?
Actually, maybe like
11:00, 11:15?
You were in a club
all night?
In and out. You know,
some of the ladies
like to hang out outside.
Do all their, like,
videos and shit.
What'd you think
a handsome cat gonna do?
I'ma be in and out.
Um,
but I don't know, man.
I don't really remember.
It was a while ago.
Three months?
Had a few drinks...
And we usually
go as a crew.
And we usually run into
a bunch of people we know.
We always bump
into folks that we know.
And for some reason, we didn't bump
into anybody we know that night.
- Nobody was there.
- Hmm.
So we bounced early.
I had to work.
I had to start cutting early
the next morning.
Got out of there like...
what did I say before?
11:30, 11:15?
Something like that.
You work at
Dillaman's Department Store.
What gave it away?
Mr. Gervich ate
at Dillaman's Caf a lot.
He valeted when he did.
He left his tickets in his door panel.
I don't know that, man.
I don't go to Al's job.
I got my own shit.
Look, man. A lot of people
eat lunch at Dillaman's.
Lunch time is a very busy time.
And even if I did see that dude,
I wouldn't remember him.
I see a lot of faces in there.
So you don't know him?
I don't know him.
And you don't know me
unless you been to Chops.
So it was just you and
Stacy at Chops that night?
Nah, it was me, Stacy,
and Drew Cowans.
He can vouch for us.
He's here, right?
- Got it. Yeah.
- Got it?
Hey, you guys wanna head
over to the Advent with me tonight?
Hear what kind of lies
Andrew is gonna be telling?
The worst ever.
The absolute worst.
If it wasn't for him,
I'd have never met your mama.
Really?
You think Marcus
might wanna come?
No, no. Marcus is
all cuddled up, Dad.
- All cuddled up.
- Mmm.
- He good.
- Yeah?
- Yes, sir.
- Yes.
Good, good, about time
he found some peace of mind.
"Peace of mind."
Mm-hmm.
Looking for Drew Cowans.
Detective Joe McDonald, LAPD.
I'm his father.
Nice to meet you.
Just need to ask him
a few questions
about Al Edwards
and Stacy Griffin.
- Why?
- And you are?
I'm his older brother.
Why are you at this house?
This is the address he put
down for his, uh, former job.
Former?
He hasn't worked
in six months.
That's my son.
Yeah, but before you put
a hand on him,
you need to tell me what your
gonna speak to him about.
- All right.
- No, hey.
- Hey.
- You need to tell me
- what you gonna speak to him about.
- Daddy, what's going on?
Drew, these men
are here to talk to you.
- Drew Cowans, you're under arrest.
- Under arrest?
Your friends Al
and Stacy implicated you
in an investigation
regarding a home invasion
- that occurred about three months ago.
- A home invasion?
What the fuck you talking about?
Get off me! Daddy!
- I got it. Don't worry.
- Daddy, I ain't do nothing!
I know you didn't. What are you
talking about? A home invasion?
- The Gervich family.
- The Gervich family, you mean
that husband and wife
that got killed
- and the little boy survived?
- Yes, sir.
My son didn't have
nothing to do with that.
My son didn't have
anything to do with that!
Calm down!
I'll call your mother.
I'm going to call your...
Dad, Dad!
If you kill
my fucking daddy, I swear...
I swear to fucking God!
- Get off me, man!
- Get an ambulance here now.
Open the fucking door!
Let him down. Put him down.
Get the fuck
out of here, man.
What happened?
Cops came to the house
looking for Drew.
It's about that murder.
That, um,
that fucking home invasion.
Drew's a suspect?
It was Al and Stacy.
They must have lied
about something
that got Drew brought in.
Drew's in custody.
Where's Mama?
She's in there with Daddy.
Look, why don't you
be with your brothers?
I'll check in with you
later, okay?
Marcus, you know anything about how
Drew got caught up in all this shit?
Hanging with Al and Stacy.
Hanging with someone
isn't a good enough reason
- to bring him in for murder, Marcus.
- Okay.
Watch it, we're here for Dad.
- It's Drew.
- Look, look.
Look, why don't you all
both go home, get some sleep,
I'll stay with Mama
the rest of the night.
- Are you sure?
- I'll let you know if anything changes.
- Bro, I can stay here with you.
- No, I got it. Get some rest.
Love you too.
Hey, boy.
Hey, Pop.
How you feeling?
Yeah, had my ticker attack.
It's funny how
all the beating up my body took
when I was working
at the post office...
never thought
that I'd get laid out
just 'cause a policeman
come to the door.
Hey, man.
What you gonna do?
- You just getting old.
- Ain't nobody old.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Where's your mama at?
She's right over there
sleeping.
No, I ain't.
I can hear you fools.
So y'all hear, uh,
anything about Drew?
No, ma'am, not yet.
"Della, I ain't gonna let
nothing stress me out."
You old lying ass.
Look, you old man.
