Homicide: Life on the Street s04e08 Episode Script
Sniper, Part 1
- How you doing? - What'll it be? A soft drink, soda, anything cold with ice in it.
- Coming right up.
- Great.
Thanks.
Tim! Jay Leno's here.
- That's not him.
Are you sure? - Sure, I'm sure.
- That is not.
- It is.
- What would he be doing in Baltimore? - Dunno, but that's him.
Maybe he's just some guy who looks like Jay Leno, huh? - It's Jay Leno.
Be tactful.
- It's not Jay Leno! Right! - Great.
- OK.
- Thanks.
- Hah - It's Jay Leno.
- No kidding.
He's right here in the bar.
What do we do? Leave him alone.
He's he doesn't want to be bothered.
Probably came for peace and quiet.
Trust me.
Ignore him, he'll be happier.
- Probably wants to remain anonymous.
- I won't even look him in the eye.
Guys, you got any peanuts, or anything like that? He wants peanuts.
Bring him peanuts, but don't engage in conversation.
That's great.
Thanks.
Beautiful day, huh? I love comin' to Baltimore.
I gotta cousin, Mary, she thinks I visit her.
I come for the crab cakes and to go out to Camden Yards, kinda hang out.
Don't say anything to her, will you? We do our show in California, so don't get back to this part of the country much.
It's fun to come back.
Great town, don't you think? You guys probably don't get a chance to watch much late-night TV, huh? Oh, look at the time! Well, gotta run.
Nice talking to you.
Hard to believe the bar is empty.
Clean slate What are you doing here? - Testing my new lens.
- That's great.
Paralysis, neurological damage, drop foot.
- Drop foot? - Drop foot? A possible side effect of back surgery.
My doctor wants me to have a laminectomy.
That's when they cut out the bad disc and fuse the vertebrae together.
Spinal fusion.
My ex-brother-in-law had that.
Yep.
I've never had surgery before.
Frank, look here.
Look here.
On the consent form it says it says one of the possible outcomes, in small print, death! - Ouch.
- There's a risk in every surgery.
Sure.
There are side effects, but death? You go in for a little operation, you end up in the morgue! I don't think so.
If you die in hospital with a signed death certificate from a physician, you don't have to go to the morgue.
Thanks, Frank.
That makes me feel a lot better.
- What? - You got really nice hair.
You get paid for this? Who's up? Not me.
Still working on the Buchnowski cutting.
It's me.
I'll get it.
- No, I got it.
- Somebody get it before they hang up? Maybe this is how we improve our clearance rate.
Don't answer the phone.
If a murder is committed in Baltimore and no detective takes the call, did that murder occur? - The phone! - Bayliss, Homicide.
Yeah, yeah.
OK.
Got it.
We got a triple shooting on Collington Avenue.
Take Brodie with you please! - What you got? - Two shot in the back, both 10-7.
A third, a teenage girl, shot nicked her heart, punctured her lung.
- She's en route to Shock Trauma.
- OK.
Get her name? Keisha Farrell.
We got a body over here, and another on the right.
- Witnesses? - A few.
They thought the shots came from the brewery.
Each killed by a single bullet.
No powder residue.
The entrance is clean.
- The shooter was a distance away.
- As far as that rooftop? - Could be.
- OK.
- He's a great marksman.
- He missed the third victim.
Better shot than you, Frank.
- They got something on the roof.
- OK.
This may have been here before the shooting, but you should take a look.
- Game of hangman.
- Chalk looks fresh.
Let's get lab techs here to take scrapings.
Nine-letter word.
Something, something, O, something, I, something, something, A, something.
- What word is it? - Maybe it's not a word.
- Maybe it's a name.
- Well, either way, it doesn't matter.
I got me a living victim.
Keisha Farrell.
Living victim, case always goes down, right? Yes, sir, always.
- Keisha Farrell died 20 minutes ago.
- She died? - In the operating room.
- During surgery? We got a triple homicide here now.
Kellerman, Lewis, Munch, we need you.
We found three shell casings on the rooftop at the brewery, 308s.
Also a game of hangman.
The kid's game? We took scrapings of the chalk, and sent them to the lab.
OK, Victim number one is a Louise Wilcox, 45 years of age, a nurse at St John's Veteran's Hospital.
Number two, Vernon Capers, We found a knife on him, and two black-tops of cocaine.
Maybe it's drug-related.
Cos it was in that sort of neighbourhood.
Touché.
Third victim, Keisha Farrell, Maybe the shooter hit the others by accident and was aiming for Capers? - Accidentally shot them in the heart? - Accidentally on purpose.
Three clean shots, three people expunged.
- Expunged? - Any connection between the victims? All black, all lived in the neighbourhood.
All right, let's investigate each victim.
Bayliss, you're the primary.
Work with me on the Wilcox woman.
Kellerman, Lewis, take Vernon Capers.
Look at a drug motive.
Pembleton, you and John talk to Keisha's family.
I want everything - family grudges, wives, husbands.
I wanna know what toothpaste they used! If there's a connection, it may lead us to our shooter.
F-A-R-R-E-L-L.
Died during surgery.
Louise Wilcox was a nurse on my shift.
I don't know about her personal life.
Did she mention a Vernon Capers? - Not to me.
- Keisha Farrell? - Nope.
- Maybe they were patients of hers? I can give you her charts to look at, but I have got to get back to work.
Without Louise, I've got twice as much to do and half the time to do it.
- Terrific.
- Wait, there's more.
- OK.
- Those charts don't leave this desk.
OK.
OK.
We found your brother with a pocket full of ready rocks, Mr Capers.
Vernon have any other bad habits? Used to leave the toilet seat up every now and then.
- It'd drive my girlfriend crazy.
- You got a warrant? - We're pinnin' nothing on you.
- We're Homicide, not Narcotics.
We need to know if, because of his problems with cocaine, he might have got mixed up with a lowlife who wanted him expunged? - Expunged? - Hey, look.
He was a doper, OK? Sure, but I'm talking a little weed, a little cocaine, nothing more.
- Who was his dealer? - Vernon never made a buy.
- So how'd he get the stuff? - Anything he needed, he came to me.
- Hey, Pike took care of Vernon.
- You took care of your brother? Yeah, but I guess not good enough.
Mr Farrell, do you know why Keisha wasn't in school this morning? She didn't like going to school.
I tried to keep after her, but I work two jobs.
Never enough time.
Do you know what your daughter was doing on Collington Avenue? If I'd been after her more, she'd have been in school.
She'd be coming home tonight for supper.
I always made sure we had supper together.
OK, Mr Farrell, we won't take up any more of your time.
Thanks.
Thank you, sir.
I hate hospitals.
A hospital like this, who blames you? Thanks for your cooperation.
You ever have surgery, besides being shot last year? Elective surgery? - When I was 12 I had my appendix out.
- Oh, so they put you under, huh? - I mean what was that like? - I don't remember.