Since Marcus is here,
- I'm gonna go stretch my legs, okay?
- Mm-hmm.
All right.
You behave yourself.
Just when we get you
out of trouble,
hell's come knocking again.
No, Pop.
You ain't got to worry
about none of that.
Yup. I think I'll just
rest my eyes a bit.
- Hey, baby.
- Hey, Ma.
So is he asking
for me already?
Nah, he fell asleep.
How are you holding up?
Oh, baby, I'm tired.
I just can't believe that
Drew got pulled into this.
I mean, that he got dragged
into this bullshit.
I know, it's...
It's crazy.
Ma, I got something
to tell you.
Okay.
I need you to
hear me out, okay?
All right.
All right,
you remember the story about
that family that got killed
in that home invasion?
Yeah,
it was on the news.
This is gonna
sound crazy, but...
So, I saw their son on TV,
and he was talking about these stolen
baseball cards that his father got for him.
Yeah, Marcus, I know all that.
Just get to the point. What?
Now, you remember, uh,
the night we were at the house
and Drew
got really drunk, right?
Now, that family,
I think they got killed
the night before
or something like that?
- That's the night I drove Drew home, right?
- Mm-hmm, right.
I saw those cards
on Drew's coffee table.
Oh, Marcus,
are you trying to say
that Drew killed
those people?
No, I'm not saying that.
I'm saying I saw those cards
on his coffee table.
But listen, he told me
that Stacy got the cards
from some crackhead
at the barbershop,
and he was giving them to Drew to
just hold them for safekeeping.
But I saw those cards.
Baby, I'm sorry,
but right now,
with my son in jail and my
husband in that hospital room,
I can't wrap my mind around
anything that's being said, Marcus.
Just like I didn't
want to believe
when everybody said
that you killed Tooley.
I don't want
to hear this right now.
Good night, Marcus.
- Ma.
- Baby.
I said good night, son.
Yes, ma'am.
- I'll call you later.
- Okay.
Okay, so, tell me what
you know about these people.
Have you seen them before?
No.
It looks like
a beautiful white family.
The parents were murdered.
And...
everybody in here thinks it
was somebody Black who did it.
So...
right now, there's a hunt.
Are you comfortable
with that?
No, I have no control over that.
Actually, you do.
If you tell me
that you were involved
and you tell me that you
know who else was involved...
nobody else has to get hurt.
Like I said, I really hope you
find who did that to them people.
Okay.
Okay. You can go now.
Well, what about Al and Stacy?
It's 5:00.
I spent spent so much time
here with you that I forgot
to tell the guys up front
that they could cut 'em loose.
So?
So they're here for the weekend.
Hmm. Because you think
they did it.
Because it's an ongoing
investigation, Andrew.
Right.
I just never thought I'd end
up in an interrogation room.
I don't know bullshit.
This is my brother's territory.
So you're saying you think your brother
may have something to do with this?
- You okay?
- Yeah.
- Huh?
- Yeah. You all right?
Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine.
So why'd they keep you
overnight?
No idea.
Have a seat, Pop.
Yeah, sit down, Daddy.
- You're good?
- Yeah, all right. We good. We good.
- Well, they asked me some questions.
- Mm-hmm.
- I told them where we were that night.
- Mm-hmm.
And then they let me out.
Hmm.
Well...
Della wants to
sue the city.
And I agree.
It'll cost us a bit,
but we can come up with it.
We would do this one.
We'd mortgage the house.
- No, no, no, that's not...
- No... Hmm?
That's not necessary, Pop.
We need to focus on you
getting your strength back.
Yeah, but come on, Drew,
I mean, the only thing
that's gonna really make him
better is if we clear your name.
I'm fine. We're fine.
All right?
- All right, boy.
- All right, Pop.
Look, this thing's
gonna blow over. All right?
Okay, okay,
okay, okay.
- Father God, we come to you in the name of Jesus.
- Mm-hmm.
Lord God, we want to thank you
for the food that nourishes...
And thank you God, Jesus, thank you
for people coming to the end of prayers
when it's time to eat
this food on the table.
We thank you, Jesus.
Thank you. Amen.
- Thank you, Jesus. I'm just saying.
- Baby.
Seriously, man?
I mean, y'all do recognize
I'm the one that keeps
this family together.
With my good words
to the Lord, that's me.
- Why don't you just let me finish my prayer?
- It's long.
- It's long?
- It's long.
Look here,
Daddy's gonna starve.
- That's true.
- Okay, so let the church say...
Amen.
Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
All right, Pop.
Did the doctors say when you can go home?
They said they've got a couple more
tests to run to make sure he's okay,
- but, um, it should be end of the week, right?
- Thank you for telling us, Daddy.
- You're welcome.
- Why?
Why are you saying
when he's right there?
- She asked a question.
- Not to you.
I can't with you, bro.
I can't with you.
Eva, it sure is good
to have you here.
Oh, I'm so glad to be here.
It's been a long time since Marcus
brought someone home as nice as you.
I agree.
I ain't the only one
to say it.
Hey, Drew, uh,
what time Rhea coming?
- We took a break.
- Mm-hmm. "Break."
She wasn't good enough
for you anyway, if you ask me.
Probably called the police
to see if she can get the money.
Mm-hmm.
What is it that
that woman has ever done
to make you hate her so?
Well, if she was anything
like Tish or Loren or Eva,
which she is not,
I wouldn't have
a problem with her.
Tish, you gotta do for Drew
what you did for Marcus.
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
Drew, what kind of women
you like?
Hey, babe, what you doing?
You pimping people out up in this house?
- It's not what it is.
- I might date Eva.
Uh-oh.
- Shots fired.
- It's a joke.
It's a joke. It's a joke.
It's good to see your dad getting better.
It is.
Who are you avoiding?
Terry wants me
to come to Bible study.
I got too many sins for that.
Oh, well.
Let me take you to the water.
Ain't mad at that.
You ain't got
no real cereal, bro?
That is real cereal.
And I need my key back.
I knocked.
I called a couple of times
after you left
the hospital last night.
You ain't pick up.
Went to bed early.
You don't want to know what happened
with me at the police station?
I figured you ain't
wanna talk about it.
Nothing happened.
Not a goddamn thing.
And that ain't good.
They let me go early.
But they kept Al and Stacy
over the weekend.
You lied, bro.
About what?
You told me you ain't snitch.
Cops said the only reason
that they brought me in
is because Al said
that the three of us
was together the night
of the home invasion.
But they let me out.
Which mean, Marcus,
whoever gave them that information
didn't say shit about me.
So if Stacy bought them cards
from somebody in the shop,
he tells the truth,
this all blows away.
But that ain't
going to happen, is it?
Al and Stacy pulled
that home invasion.
- I was with them.
- Drew!
Man, they talked me
into going along with 'em.
Said it would be
an in-and-out thing.
That Gervich...
he had some money at the crib.
We get there and, uh...
Man, Al goes in there, man,
and he shoots up the fucking place.
Fucks up that little kid, man.
I go in there after,
and, uh...
...I see the...
I see the husband and wife.
How was I supposed to know they was gonna
go in there and kill those people, man?
I'm broke, Marcus.
Man,
I've been broke for months.
They said that
they'd done this before.
That it was
an in-and-out thing, man,
that they rarely hurt anybody.
All I did was drive,
Marcus. That's it.
They ain't let me do anything because
I'm too new to this shit, man.
Why you let them talk you
into doing that, Drew?
Did you make the call?
Man, did you make the call,
Marcus?
If I did, it would have
been to protect you, Drew.
From getting caught up
in Stacy and Al's shit.
Yeah, well, that's
what the fuck happened, man.
Go to the cops.
Fuck that.
What you trying to do? Hmm?
You trying to send Dad
to the grave?
He barely survived
your shit, nigga.
I see you got company.
What up, Eva?
You knew he was involved?
Let's give God the glory.
Now I planned to talk
about family and connection,
and being there for your family,
But I'm sure
that after 20-plus years,
you've heard different versions of
the same speech over and over again.
So instead, I'm gonna turn
the pulpit over
to someone who has
served this church well.
Welcome,
Assistant Pastor Terry Cowans.
- Did you know about this?
- I did.
Thank you,
Pastor Thomas.
Good morning, everyone.
Good morning.
- Good morning, family.
- Good morning.
- Mama.
- Baby.
Today I want to talk about
embracing your loved ones...
with the utmost care
during trying times.
Letting your faith lead you and them
when the path in front of you
seems to be at its darkest.
Sure, we have angels
that protect us.
God's love
is always surrounding us.
But who do we protect?
Who are we responsible for?
Fellowship, a family...
coming together
when times get hard.
How are we doing this
with each other?
So Terry did good, huh?
Yeah, yeah.
The pastor said
he's gonna do another sermon.
Oh.
Oh, I wish
I could have seen that.
- I don't.
- Oh, listen to you. Listen to you.
You ain't worth a quarter.
Now look, um, I need you all
to make sure...
you look out for Drew.
You hear?
Don't let this
get him down. Okay?
- We'll do what we can.
- No, no.
Do everything you can.
Hmm?
Yes, sir.
Marcus Cowans.
Yes?
Detective Joe McDonald.
Homicide.
You shouldn't have went
to my parents' house.
It's the only address
I had for Drew.
So what you doing here?
I wanted to ask you if you knew
anything about an anonymous tip
that was called in
about the Gervich case.
It's the reason we
brought your brother in.
Why you coming to me?
I just told you.
You have any evidence
on Drew and his friends?
It's an active
investigation, Marcus.
Pick up a piece here,
pick up a piece there.
Picking up pieces.
That's the same shit
the cops did
when they tried
to hit me up in my case.
- Can't trust y'all in these situations.
- I understand.