You don't remember your consciousness being obliterated? I was a kid.
You know something? Your heart, it could have stopped.
You could have been allergic to anaesthesia and just died right there on the table.
You know, Tim, sometimes these back troubles are psychosomatic.
Vernon Capers? None of Louise Wilcox's patients had a criminal record, and none of her co-workers held a grudge.
No reason anyone would've shot Keisha.
- How about Caper's drug connection? - Zip.
It's turning into a stone whodunit.
- Play that for me again.
The hangman? Yeah.
It does take two to play hangman.
But the bullets we recovered all came from the same gun, so that implies one gunman.
Yeah, one gunman and a friend with a good vocabulary.
What? It's from my doctor.
Muscle relaxants for back spasms, see? But you don't pop 'em like aspirin! I don't need medical advice from you, all right? I'm fine.
Yeah, OK.
Another game of hangman.
Same letters as at the first scene? It's a nine-letter word, but he added another letter, "T".
There's fewer wrong guesses.
The stick guy, he's just got the head, the body and one arm.
- He's hanging himself.
- Maybe trying to work something out.
Could be modifying the rules and with each wrong guess he shoots somebody.
Shell casings are 308s like Collington Square.
That and this hangman game, we're looking for the same shooter.
- Giardello and Russert have showed up.
- You know what that means, hey? Congratulations, Timmy! It's a bouncing baby Red Ball.
Any cigars? Great! Our shooter from Collington Square has moved on to Highlandtown.
The pattern is the same.
All shots were fired from an adjacent rooftop, all victims were shot in the heart.
We might be dealing with a sniper who chooses targets at random, we might be dealing with an assassin personality, or a serial killer.
Right now, we've got a lot of unknowns.
Detective Bayliss.
Our two latest victims are Irma Watts, and Armando Layzek, 26, also white, a city worker.
We got three bullets, each with a four-right twist, from Collington Square.
We are looking for an H-K rifle.
A second hangman game was found at the Highlandtown scene.
That information shouldn't leave this squad room.
I don't want any leaks to the press.
Our handwriting expert, Andy Orloff, is comparing the letters in both games.
Traditionally it takes two to play this, but ballistics points to only one gun.
We still don't know whether there are one or two assailants involved.
- Location? - Warehouse rooftops.
The first one was four storeys high.
The Collington Square location was seven storeys.
He likes heights.
Lewis, call Quantico.
Put together a psychological profile on the sniper, OK? Kellerman, run down all the shooting ranges, all the gun clubs.
Shabazz, Higby, get a list of registered H-K rifles.
OK? Munch and Frank, and Stapopolous and Tambelli, take the Highlandtown victims, see if they had anything in common with each other or with Collington Square victims.
Howard's going to stay on top of the chalk and handwriting analysis.
Hangman is our shooter's signature.
Maybe that'll lead us to him.
I'll be holding a press conference.
Any requests for information, for interviews, refer them to my office, OK? Let's be thorough, but let's be fast.
We don't know when or where, or even if, our sniper will strike again, and I don't want to wait to find out.
The next move is ours, OK? OK! Go! - Looking for a "sniper".
Interesting.
- What do you mean? Two black people get killed, it's drug related.
Two white folks, it's a Red Ball.
It's got a nice ring to it, "Red Ball".
It's urgent.
You give press conferences.
Got a problem with the investigation? I ain't got a problem, Sarge, I just think it's interesting.
- Tell me when you hear from Quantico.
- You got it.
You and Howard, it's love.
Start pickin' out your china pattern.
We're confident we'll apprehend the shooter.
We have back-up from every district.
You're recommending people stay home? There's no need for panic.
There is need for caution.
My daughter was shot! What are the police doing? A double shift of homicide detectives are on this case, we will catch who shot these five people.
- You don't know anything! - Get him out.
Do you have any idea where or when the sniper will strike next? I want to speak to somebody in charge! I want to see the Mayor! Where is the Mayor and the Commissioner? Shouldn't they be here? I want answers from the police.
I want justice for my daughter! I want justice! Captain Russert has the support of the Commissioner and Mayor.
We're close to making an arrest.
I can't tell you any more without compromising the investigation.
Thank you all for your cooperation.
What's this fellow's name? Farrell.
- Mr Farrell! - Who the hell let him in? Why did you announce that we were close to an arrest? - We're no closer.
- The media doesn't need to know that.
It doesn't help, making false promises.
You wanted a press conference.
You can't hold a press conference and tell them we don't know anything.
We have a sniper on the loose! I won't be responsible for people being misled! I'm not suggesting you mislead them.
I'm suggesting by your next press conference, you're able to announce we have the killer in custody.
Put more uniforms out front.
I don't want reporters in the squad room.
I don't want civilians roaming the hallways.
What have we got to connect these victims? Anything? We've checked with their families, friends, co-workers, psychic advisors and dry cleaners.
Farrell, Capers, Wilcox, Watts and Layzek couldn't have less in common.
- Except they're all dead.
- You're a literal guy, Frank.
- What are you readin'? - A book of word games.
"Hangman - the game gets its name "from the method of counting incorrect guesses.
A gibbet or gallows is drawn.
"On the first incorrect guess, the head of the man is added.
"The next gives him a neck, the third a body, and so forth.
"If the man is completed before the player has guessed the correct word, "he is hung and loses the round.
" Ouch.
There's no completed man in either of these two photos.
- He hasn't lost the round yet.
- So he's still playing the game.
We might have a break.
The lab identified the chalk from the letters.
The type of chalk is Da Vinci.
It's manufactured by Majestic, Inc.
- It's usually sold in art-supply stores.
- The stores may not be open long.
We need to talk to managers, clerks, all art-supply businesses in the area.
Track down whoever bought this Da Vinci chalk.
We also want any credit-card receipts to check against the hangman letters.
Handwriting analysis can compare a signature with the writing from the hangman games? - Well, that's what we're looking for.
- Modern science.
- You comin', Tim? - Yeah, I'm on my way.
Detective Bayliss! Andy Orloff, our handwriting expert.
Great! We've narrowed down the credit card receipts for Da Vinci in the past year.
You've got the photographs of the hangman games at both scenes.
- We're looking for a match.
- We're counting on you.
- Oh, boy.
Oh! - Lewis, line three.
Lewis, Homicide.
Hold on.
I've got Quantico.
They can't give us a complete psych profile for 24 hours.
Tell them to fax whatever they've got right now, and if they've got a problem with that, tell them to call me.
I'll be in my office.
All right.
I didn't mean to scare you, Andy, but you're our only hope.
That scares me.
No, honey.
Caroline, I can't come home yet.
I know.
I know.
I didn't forget about your piano recital tomorrow night.
I hope I can make it too.
I know.
OK.
I love you too.
Now go to bed.
Bayliss, Homicide.
- Yeah, yeah.
OK.
I'm on my way.
- Sniper struck again? No, but a uniform found a game of hangman at an elementary school.