That's why I
try to be thorough.
Thorough isn't
harassing family members.
Try telling that
to the victims' family.
That's a shitty way
to try to get info.
Had to take a leap.
Don't take a leap.
Solve the case.
Hi, it's Eva.
I can't take your call right now.
But please leave your name,
number, and a message.
And I'll call you back as soon as I can.
Thank you.
Eva, it's, uh... it's me.
It's been two days.
Will you please call me back?
Maybe somebody at your job
figured out what you been doing.
It wasn't anyone
at my job.
Or my crib, Drew.
Do you know why?
'Cause I don't fucking talk to
nobody about what Stacy and I do.
No one except for him.
And he ain't
saying shit.
So the question is,
homeboy...
- Who'd you tell?
- Look, man, don't put this shit on me.
We're putting it
on someone.
Cops on us.
Our names are in front of this.
Maybe this did find its way
to us through y'all.
You say that you don't be talking
to nobody. Doesn't mean that people
- don't see the shit that you be doing.
- Don't nobody be seeing shit, D.
However it got started,
this is gonna be a problem.
Then we get rid of
the stuff at the house.
Everything.
Jewelry, whatever we found,
the cards.
That's a lot of money
to just fuck off.
- Versus our lives in prison, which one sounds better?
- Let us think about it.
Just, um, chill,
till we figure some things out.
We'll hit you.
We need to make a move
on this sooner than later.
I'm serious, man. Y'all fucking around.
Make moves on this shit, nigga.
You think he told?
I think all this shit started
from when Marcus came in here.
And I told your fucking dumbass
not to give him those cards.
- Thank you.
- See you soon.
See you.
Hey, what's up, Greg?
You good? How's everything?
Well,
thanks for coming, Anthony.
So, um, Mr. Carruthers wanted me
to come out and talk to you.
And the old man,
he's got, uh,
people in law enforcement,
and they said that your brother got
pulled in on that family that was...
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Drew didn't do that.
I mean, yeah,
he got pulled in, but...
I'm... I'm confused.
What's this have to do with me, though?
Um, Mr. Carruthers
is an old guy,
and he thinks about
what other people say
and think.
I'm sorry.
Fired me from
my fucking job, man.
What...
You know what?
You should sue
them motherfuckers.
I ain't got no money
to be trying to sue
some rich old white man.
I'm just praying that Drew
ain't got shit to do with this.
I mean, I could...
I mean, you think Drew
had something to do with this?
That's your phone.
Okay.
Oh. Hello.
Yes, ma'am.
Ah, good. Okay.
Yep, we're on our way.
- Finally some good news.
- What's up?
There he is.
- Come on, come on with yourself.
- There he is!
- What's up, Dad? How you doing?
- Hey. What's that?
- You sure look old, Daddy.
- Oh, man, ain't nobody talking...
- Good to see you, man.
- That's because all y'all driving me crazy.
No, I don't need that.
I don't need it.
You get in it.
- Thank you, man. Appreciate it.
- You're welcome.
- I'm all right.
- You good?
- Yeah. Your mama get home yet?
- No, she's not home yet.
- The game's on though. Yeah.
- The game's on?
Well, what we waiting for?
Why y'all walking so damn slow?
You the one walking slow.
Your mama and I are talking
about mortgaging the house.
Get you a lawyer.
Pops. Y'all can get me
12 lawyers.
If the cops think I'm guilty,
they're gonna keep coming after me.
The question is,
do you think I did it?
No.
That's all that matters
then, Pop.
Still smart to get you a lawyer.
Yeah, you see,
Marcus got experience with these things.
Need to listen to him.
Pop, you already stressed out
from your helping out Marcus.
I don't wanna be a burden.
Since when did you start
making decisions for me?
Be quiet so we can watch the game.
I got something to do.
I'll see y'all later.
- You out?
- Yeah.
Be safe.
All right, bro.
Yeah, I'm worried
about him too.
He okay?
Yeah, I mean, he got a lot on his
mind, but he's good.
He's a lot stronger
than he used to be, Dad.
Getting you a lawyer, boy.
Hey, how you doing?
Uh, I'm looking for Eva Dylan.
I'm a friend of hers.
Uh, she works here.
Um, never mind.
Uh-uh, Marcus.
Come on.
Tish, Tish. I got this.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, Tish. I got this.
I ain't gonna ask
if you got my calls,
'cause I'm pretty sure
you got all my messages.
You knew there was a chance your
brother may have been involved
and you kept it to yourself.
There was nothing to talk about.
Eva, I was just trying
to figure out what was going on.
You understand by not telling
me, you put me at risk?
I didn't know enough
to tell you anything.
I mean, come on, Eva.
You know how crazy this type of shit is.
Everything you've been through
with your brothers.
One of them is dead
because of shit like this.
Everybody suffers.
This kind of thing consumes you.
You think
I don't know that?
I'm the one who called in the
anonymous tip on Al and Stacy.
But not on your brother?
I was trying to protect my
brother from all this shit.
You gonna fault me for that?
I'm not gonna
question your choice.
I was blind to a lot of shit
my brothers did.
So you just do
what you gotta do.
As long as it don't
come back to you, huh?
Thanks, man.
Hey, you're out late.
Good to see you, man.
I know, I know, I know.
I owe you a drink.
It's all good.
I don't even need
- to ask this from you.
- How's the night going?
- It's going all right. It's a little slow.
- Slow?
Should have been in here Tuesday.
They got this...
Where's that... No, the...
- I know who you're talking about. You talking about Karen?
- Mm-hmm.
Hey, homey.
Let me holla at you.
Oh, you on one? Huh?
'Cause you think you know shit?
You ask him
about some baseball cards?
I know what
your brother told you.
- Al, back up, man.
- But he ain't so innocent.
Look, man, we don't want
no shit with this dude.
You talk to the cops, Marcus?
Dumbass, don't do
this shit right here.
Shut the fuck up.
Second your little brother
steps in the joint, he's dead.
- Al!
- So maybe,
you want to rethink this, huh?
Yo, what the fuck, man! Come on!
Al!
Oh, shit. Whoa, whoa!
Whoa.
What's up?
You better fucking kill us.
Because if you don't,
I'm gonna find you
and I'm gonna finish this shit.
We can finish it now,
motherfucker.
Okay, okay.
We'll see you.
Anyone in your family
wanna talk to the cops,
you tell 'em
Drew killed that family.
- Hey, what the fuck! Come on.
- Huh? You heard me?
Drew killed those people!
- Come on!
- Tell 'em that. You'll get yours.
Let's go, man.
Come on. Let's go!
The fuck?
Why? Why?
Marcus, Marcus.
Well, then,
what do you want us to do?
Why'd you even do the thing
in the first place?
- You could have just came to your family.
- You ain't got no money.
- What are you talking about?
- Okay, it's not about that...
He called in the anonymous tip
just to protect your Black ass.
I wasn't a part of the robbery, Ant,
that's what I tried to tell Marcus.
But you were there!
You know what?
I just figured out something.
You made that call, 'cause by helping
me, it makes me look like
- a piece of shit, just like you.
- Hey!
Those assholes
do not get to put their hand
on anybody in the Cowans family.
You understand me?
Do you fucking understand me?
Heard you, man.
So we gonna go talk to 'em.
- Let's go.
- No, we're not doing that.
- So now you're protecting them?
- No.
I'm trying to keep this shit from
getting crazier than what it already is.
I'ma go talk to 'em tomorrow.
Drew, you need to stay away
from both of 'em.
You right, T.
But do you think they really
gonna listen to you and Ant?
Come on, man.
- Let him go, T.
- After what they did to you,
- you wanna let him go down there?
- Let him go.
They're his friends, right?
So if they beat him up,
then we can go to the cops.
Then Drew can tell the police
everything they need to hear.
And this will all go away.
Look, I'ma call y'all
as soon as I talk to 'em
tomorrow, all right?
Drew, Drew. Drew, don't go around
there screwing with these guys.
Just go there, and tell 'em
to leave Marcus alone,
and put these motherfuckers
in your rearview. All right?
All right.
- Ant.
- Hey.
Don't do nothing stupid.
Al told me
you killed that family.
You of all people should know, Marcus,
that when shit is falling apart,
you don't want to go down alone.
In a week,
if they get desperate,
they're gonna say that your ass was there.
How does it feel
to be a fucking snitch?
Mind your fucking business.
I know. You ain't got to say it.
You ain't got to say it.
You told Marcus
I killed that family?
Yo, man, what the fuck!
Back the fuck up!
Yeah, I did.
I was sick of his bullshit.
Boy, you better
calm your ass down.
Nigga, how stupid are you?
The cops interviewed us.
And we all told them
the same damn thing.
They don't have any evidence
to know that it was us.
If they had more,
they would have held us.
Oh, shit.
Maybe it wasn't your brother
who left the tip.
Maybe Drew here bitched up.
And now his ass is trying
to set us up.
Call the cops to keep himself clean.
Is that what you did?
And risk pissing you off?
And get my own self stuck up?
Come on, man.
Outside of Stacy, I ain't putting
anything past anyone, especially you.
I know what most of you two
crazy-asses gone and done
in the past few years,
and I ain't said shit.
So I don't know where you get off
thinking that you can't trust me?
Did your fucking dumbass
not hear me outside?
Man, who the fuck
are you talking to?
I don't fucking trust nobody!
And if it ain't you,
then someone's gonna be put down.
Whether it be
your junkie-ass brother,
who I heard was taking dicks
for bags,
- or whoever the fuck it is. I don't give a fuck.
- Calm the fuck down.
Drew.
If Marcus is behind this shit,
your ass got decisions, bro.
Because it's all three of us
against every-fucking-body
or it's you against me and Al.