- I'm checking it out.
- Me, too.
- I want you wearing vests.
- Don't worry! And don't tell me not to worry! You think he's settin' us up? - The sniper? - He draws a hangman and we respond.
Bang! He picks us off like a couple of sitting ducks.
- Is that what you think? - It hasn't crossed your mind? - Well, yeah, it's crossed my mind.
- That's all I'm sayin'.
- So, where's the hangman? - Right here.
- What do you think? A warning? - Possibly.
A warning? My kids go to this school.
It's almost midnight.
In 8 hours, of 6 and 12 will go to school.
We need to order this block cordoned off, this building closed! - And set off a city-wide panic? - We don't have an alternative.
Megan's right.
It's possible the sniper is sending us a warning as to where he'll hit next.
We can't risk these children.
We sent chalk scrapings from the wall to the lab and photos to Andy Orloff to compare handwriting.
We're waitin' to see if there's a match with the other scenes.
- How long is that gonna take? - They're working as fast as they can.
You still think these games are connected? The first two games used nine-letter words.
This one, it's four letters.
- So they may be unrelated? - Or he went on to another word.
- I heard from Munch and Pembleton! - What'd they find out? They have two suspects a block away.
- Two suspects? - In custody.
They're on their way.
Come on out.
Two children.
Open your hand.
I want you to tell me the truth, man to man.
You draw this game? You guys are just playin' a game? Just a game, right? - Bayliss, it's a kid.
- Get the kids outta of here.
Make sure they get home safe.
- I want that analysed for confirmation.
- All right.
And a uniform detail posted here as a precaution.
What you got there? Good stuff? Percodan, Percoset, Tylenol.
- They're muscle relaxants.
- Even better.
And you don't get any.
No one's willing to share their drugs anymore.
So, this doctor, does he still think back surgery is a good idea? He said that I could either have months of physical therapy with no guarantee of success, or I could get an operation.
- So, he recommended the operation.
- With no guarantee of success? What's that supposed to mean? You go to a chiropractor, to a physical therapist The doctor doesn't see that dough.
He's gotta cut you open to collect.
Dr Erlich is very dedicated.
He didn't get into this for the money.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
What kinda car does he drive? Lexus? BMW? - Jaguar.
- The economy model, huh? So he drives a Jaguar.
It doesn't mean that he's not dedicated.
Argh! Get outta there.
Homicide, Detective Munch.
Where? Yeah.
- Bayliss! - What? Another shooting.
Four dead outside the Walters Art Gallery.
Sir, I want to thank you for giving me this job, sir.
It means a lot that you've given me this chance to prove myself.
- You haven't proven yourself yet.
- Yes, sir.
- Quit talking and keep videotaping.
- Yes, sir.
Did you see where the shots came from, Judge Hazelton? There was an echo, but I believe they came from one of those rooftops.
Maybe the Washington Monument.
You should look up there.
We've got detectives up there, sir.
A nine-letter word, like the first two.
He's filled in more letters, but made fewer wrong guesses.
That means? He's closer to the right word but hasn't found the answer he's looking for.
Maybe we ought to buy him a dictionary.
Yeah.
- Thanks.
- We got positive ID's on these bodies.
We got a doorman, Ernie Zaratta, a physician, Joel Pollack.
Evan Reginald, he's a retired judge And Mary Caswell.
The wife of Henry Caswell, the City Councilman? - Right.
- It's Red Ball on top of a Red Ball.
Let's go over what we know, OK? Firstly, how do we know this is even the same sniper? Shots fired, the same pattern.
Victims all shot in the heart.
The hangman game at every scene.
Each time more letters are added.
Chalk scrapings indicate that Da Vinci chalk was used in all three games.
No correspondence between the number of victims and the number of completed letters, or between the number of victims and the number of incorrect guesses.
The victims are all races, all ages, all economic backgrounds, both genders, and no connections.
- Let's go over every crime scene.
- Maybe it's in the locations? Collington Square is a "C".
Highlandtown's an "H".
Mount Vernon's an "M".
It's got nothing to do with anything, does it? What about the names of the victims? Names, places, letters, numbers, times of day, names God, no pattern is emerging! What about time? Times on record? We have We got eight AM, we got four PM, and midnight.
No minutes, no seconds, on the hour? That's what the witnesses recollected, on the hour, every eight hours.
Three shooting incidents, each exactly eight hours apart.
- It's 3:35 AM now.
- Mount Vernon was midnight.
We got - So we have got less than five hours.
- Where? Where? You've less than five hours to find him and you're meeting victims' families? They're demanding answers, and have a right to be heard.
Concentrate on catching the shooter.
There's nothing more we can do, except wait.
- It's not our job to placate the families.
- I think it is our job.
These are concerned citizens.
They need to know we're listening to them.
We're responsible for giving out information.
They can turn on the news.
- I'm also setting up an 800 number.
- What? Any family member who wants to know the status of our investigation can call, keep current on our progress, updates over the phone.
They won't have to come to Police Headquarters.
An 800 number? People will feel they have access to the Police Department.
- They'll get the answers they need.
- No! It's a perfect solution to our public-information problem.
- I think it's a good idea.
- Maybe.
But we're already short on money and manpower.
- I'm not authorising the funds for it.
- What? You should have checked with me first.
Let me know when you have a break in this case.
Oh! Tim, what the hell are you doing? - Whoa! - Hey, whoa! Wow! - Are you OK? - I'm fine.
I'm fine.
I just took some muscle relaxants for my back.
I'm fine.
I got names in red piling up under my name.
Under my name.
Why are they piling up under my name? Because I answered the phone call.
Yeah, it's my responsibility, it's my case.
You know, with every case there are those moments when you feel you've lost your way.
You don't know if it's worth it, the hours not being able to go to your daughter's piano recital.
Right.
See, but then something happens.
A piece of evidence, a witness comes in.
You get that moment of clarity, a moment when you love your job.
But what amount of stress would make someone want to go out and shoot at strangers? See, that's the reason why he shoots.
- There's no stress at all.
- What do you mean, no stress? With a marksman it is about precision.
You see, it's about total concentration.
And you look through the scope, see, and you exhale You steady your mind, your body.
You focus brain to eye, the hand the gun.
And then the fog just lifts and you're at one with your target.
And then you shoot.
Bang.
No stress at all.
Our handwriting expert, he's got something.
Take a look at these.
"M" from the third hangman game, and "M" from a credit-card purchase of Da Vinci chalk.
We've got a match.
Our suspect is William Mariner, age 43.
Insurance executive.
No prior arrests, medical or mental history.
Wife, Linda.
Three children, two girls and a boy.
Lieutenant Jasper from QRT will fill us in on procedures.
We know a lot about this guy.
He's a crack shot, a former military sharpshooter.
I wanna keep it simple.
Get the wife and kids out of the way, then we go for Mariner.
We are gonna try to talk to this guy first, right? I wanna be prepared in the event of a hostage situation.