Yeah. You think this is funny.
Okay, clap all you want.
Nobody fucks with my family.
Whoa.
You gonna do me like that?
- Hmm.
- When all this shit is your fault?
Shut the fuck up!
Shut the fuck up!
Fuck!
Wait. What are you
guys doing in my house?
- Dad?
- Go.
Dad. Mom!
Honey, what's wrong?
Nicholas. Kyle. God...
Stay the fuck down!
Yo,
what the fuck are you doing?
Search the house.
I'll take care of the kid.
So why didn't you tell us about
it when you first found out?
Honestly, I just had a hard time
wrapping my head around
what I knew.
What you doing back here, man?
I thought you went home.
I, um...
I thought this through.
I shouldn't go talk
to Al and Stacy alone.
Maybe one of you can go with me.
You ain't gotta do this alone.
That's what we're here for.
Love you, man.
Always here for you.
Seriously.
Y'all two, man.
Yeah, Marie says she'll take
over the next few days. Yeah.
Hey, uh, let me call you back.
All right, bye-bye.
- Good morning, my love.
- Good morning, sweetheart.
- How you feeling this morning?
- I'm good, I'm good.
You know, you should go in,
'cause that place falls apart without you.
No, we're not in tax season,
so we're good.
And who told you
to come in here without me, huh?
Look, I ain't no invalid.
Although, I did feel
a little tired
when I was trying to make it
over to turn on the radio.
Could you help me just
turn on the radio?
Oh, so now you need me, huh?
Mr. I Ain't No Invalid.
You know, you ain't no badass just
'cause you're turning on the radio.
I'm the one
who had a heart attack.
- That you did.
- Yeah.
- You want some coffee?
- Huh? Yeah.
...Stacy Griffin and his
friend Al Edwards were found murdered
this morning
at Stacy's barber shop.
Sources say police at the
scene seem to strongly believe
that it was
an armed robbery gone wrong.
...killed both men,
then proceeded to ransack the shop.
So far
there's been no witnesses.
Now, both men have been
in and out of trouble...
Hello.
Hey.
Why'd you get involved
with this shit, Drew?
I got desperate.
And I was broke.
I saw how much Marcus was costing the
family, man. I didn't want to add to that.
It was dumb.
And you're lucky that
you weren't there last night.
I think Marcus
did a really good thing
calling in that tip.
So... So don't be
too hard on him about that,
especially since he was trying
to protect you.
I won't.
- I'ma take a shower.
- Yeah, I'm gonna lay some clothes out for you, all right?
- All right.
- Hey, um, wait a minute.
Listen, those dudes being dead
might not be such a bad thing, bro.
Okay?
Well, at least what had happened
to you wasn't on the news, Drew.
- Yeah.
- No, it still don't stop them nosy-ass neighbors
- from talking.
- Mm-hmm.
You know the word had got out.
Mom, I don't care
what people saying now.
I got y'all.
If I didn't, I probably...
- Did anybody hear from Marcus?
- No.
What, he didn't call
none of y'all?
- Hey, you talk to him?
- I'll try him again. I'll try him again.
You know, Marcus is probably still
mad that Al and Stacy attacked him.
Hmm. Yeah I would be, too.
What do you think really
happened with those dudes?
Well, I think
it's like Mama said.
Bad catches up with bad people.
I'm just glad
I ain't go talk to 'em.
Shit.
I might have been there
when they got shot.
Drew, baby, let me
talk to you for a minute.
Yes, ma'am.
What happened?
I told Mama and Daddy that that
lawyer might not be a bad idea.
Coming, Mama.
Terry, let me ask you this, bro.
Knowing what you know about what Drew
did, does that bother you?
A lot.
I pray on it every night.
But praying
doesn't change everything.
Hey, what's up, baby?
- Hey, Marcus.
- Hey, what's up? I miss you.
Marcus, have you been drinking?
Eva, Drew's homies,
Al and Stacy, they...
they got killed.
Police say it was a stickup
or some shit.
What do you say?
Some dirty niggas, E.
Could have been anybody.
But I know Drew was at the house
with Anthony when it happened.
I know that for sure.
- I just wanna talk to you, baby.
- Marcus, I don't have...
I wanna talk to you.
- I don't...
- I just gotta talk to you.
I gotta tell you something.
Okay?
And hopefully,
it will make you understand
why I tried to protect
my brother.
All right?
Tish, she ain't tell you
everything about me.
I was accused of murder too.
But I ain't kill nobody.
Dude's name was Dwight Tooley.
He owed me some dope money.
I went to collect.
We got into it. Shit got ugly.
He hit his head.
Next thing I know, police is
arresting me for assault and battery.
And then two months later,
he dies of a brain aneurysm.
- An aneurysm can happen at anytime.
- Exactly.
It's the same shit
my lawyer was trying to say,
but the family, they wasn't trying
to hear me doing a year for assault,
so they got the judge to up
my sentence to manslaughter.