I don't want to go in too quickly, cos we might create the exact situation we're trying to avoid.
Bayliss, let the man finish.
Sharpshooters are trained like QRT.
The greater the pressure, the cooler the response.
You go in like paratroopers, this guy'll snap! - Detective, he already has snapped! - OK, all right.
Can Bayliss go in and talk to him before moving in? When we secure the home and isolate Mariner, OK.
- Fair enough? - Yeah, yeah.
Let's do it.
Bill? Honey? Bill? Honey, you want some breakfast? I made your favourite, blueberry pancakes.
I'll keep your plate warm.
Daddy will be out in a minute.
Who wants maple syrup? Me! Hello.
'Mrs Mariner, I'm Detective Tim Bayliss 'with the Baltimore City Police.
Is your husband with you? ' He's in his study.
What's this about? What's going on? 'We're very concerned for your safety.
- 'Are your kids with you too? ' - Yeah.
'OK, good.
Please step outside, Mrs Mariner, you and your children.
' My God! All right, kids, come on.
Let's go! - No! - Go! Go! Mrs Mariner, I'm Captain Russert.
I'm Lieutenant Giardello.
You spoke to Detective Bayliss.
Why are you doing this? I'm sorry, but we've a warrant to arrest your husband for murder.
No.
No.
That is not true! - If we could talk for a moment - I'm going in.
You can't do this! Come on! Listen, listen! We won't hurt you, and we don't want to hurt your husband.
Please don't hurt Bill.
He locks himself in his study.
He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep.
He doesn't even drink.
If he drank, I could handle that, but this - Does your husband own a gun? - A rifle.
He keeps it with him in his study.
I try talking to him, but he keeps babbling.
- About what? - I don't know.
He keeps saying he's gotta finish the game, and if he can finish the game, then he can stop.
- So he's still in his study? - What are you gonna do? - I'm gonna go talk to him.
- Oh! You're up.
The study's in front, off the living room.
QRT is ready for you to go in.
- Did Jasper OK a sharpshooter? - They're in position.
They're not gonna shoot unless I give the signal? If the situation deteriorates, you give it up to them, OK? You understand? William Mariner, this is Detective Tim Bayliss.
Can you hear me in there? Your wife Linda and I were just talking, and she's real worried about you.
Whatever's going on, we can work it out.
I want that.
Your wife does.
I'm sure your kids want that too.
I'm very close now.
You're very close to what? The last letter.
When I get the last letter, I can stop.
I just have to figure it out.
Yeah, I understand about figuring things out.
- My job, I figure things out every day.
- This isn't my job.
What is it that you're trying to to figure out? Maybe I can help.
Mr Mariner? Do you wanna play a game of hangman? It's a nine-letter word.
Go ahead, guess a letter.
- Why don't you come on out here? - Guess a letter, then I'll come out.
- All right.
Er"M".
- I already have an "M".
I chose a letter.
You promised you'd come on out.
But you didn't choose the right letter.
Guess again.
Please, Mr Mariner - I'm waiting.
- Yeah, OK.
Er"B".
- That's it.
- Mr Mariner? I finished the game.
I can stop now.
- It's over.
- Come on out here and we'll talk.
Go, go, go! All right, we're in the room.
- Bayliss? You all right? - Yeah.
All right, keep the wife outta here.
Let's call the crime lab.
"Eromitlab".
What the hell's that? He finally finished the game.
- He got the right word.
- What does it mean? We've got Mariner's prints on shell casings from all three crime scenes.
We've recovered an H-K rifle from his home.
He's our sniper.
He was our sniper! It was unfortunate, yes, but Detective Bayliss did everything he could I have to tell the press our prime suspect blew his brains out while surrounded by detectives and QRT personnel! It's not the optimum outcome, but we did everything according to procedure.
Were you in negotiation with the suspect? I left that to Detective Bayliss.
You turned over a delicate negotiation to a subordinate? - You didn't take responsibility? - That's not what I'm saying.
I take full responsibility.
Your handling of the situation indicates to me you're not up to the position of Captain.
- Excuse me? - You heard me.
- You're demoting me? - You're still a Lieutenant.
You're within the 12-month probation period for Captain.
- You're incapable of doing the job.
- On what grounds? My report will read you were in violation of General Order C-2, Rule Number 1, Section 19.
- Section 19! - Incompetence.
- Section 19? - Yes, that's right.
Section 19 is a completely arbitrary regulation.
It's a You can cite non-performance of duty for an unspecified reason.
It's a loophole for firing someone without having to show cause.
And that's what you are doing right now.
- It's nothing personal.
- Oh, yeah? I think it is personal.
But I just don't think you have the balls to admit it.
Now I'll recommend you be demoted.
Section 13, showing disrespect to a superior officer.
So in five minutes I've been demoted from Captain to Detective? Take a few days off, decide where you'd be comfortable, Arson, Vice or Homicide.
That's assuming you decide to remain with the Department.
Go home, Tim.
You caught the sniper.
Case closed.
Yeah.
I'm on my way.
I'm just I'm gonna sleep for 12 hours straight.
I'm too wired to sleep, unless you want to lend me a magic muscle-relaxing pill? You know? I don't need these anymore.
I don't need them at all.
Here, take 'em.
All of them? - Is there a refill on this? - I dunno.
That's it.
I'm not taking the pills anymore, I'm not gonna have surgery.
- You made a decision? - Yep.
If I'm in agony, so be it.
I'll suffer in silence.
I'll bear my pain like a martyr.
You know it's not your fault Mariner blew his brains out? Do I know that, Frank? Do I really? Ordinary guy, wife, three kids, beautiful house in the suburbs, and he gets all twisted up over this game of hangman.
I try to talk to him, and he blows his head off.
He finished the game and I don't really even know what that means.
I don't get it.
- Come on.
- What? - Time to go home.
- Oh, yeah.
- Can you give me a ride home? - What about your car? It's my back.
It's hard to drive.
What happened to suffering in silence? - You're gonna me a ride home? - I'm goin' home.
Is that a yes or a no? Frank? If God had a name What would it be? - Mum, you're finally home! - Yes! Come here.
- You're gonna be late for school.
- You're comin' to my piano recital? - I wouldn't miss it for the world.
- Yeah! You'd better hurry cos you'll miss your bus.
Bye.
And, yeah, yeah, God, it is great Yeah, yeah, God, it is good Yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus Tryin' to make his way home? If God had a face What would it look like? And would you wanna see If seeing meant that You would have to believe In things like Heaven And in Jesus and the saints And all the prophets? And, yeah, yeah, God, it is great Yeah, yeah, God, it is good 'We interrupt this programme for a news bulletin.
'Three people were shot and killed by a sniper in downtown Baltimore.
'The shots may have been fired from a rooftop, 'but police have no further details at this time.
'This shooting will be the fourth sniper attack 'the city has seen in the past 24 hours, 'bringing the total number of victims to 12 dead.
'
- Coming right up.
- Great.
Thanks.
Tim! Jay Leno's here.
- That's not him.
Are you sure? - Sure, I'm sure.
- That is not.
- It is.
- What would he be doing in Baltimore? - Dunno, but that's him.
Maybe he's just some guy who looks like Jay Leno, huh? - It's Jay Leno.
Be tactful.
- It's not Jay Leno! Right! - Great.
- OK.
- Thanks.
- Hah - It's Jay Leno.
- No kidding.
He's right here in the bar.
What do we do? Leave him alone.
He's he doesn't want to be bothered.
Probably came for peace and quiet.
Trust me.
Ignore him, he'll be happier.
- Probably wants to remain anonymous.
- I won't even look him in the eye.
Guys, you got any peanuts, or anything like that? He wants peanuts.
Bring him peanuts, but don't engage in conversation.
That's great.
Thanks.
Beautiful day, huh? I love comin' to Baltimore.
I gotta cousin, Mary, she thinks I visit her.
I come for the crab cakes and to go out to Camden Yards, kinda hang out.
Don't say anything to her, will you? We do our show in California, so don't get back to this part of the country much.
It's fun to come back.
Great town, don't you think? You guys probably don't get a chance to watch much late-night TV, huh? Oh, look at the time! Well, gotta run.
Nice talking to you.
Hard to believe the bar is empty.
Clean slate What are you doing here? - Testing my new lens.
- That's great.
Paralysis, neurological damage, drop foot.
- Drop foot? - Drop foot? A possible side effect of back surgery.
My doctor wants me to have a laminectomy.
That's when they cut out the bad disc and fuse the vertebrae together.
Spinal fusion.
My ex-brother-in-law had that.
Yep.
I've never had surgery before.
Frank, look here.
Look here.
On the consent form it says it says one of the possible outcomes, in small print, death! - Ouch.
- There's a risk in every surgery.
Sure.
There are side effects, but death? You go in for a little operation, you end up in the morgue! I don't think so.
If you die in hospital with a signed death certificate from a physician, you don't have to go to the morgue.
Thanks, Frank.
That makes me feel a lot better.
- What? - You got really nice hair.
You get paid for this? Who's up? Not me.
Still working on the Buchnowski cutting.
It's me.
I'll get it.
- No, I got it.
- Somebody get it before they hang up? Maybe this is how we improve our clearance rate.
Don't answer the phone.
If a murder is committed in Baltimore and no detective takes the call, did that murder occur? - The phone! - Bayliss, Homicide.
Yeah, yeah.
OK.
Got it.
We got a triple shooting on Collington Avenue.
Take Brodie with you please! - What you got? - Two shot in the back, both 10-7.
A third, a teenage girl, shot nicked her heart, punctured her lung.
- She's en route to Shock Trauma.
- OK.
Get her name? Keisha Farrell.
We got a body over here, and another on the right.
- Witnesses? - A few.
They thought the shots came from the brewery.
Each killed by a single bullet.
No powder residue.
The entrance is clean.
- The shooter was a distance away.
- As far as that rooftop? - Could be.
- OK.
- He's a great marksman.
- He missed the third victim.
Better shot than you, Frank.
- They got something on the roof.
- OK.
This may have been here before the shooting, but you should take a look.
- Game of hangman.
- Chalk looks fresh.
Let's get lab techs here to take scrapings.
Nine-letter word.
Something, something, O, something, I, something, something, A, something.
- What word is it? - Maybe it's not a word.
- Maybe it's a name.
- Well, either way, it doesn't matter.
I got me a living victim.
Keisha Farrell.
Living victim, case always goes down, right? Yes, sir, always.
- Keisha Farrell died 20 minutes ago.
- She died? - In the operating room.
- During surgery? We got a triple homicide here now.
Kellerman, Lewis, Munch, we need you.
We found three shell casings on the rooftop at the brewery, 308s.
Also a game of hangman.
The kid's game? We took scrapings of the chalk, and sent them to the lab.
OK, Victim number one is a Louise Wilcox, 45 years of age, a nurse at St John's Veteran's Hospital.
Number two, Vernon Capers, We found a knife on him, and two black-tops of cocaine.
Maybe it's drug-related.
Cos it was in that sort of neighbourhood.
Touché.
Third victim, Keisha Farrell, Maybe the shooter hit the others by accident and was aiming for Capers? - Accidentally shot them in the heart? - Accidentally on purpose.
Three clean shots, three people expunged.
- Expunged? - Any connection between the victims? All black, all lived in the neighbourhood.
All right, let's investigate each victim.
Bayliss, you're the primary.
Work with me on the Wilcox woman.
Kellerman, Lewis, take Vernon Capers.
Look at a drug motive.
Pembleton, you and John talk to Keisha's family.
I want everything - family grudges, wives, husbands.
I wanna know what toothpaste they used! If there's a connection, it may lead us to our shooter.
F-A-R-R-E-L-L.
Died during surgery.
Louise Wilcox was a nurse on my shift.
I don't know about her personal life.
Did she mention a Vernon Capers? - Not to me.
- Keisha Farrell? - Nope.
- Maybe they were patients of hers? I can give you her charts to look at, but I have got to get back to work.
Without Louise, I've got twice as much to do and half the time to do it.
- Terrific.
- Wait, there's more.
- OK.
- Those charts don't leave this desk.
OK.
OK.
We found your brother with a pocket full of ready rocks, Mr Capers.
Vernon have any other bad habits? Used to leave the toilet seat up every now and then.
- It'd drive my girlfriend crazy.
- You got a warrant? - We're pinnin' nothing on you.
- We're Homicide, not Narcotics.
We need to know if, because of his problems with cocaine, he might have got mixed up with a lowlife who wanted him expunged? - Expunged? - Hey, look.
He was a doper, OK? Sure, but I'm talking a little weed, a little cocaine, nothing more.
- Who was his dealer? - Vernon never made a buy.
- So how'd he get the stuff? - Anything he needed, he came to me.
- Hey, Pike took care of Vernon.
- You took care of your brother? Yeah, but I guess not good enough.
Mr Farrell, do you know why Keisha wasn't in school this morning? She didn't like going to school.
I tried to keep after her, but I work two jobs.
Never enough time.
Do you know what your daughter was doing on Collington Avenue? If I'd been after her more, she'd have been in school.
She'd be coming home tonight for supper.
I always made sure we had supper together.
OK, Mr Farrell, we won't take up any more of your time.
Thanks.
Thank you, sir.
I hate hospitals.
A hospital like this, who blames you? Thanks for your cooperation.
You ever have surgery, besides being shot last year? Elective surgery? - When I was 12 I had my appendix out.
- Oh, so they put you under, huh? - I mean what was that like? - I don't remember.
You don't remember your consciousness being obliterated? I was a kid.
You know something? Your heart, it could have stopped.