They said if we didn't get into the
fight, then he wouldn't have died.
They put years on my sentence.
Years I ain't deserve.
E, if my brother got anything
to do with this,
that's never gonna
sit well with me, ever.
But I don't want to lose you
to this, E.
I don't want to lose you to this shit.
I don't want to lose you to nothing.
I'm so sorry
this happened to us.
I love you so much.
Come back to me, baby.
God... No, I can't.
- Come back to me.
- I can't. Not with this...
Not with this going on.
Really?
Got a nigga picking you up
that quick?
If that's what you think,
then you never got
how much I cared about you.
He's my cousin.
What are you doing here?
I'd like to talk to you
about your brother.
You're telling me the same gun
that killed Stacy and Al,
is the same gun
- that killed the Gerviches?
- Yeah.
Doesn't mean the gun
didn't belong to either of 'em.
But it wasn't a murder-suicide.
Someone else wanted them
shut down.
Instead of you following leads, you drop over here with coffee?
Yeah, with good reason.
Those bullets led me back
to the night
that they were all brought in.
Most importantly, Drew.
Why is that?
Because of how
he talked about you.
He... He mentioned me?
He never mentioned you by name,
but uh, wow, you know,
once he started tearing you apart, he...
he couldn't stop.
How could you know he was talking about me?
He's got three brothers.
Only one's an addict
and did jail time.
He covered everything.
Like what?
He said he felt like
he was living your life
now that shit had
gotten better for you.
He lost his job,
he lost his girlfriend,
he was being dragged into
a bullshit murder charge,
which he... he wasn't mad about.
But when I asked him
if he was living two lives,
boom.
He went into his brother.
If you think
Drew's behind all of this,
then fucking arrest him.
That would be a waste of time.
The more missteps you make in a
homicide case, the more messy it gets.
And I don't...
I don't fucking do messy.
Like you being here right now
ain't messy?
You know...
...my mother told me
when I was a kid that
the biggest Christian
was probably the biggest sinner
and that the second they
took Jesus into their heart,
that's when they could only
see in black and white.
You know who else
is super judgmental?
Addicts who get clean.
The anonymous caller
was someone
who wanted a reward.
Someone who wanted to do right.
There was no reward
being offered, Marcus.
What you trying to say?
You think it was me?
I'm just trying to see
where the puzzle pieces fit.
I'm sorry, bro. It wasn't me.
My first year as a detective,
I knew that if I could
get information
from a murderer's wife,
I could close the case,
but every time I tried to talk to
her, she shut me out.
I mean, he was abusive,
but she was...
she was ride or die.
So one day I waited for the
husband to leave and, um...
I remember I brought her a carton
of her favorite cigarettes.
And within 20 minutes
of sitting on her couch,
she told me everything,
because I just happened to show up
right after
he put hands on her.
When people have information
that they really wanna share,
they're hoping that somebody
will coax it out of 'em.
It is my job to catch them
at the right time.
Ain't none of that shit
my concern.
Drew was with my brother,
Anthony, that night.
- So I guess you came here for nothing.
- I disagree.
I think you know more
than you're letting on.
Too bad I don't smoke.
Well, most alcoholics
turn to coffee
when they quit drinking.
All right.
Does Drew own a .45?
No.
Whether you believe me or not,
this is my last fucking case.
I...
I've really grown tired
of this shit.
Because at some point...
most of the cases I've had...
they end with either a Black
man holding a gun in his hand
or inside the chalk lines.
Fucking wearing on me.
It's eating me alive.
It makes it hard to fucking sleep.
How's that for oversharing?
All right.
How do you sleep, Marcus?
Yeah.
Finally, my brother calls.
Tell Mama and Daddy
I'll be by for Sunday dinner.
Now you're talking. Sound like you're
serious too. You're gonna really be there?
You gonna be there?
- All right, bro, later.
- All right, I love you, brother.
You really don't
watch reality shows?
- No.
- I've learned a lot from them.
How to center myself,
not depend on a man,
- get myself out of debt.
- Okay, wait a minute. I thought you said
Skanks on the Boulevard
was your favorite show.
- Mm-hmm.
- Please tell me what in the hell you learned from that?
Well, all of those women
overcame their situations.
You know, people who watch reality
shows usually end up jobless.
Terry.
What was that John Wayne movie
you used to like
when you was a kid? Um...
- Stagecoach.
- Stagecoach. That's it. That's it.
You used to say,
"When I grow up,
I want to be a white cowboy."
Did I say white?
Yeah, you said white.
Well, that's all you saw on TV then.
- I said I wanted to be a white cowboy?
- White cowboy.
You good?
Yeah.
Bad shit happens, Marcus.
Sometimes
you're on the giving end,
sometimes
you're on the receiving.
Hmm.
Which end were Stacy and Al?
The end of unnecessary bullshit.
We good?
Oh, here they come.
Here they come.
Okay.