You could have been allergic to anaesthesia and just died right there on the table.
You know, Tim, sometimes these back troubles are psychosomatic.
Vernon Capers? None of Louise Wilcox's patients had a criminal record, and none of her co-workers held a grudge.
No reason anyone would've shot Keisha.
- How about Caper's drug connection? - Zip.
It's turning into a stone whodunit.
- Play that for me again.
The hangman? Yeah.
It does take two to play hangman.
But the bullets we recovered all came from the same gun, so that implies one gunman.
Yeah, one gunman and a friend with a good vocabulary.
What? It's from my doctor.
Muscle relaxants for back spasms, see? But you don't pop 'em like aspirin! I don't need medical advice from you, all right? I'm fine.
Yeah, OK.
Another game of hangman.
Same letters as at the first scene? It's a nine-letter word, but he added another letter, "T".
There's fewer wrong guesses.
The stick guy, he's just got the head, the body and one arm.
- He's hanging himself.
- Maybe trying to work something out.
Could be modifying the rules and with each wrong guess he shoots somebody.
Shell casings are 308s like Collington Square.
That and this hangman game, we're looking for the same shooter.
- Giardello and Russert have showed up.
- You know what that means, hey? Congratulations, Timmy! It's a bouncing baby Red Ball.
Any cigars? Great! Our shooter from Collington Square has moved on to Highlandtown.
The pattern is the same.
All shots were fired from an adjacent rooftop, all victims were shot in the heart.
We might be dealing with a sniper who chooses targets at random, we might be dealing with an assassin personality, or a serial killer.
Right now, we've got a lot of unknowns.
Detective Bayliss.
Our two latest victims are Irma Watts, and Armando Layzek, 26, also white, a city worker.
We got three bullets, each with a four-right twist, from Collington Square.
We are looking for an H-K rifle.
A second hangman game was found at the Highlandtown scene.
That information shouldn't leave this squad room.
I don't want any leaks to the press.
Our handwriting expert, Andy Orloff, is comparing the letters in both games.
Traditionally it takes two to play this, but ballistics points to only one gun.
We still don't know whether there are one or two assailants involved.
- Location? - Warehouse rooftops.
The first one was four storeys high.
The Collington Square location was seven storeys.
He likes heights.
Lewis, call Quantico.
Put together a psychological profile on the sniper, OK? Kellerman, run down all the shooting ranges, all the gun clubs.
Shabazz, Higby, get a list of registered H-K rifles.
OK? Munch and Frank, and Stapopolous and Tambelli, take the Highlandtown victims, see if they had anything in common with each other or with Collington Square victims.
Howard's going to stay on top of the chalk and handwriting analysis.
Hangman is our shooter's signature.
Maybe that'll lead us to him.
I'll be holding a press conference.
Any requests for information, for interviews, refer them to my office, OK? Let's be thorough, but let's be fast.
We don't know when or where, or even if, our sniper will strike again, and I don't want to wait to find out.
The next move is ours, OK? OK! Go! - Looking for a "sniper".
Interesting.
- What do you mean? Two black people get killed, it's drug related.
Two white folks, it's a Red Ball.
It's got a nice ring to it, "Red Ball".
It's urgent.
You give press conferences.
Got a problem with the investigation? I ain't got a problem, Sarge, I just think it's interesting.
- Tell me when you hear from Quantico.
- You got it.
You and Howard, it's love.
Start pickin' out your china pattern.
We're confident we'll apprehend the shooter.
We have back-up from every district.
You're recommending people stay home? There's no need for panic.
There is need for caution.
My daughter was shot! What are the police doing? A double shift of homicide detectives are on this case, we will catch who shot these five people.
- You don't know anything! - Get him out.
Do you have any idea where or when the sniper will strike next? I want to speak to somebody in charge! I want to see the Mayor! Where is the Mayor and the Commissioner? Shouldn't they be here? I want answers from the police.
I want justice for my daughter! I want justice! Captain Russert has the support of the Commissioner and Mayor.
We're close to making an arrest.
I can't tell you any more without compromising the investigation.
Thank you all for your cooperation.
What's this fellow's name? Farrell.
- Mr Farrell! - Who the hell let him in? Why did you announce that we were close to an arrest? - We're no closer.
- The media doesn't need to know that.
It doesn't help, making false promises.
You wanted a press conference.
You can't hold a press conference and tell them we don't know anything.
We have a sniper on the loose! I won't be responsible for people being misled! I'm not suggesting you mislead them.
I'm suggesting by your next press conference, you're able to announce we have the killer in custody.
Put more uniforms out front.
I don't want reporters in the squad room.
I don't want civilians roaming the hallways.
What have we got to connect these victims? Anything? We've checked with their families, friends, co-workers, psychic advisors and dry cleaners.
Farrell, Capers, Wilcox, Watts and Layzek couldn't have less in common.
- Except they're all dead.
- You're a literal guy, Frank.
- What are you readin'? - A book of word games.
"Hangman - the game gets its name "from the method of counting incorrect guesses.
A gibbet or gallows is drawn.
"On the first incorrect guess, the head of the man is added.
"The next gives him a neck, the third a body, and so forth.
"If the man is completed before the player has guessed the correct word, "he is hung and loses the round.
" Ouch.
There's no completed man in either of these two photos.
- He hasn't lost the round yet.
- So he's still playing the game.
We might have a break.
The lab identified the chalk from the letters.
The type of chalk is Da Vinci.
It's manufactured by Majestic, Inc.
- It's usually sold in art-supply stores.
- The stores may not be open long.
We need to talk to managers, clerks, all art-supply businesses in the area.
Track down whoever bought this Da Vinci chalk.
We also want any credit-card receipts to check against the hangman letters.
Handwriting analysis can compare a signature with the writing from the hangman games? - Well, that's what we're looking for.
- Modern science.
- You comin', Tim? - Yeah, I'm on my way.
Detective Bayliss! Andy Orloff, our handwriting expert.
Great! We've narrowed down the credit card receipts for Da Vinci in the past year.
You've got the photographs of the hangman games at both scenes.
- We're looking for a match.
- We're counting on you.
- Oh, boy.
Oh! - Lewis, line three.
Lewis, Homicide.
Hold on.
I've got Quantico.
They can't give us a complete psych profile for 24 hours.
Tell them to fax whatever they've got right now, and if they've got a problem with that, tell them to call me.
I'll be in my office.
All right.
I didn't mean to scare you, Andy, but you're our only hope.
That scares me.
No, honey.
Caroline, I can't come home yet.
I know.
I know.
I didn't forget about your piano recital tomorrow night.
I hope I can make it too.
I know.
OK.
I love you too.
Now go to bed.
Bayliss, Homicide.
- Yeah, yeah.
OK.
I'm on my way.
- Sniper struck again? No, but a uniform found a game of hangman at an elementary school.
- I'm checking it out.
- Me, too.
- I want you wearing vests.
- Don't worry! And don't tell me not to worry! You think he's settin' us up? - The sniper? - He draws a hangman and we respond.
Bang! He picks us off like a couple of sitting ducks.
- Is that what you think? - It hasn't crossed your mind? - Well, yeah, it's crossed my mind.
- That's all I'm sayin'.
- So, where's the hangman? - Right here.
- What do you think? A warning? - Possibly.
A warning? My kids go to this school.
It's almost midnight.
In 8 hours, of 6 and 12 will go to school.
We need to order this block cordoned off, this building closed! - And set off a city-wide panic? - We don't have an alternative.
Megan's right.
It's possible the sniper is sending us a warning as to where he'll hit next.
We can't risk these children.
We sent chalk scrapings from the wall to the lab and photos to Andy Orloff to compare handwriting.
We're waitin' to see if there's a match with the other scenes.
- How long is that gonna take? - They're working as fast as they can.
You still think these games are connected? The first two games used nine-letter words.
This one, it's four letters.
- So they may be unrelated? - Or he went on to another word.
- I heard from Munch and Pembleton! - What'd they find out? They have two suspects a block away.
- Two suspects? - In custody.
They're on their way.
Come on out.
Two children.
Open your hand.
I want you to tell me the truth, man to man.
You draw this game? You guys are just playin' a game? Just a game, right? - Bayliss, it's a kid.
- Get the kids outta of here.
Make sure they get home safe.
- I want that analysed for confirmation.
- All right.
And a uniform detail posted here as a precaution.
What you got there? Good stuff? Percodan, Percoset, Tylenol.
- They're muscle relaxants.
- Even better.
And you don't get any.
No one's willing to share their drugs anymore.
So, this doctor, does he still think back surgery is a good idea? He said that I could either have months of physical therapy with no guarantee of success, or I could get an operation.
- So, he recommended the operation.
- With no guarantee of success? What's that supposed to mean? You go to a chiropractor, to a physical therapist The doctor doesn't see that dough.
He's gotta cut you open to collect.
Dr Erlich is very dedicated.
He didn't get into this for the money.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
What kinda car does he drive? Lexus? BMW? - Jaguar.
- The economy model, huh? So he drives a Jaguar.
It doesn't mean that he's not dedicated.
Argh! Get outta there.
Homicide, Detective Munch.
Where? Yeah.
- Bayliss! - What? Another shooting.
Four dead outside the Walters Art Gallery.
Sir, I want to thank you for giving me this job, sir.
It means a lot that you've given me this chance to prove myself.
- You haven't proven yourself yet.
- Yes, sir.
- Quit talking and keep videotaping.
- Yes, sir.
Did you see where the shots came from, Judge Hazelton? There was an echo, but I believe they came from one of those rooftops.
Maybe the Washington Monument.
You should look up there.
We've got detectives up there, sir.
A nine-letter word, like the first two.
He's filled in more letters, but made fewer wrong guesses.
That means? He's closer to the right word but hasn't found the answer he's looking for.
Maybe we ought to buy him a dictionary.
Yeah.
- Thanks.
- We got positive ID's on these bodies.
We got a doorman, Ernie Zaratta, a physician, Joel Pollack.
Evan Reginald, he's a retired judge And Mary Caswell.
The wife of Henry Caswell, the City Councilman? - Right.
- It's Red Ball on top of a Red Ball.
Let's go over what we know, OK? Firstly, how do we know this is even the same sniper? Shots fired, the same pattern.
Victims all shot in the heart.
The hangman game at every scene.
Each time more letters are added.
Chalk scrapings indicate that Da Vinci chalk was used in all three games.
No correspondence between the number of victims and the number of completed letters, or between the number of victims and the number of incorrect guesses.
The victims are all races, all ages, all economic backgrounds, both genders, and no connections.
- Let's go over every crime scene.
- Maybe it's in the locations? Collington Square is a "C".
Highlandtown's an "H".
Mount Vernon's an "M".
It's got nothing to do with anything, does it? What about the names of the victims? Names, places, letters, numbers, times of day, names God, no pattern is emerging! What about time? Times on record? We have We got eight AM, we got four PM, and midnight.
No minutes, no seconds, on the hour? That's what the witnesses recollected, on the hour, every eight hours.
Three shooting incidents, each exactly eight hours apart.
- It's 3:35 AM now.
- Mount Vernon was midnight.
We got - So we have got less than five hours.
- Where? Where? You've less than five hours to find him and you're meeting victims' families? They're demanding answers, and have a right to be heard.
Concentrate on catching the shooter.
There's nothing more we can do, except wait.
- It's not our job to placate the families.
- I think it is our job.
These are concerned citizens.
They need to know we're listening to them.
We're responsible for giving out information.
They can turn on the news.
- I'm also setting up an 800 number.
- What? Any family member who wants to know the status of our investigation can call, keep current on our progress, updates over the phone.
They won't have to come to Police Headquarters.
An 800 number? People will feel they have access to the Police Department.
- They'll get the answers they need.
- No! It's a perfect solution to our public-information problem.
- I think it's a good idea.
- Maybe.
But we're already short on money and manpower.
- I'm not authorising the funds for it.
- What? You should have checked with me first.
Let me know when you have a break in this case.
Oh! Tim, what the hell are you doing? - Whoa! - Hey, whoa! Wow! - Are you OK? - I'm fine.
I'm fine.
I just took some muscle relaxants for my back.
I'm fine.
I got names in red piling up under my name.
Under my name.
Why are they piling up under my name? Because I answered the phone call.
Yeah, it's my responsibility, it's my case.
You know, with every case there are those moments when you feel you've lost your way.
You don't know if it's worth it, the hours not being able to go to your daughter's piano recital.
Right.
See, but then something happens.
A piece of evidence, a witness comes in.
You get that moment of clarity, a moment when you love your job.
But what amount of stress would make someone want to go out and shoot at strangers? See, that's the reason why he shoots.
- There's no stress at all.
- What do you mean, no stress? With a marksman it is about precision.
You see, it's about total concentration.
And you look through the scope, see, and you exhale You steady your mind, your body.
You focus brain to eye, the hand the gun.
And then the fog just lifts and you're at one with your target.
And then you shoot.
Bang.
No stress at all.
Our handwriting expert, he's got something.
Take a look at these.
"M" from the third hangman game, and "M" from a credit-card purchase of Da Vinci chalk.
We've got a match.
Our suspect is William Mariner, age 43.
Insurance executive.
No prior arrests, medical or mental history.
Wife, Linda.
Three children, two girls and a boy.
Lieutenant Jasper from QRT will fill us in on procedures.
We know a lot about this guy.
He's a crack shot, a former military sharpshooter.
I wanna keep it simple.
Get the wife and kids out of the way, then we go for Mariner.
We are gonna try to talk to this guy first, right? I wanna be prepared in the event of a hostage situation.
I don't want to go in too quickly, cos we might create the exact situation we're trying to avoid.