- Terry, go ahead, say the grace.
- Yes, sir.
Dad.
- Marcus...
- Come on, man. I'm only gonna say something like...
- You know, why don't we get Marcus to pray?
- Okay, Marcus.
No, I usually keep my prayers
to myself,
or my AA group.
Baby, you've been
drinking again?
You sure know your son, huh?
It's been a rough few days,
Mama.
Can I talk to you outside?
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
- What's going on now?
Drew.
Excuse us.
I'll wait.
Wait for what?
What's going on here?
You'll see.
Come on, we out.
Did I do something?
What's going on?
He's drunk.
I don't want you to see that shit,
and I don't wanna stick around
to hear that, all right?
Do you think he'll
say something about you?
Why don't you take the car?
Let me go back
and hear what happens.
Okay?
I'ma call you.
She ain't family
and I didn't want her to see
Marcus make an ass
out of himself.
So go ahead, bro.
You know, I really thought
I found some light
when I met Eva.
When you got me that job
driving the bus, Pop,
yeah, I really thought...
I turned the corner.
That all went to hell
once I seen that boy on TV.
Son, we already
talked about this.
What little boy?
The Gervich boy.
He was on TV
talking about this, uh,
collection of baseball cards
that his father had for him,
and how they was stolen.
Marcus, why are you bringing
that shit up, man? Hmm?
- This shit is over, bro.
- Watch your mouth, boy.
Watch your mouth.
You still at my table.
I asked you
where the cards from.
You said Stacy gave 'em
to you for safekeeping.
I didn't know if he was telling
the truth 'cause with those dudes,
you can get caught up in
something you can't say no to.
But I wanted to protect you.
So I called in
that anonymous tip.
Nigga, you drunk.
Mama, he drunk.
Look at him.
It's embarrassing,
coming in the house drunk like
that, lying and shit.
- Drew.
- That's embarrassing, Daddy.
- It's fucking embarr...
- Hey, Drew.
What is Marcus saying here?
Don't you lie to me.
He was with Al and Stacy the
night those people got murdered.
Wait a minute, son.
You were with Al and Stacy
the night that they
murdered those people?
Goddamn it, boy!
You gave me those cards to hold
and you lied to me!
- Della, Della...
- What do you mean? You knew about this?
Lloyd, he gave me the cards.
He asked me to hold them, 'cause he said
Stacy was gonna try to pin
the murder on him.
- Wait a minute.
- But he swore to me
- that he didn't have anything to do with it.
- Do you know...
Are you that low that you
would take another person's life?
Did we not teach you
anything, boy?
- You knew about this?
- Yes, Lloyd, I knew!
Well, what did you do
with the cards?
I burned them, Lloyd.
When you went into the hospital,
I burned them.
Why didn't you tell me about it?
'Cause I was trying
to save our son.
- "Save our son"?
- Man, why are you doing this?
- Save your son? What about saving your...
- Man, shut the fuck up!
And you brought
our mom into this?
Why you doing this, man?
That cop said that the same gun
that killed that family
killed Al and Stacy, nigga.
No, no, no.
A .45, like the one you own!
Drew.
Drew.
What in God's name
did you do?
Son. Come on.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
So I guess...
I guess I'm the black sheep
now, right?
- Huh?
- No.
Are you happy, huh?
Are you fucking happy?
Stay the fuck down.
Stay down.
Don't get up, bro.
Don't get up.
It's not that bad.
She... She call 911?
Yeah, she called.
She called. Tisha!
Okay, it's okay. It's okay.
It's okay, boy.
I love you.
I love you.
You're gonna be fine.
You did good. You did good.
You did right.
Morning.
Marcus.
Marcus. Oh, baby.
Hey, Mama.
Hey, boy.
Hey, there. Hey, there.
Hey, there. Hey, there.
Hey, boy.
- That's my boy. How you feeling?
- I'm all right.
- You all right?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Baby.
He's gonna be all right.
He's gonna be all right.
Morning.
May we help you?
Here to have a conversation
with your son.
- Marcus, who is this?
- That's the cop who arrested Drew.
What you doing here?
Marcus, I, um...
I'ma keep this simple for you.
If your brother's attempt
to kill you
had anything to do with
the Gerviches...
Nobody gives a damn
about the Gerviches.
...he might not get charged
with a home invasion.
But filing charges
will make sure
that he pays for this
in some way.
- If you press charges...
- So you want him to do your job.
- Mom, Mom...
- Just do your own goddamn job and leave us alone!
Della, stop it.
Yeah. If Drew did this crime,
- then he's gonna have to pay.
- Really, Lloyd?
- Really.
- Dad, calm down.
- Don't "Dad" me.
- Do we need to do this?
- Stay out of it!
- We do not have to do this.
- Lloyd!
- Everybody calm down!
- Ma, Ma, Ma, Pop.
- How can I? Don't tell us to calm down.
Y'all, stop.
It's my family.
It's my brother.