Bayliss, let the man finish.
Sharpshooters are trained like QRT.
The greater the pressure, the cooler the response.
You go in like paratroopers, this guy'll snap! - Detective, he already has snapped! - OK, all right.
Can Bayliss go in and talk to him before moving in? When we secure the home and isolate Mariner, OK.
- Fair enough? - Yeah, yeah.
Let's do it.
Bill? Honey? Bill? Honey, you want some breakfast? I made your favourite, blueberry pancakes.
I'll keep your plate warm.
Daddy will be out in a minute.
Who wants maple syrup? Me! Hello.
'Mrs Mariner, I'm Detective Tim Bayliss 'with the Baltimore City Police.
Is your husband with you? ' He's in his study.
What's this about? What's going on? 'We're very concerned for your safety.
- 'Are your kids with you too? ' - Yeah.
'OK, good.
Please step outside, Mrs Mariner, you and your children.
' My God! All right, kids, come on.
Let's go! - No! - Go! Go! Mrs Mariner, I'm Captain Russert.
I'm Lieutenant Giardello.
You spoke to Detective Bayliss.
Why are you doing this? I'm sorry, but we've a warrant to arrest your husband for murder.
No.
No.
That is not true! - If we could talk for a moment - I'm going in.
You can't do this! Come on! Listen, listen! We won't hurt you, and we don't want to hurt your husband.
Please don't hurt Bill.
He locks himself in his study.
He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep.
He doesn't even drink.
If he drank, I could handle that, but this - Does your husband own a gun? - A rifle.
He keeps it with him in his study.
I try talking to him, but he keeps babbling.
- About what? - I don't know.
He keeps saying he's gotta finish the game, and if he can finish the game, then he can stop.
- So he's still in his study? - What are you gonna do? - I'm gonna go talk to him.
- Oh! You're up.
The study's in front, off the living room.
QRT is ready for you to go in.
- Did Jasper OK a sharpshooter? - They're in position.
They're not gonna shoot unless I give the signal? If the situation deteriorates, you give it up to them, OK? You understand? William Mariner, this is Detective Tim Bayliss.
Can you hear me in there? Your wife Linda and I were just talking, and she's real worried about you.
Whatever's going on, we can work it out.
I want that.
Your wife does.
I'm sure your kids want that too.
I'm very close now.
You're very close to what? The last letter.
When I get the last letter, I can stop.
I just have to figure it out.
Yeah, I understand about figuring things out.
- My job, I figure things out every day.
- This isn't my job.
What is it that you're trying to to figure out? Maybe I can help.
Mr Mariner? Do you wanna play a game of hangman? It's a nine-letter word.
Go ahead, guess a letter.
- Why don't you come on out here? - Guess a letter, then I'll come out.
- All right.
Er"M".
- I already have an "M".
I chose a letter.
You promised you'd come on out.
But you didn't choose the right letter.
Guess again.
Please, Mr Mariner - I'm waiting.
- Yeah, OK.
Er"B".
- That's it.
- Mr Mariner? I finished the game.
I can stop now.
- It's over.
- Come on out here and we'll talk.
Go, go, go! All right, we're in the room.
- Bayliss? You all right? - Yeah.
All right, keep the wife outta here.
Let's call the crime lab.
"Eromitlab".
What the hell's that? He finally finished the game.
- He got the right word.
- What does it mean? We've got Mariner's prints on shell casings from all three crime scenes.
We've recovered an H-K rifle from his home.
He's our sniper.
He was our sniper! It was unfortunate, yes, but Detective Bayliss did everything he could I have to tell the press our prime suspect blew his brains out while surrounded by detectives and QRT personnel! It's not the optimum outcome, but we did everything according to procedure.
Were you in negotiation with the suspect? I left that to Detective Bayliss.
You turned over a delicate negotiation to a subordinate? - You didn't take responsibility? - That's not what I'm saying.
I take full responsibility.
Your handling of the situation indicates to me you're not up to the position of Captain.
- Excuse me? - You heard me.
- You're demoting me? - You're still a Lieutenant.
You're within the 12-month probation period for Captain.
- You're incapable of doing the job.
- On what grounds? My report will read you were in violation of General Order C-2, Rule Number 1, Section 19.
- Section 19! - Incompetence.
- Section 19? - Yes, that's right.
Section 19 is a completely arbitrary regulation.
It's a You can cite non-performance of duty for an unspecified reason.
It's a loophole for firing someone without having to show cause.
And that's what you are doing right now.
- It's nothing personal.
- Oh, yeah? I think it is personal.
But I just don't think you have the balls to admit it.
Now I'll recommend you be demoted.
Section 13, showing disrespect to a superior officer.
So in five minutes I've been demoted from Captain to Detective? Take a few days off, decide where you'd be comfortable, Arson, Vice or Homicide.
That's assuming you decide to remain with the Department.
Go home, Tim.
You caught the sniper.
Case closed.
Yeah.
I'm on my way.
I'm just I'm gonna sleep for 12 hours straight.
I'm too wired to sleep, unless you want to lend me a magic muscle-relaxing pill? You know? I don't need these anymore.
I don't need them at all.
Here, take 'em.
All of them? - Is there a refill on this? - I dunno.
That's it.
I'm not taking the pills anymore, I'm not gonna have surgery.
- You made a decision? - Yep.
If I'm in agony, so be it.
I'll suffer in silence.
I'll bear my pain like a martyr.
You know it's not your fault Mariner blew his brains out? Do I know that, Frank? Do I really? Ordinary guy, wife, three kids, beautiful house in the suburbs, and he gets all twisted up over this game of hangman.
I try to talk to him, and he blows his head off.
He finished the game and I don't really even know what that means.
I don't get it.
- Come on.
- What? - Time to go home.
- Oh, yeah.
- Can you give me a ride home? - What about your car? It's my back.
It's hard to drive.
What happened to suffering in silence? - You're gonna me a ride home? - I'm goin' home.
Is that a yes or a no? Frank? If God had a name What would it be? - Mum, you're finally home! - Yes! Come here.
- You're gonna be late for school.
- You're comin' to my piano recital? - I wouldn't miss it for the world.
- Yeah! You'd better hurry cos you'll miss your bus.
Bye.
And, yeah, yeah, God, it is great Yeah, yeah, God, it is good Yeah, yeah, Yeah, yeah, yeah What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus Tryin' to make his way home? If God had a face What would it look like? And would you wanna see If seeing meant that You would have to believe In things like Heaven And in Jesus and the saints And all the prophets? And, yeah, yeah, God, it is great Yeah, yeah, God, it is good 'We interrupt this programme for a news bulletin.
'Three people were shot and killed by a sniper in downtown Baltimore.
'The shots may have been fired from a rooftop, 'but police have no further details at this time.
'This shooting will be the fourth sniper attack 'the city has seen in the past 24 hours, 'bringing the total number of victims to 12 dead.
'