Original subtitles

Tonight, on The Center.

We're going to report two million dollars.

If it wasn't a freak accident, I want to know who did it and why.

If it was done deliberately, who stands to benefit? Anybody asks you if you saw

me at the bridge this morning, what are you going to say?

I didn't see anything.

Do we have any witnesses on the crash?

I can show you where he hangs out. Definitely an inside job.

Put your hands on the wheel where I can see them.

In the jungles of Peru, the fight for survival heightened his senses.

Now, Detective James Ellison is a sentinel in the fight for justice.

Seeing before others see.

Sensing what others can't.

An ever -vigilant watchman in the war against crime.

Don't feel sorry for yourself because they don't seem to listen.

Caught up in their little games and jameless conversations.

You say that no one will understand.

I tell you that you need to open up and read.

Straight, yo, straight.

Just fly.

Latina, man. Her name is Lorena.

You missed out.

Yeah. Hey, man, but the thing is going to happen for me Friday night.

What?

Yo, man, can't you borrow the loot off your old man?

Man, all I get is a 20 -year lecture about paying my own way.

Weak.

Hey, man, beat that.

Nah, that ain't no thing, man.

Some grandma's probably two days late in the rent, and that dude's looking to

bust the legs.

Hey, so you gonna come over and play fist to death or what?

Man, I gotta go home and study for this history test.

All right, kid.

I'm out. All right. Easy. Later.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank

you.

What the hell happened?

Tire blew.

Oh,

man.

We've got to get down there and recover whenever we can.

We didn't look at them. We'll get eaten alive.

When I open the bathroom door, I'm hit with this noxious wave, this odor.

You know, my nose hairs start to curl, my eyes water.

Well, obviously, we're going to have to do some work on your senses.

Just use the air freshener, okay, Chief?

All available units respond to truck accident with spilled cargo. Grand

at Holton Street overpass. Reports of major disturbances in the area.

That's a few blocks from here.

God, Jim, that's money. Look at this.

Free -for -all.

Yeah, pennies from heaven.

Check out the armored car up on the bridge.

Anybody hurt up there?

No, we're all okay.

Gentlemen, by any chance, could you tell me what happened here? The detective

else.

Yeah, I was in my store and I saw this money raining down and people going

crazy. Neither one of you took any, I guess. No, no, not us. So nobody

witnessed the accident?

One of the neighborhood kids.

He was right over there, by the bridge. Can you describe him? He was a black

kid, 16, 17, had on one of them Jag sweatshirts, carrying a basketball,

'8". Sounds like that Watson kid. His first name's Mark.

Marcus, something like that.

Looks like they're going to report two million stolen.

I wouldn't exactly say it was stolen.

What would you call it?

Look, I'm not condoning what happened out there. All I'm saying is that some

people might look at the situation and say, finders keepers, you know? I agree

in theory, and it's an interesting moral dilemma, but bottom line, you take what

isn't yours, it's a feeling.

I don't even know why we're involved.

This was all old money being taken out of circulation.

$100 bills destined for the Federal Reserve to be destroyed.

Maybe we should just start with the possibility that it wasn't an accident.

If it was done deliberately, who stands to benefit?

Quite a few people in South Town, for one. So what are you going to do? Are

going to arrest the whole community?

Nobody's being arrested here, Sandberg.

The chief has set up a neighborhood command post. We're working with the

the local churches, offering a week -long amnesty period.

Anyone can turn in money, no questions asked.

You know, guys, this is a fascinating experiment in social behavioral science.

Jim, I want you to find out what's going on. If this wasn't a freak accident, I

want to know who did it and why.

Well, Westerberg was supposed to be on the job, but I guess he called in sick.

Food poisoning, wasn't it?

Yeah, he ate something bad last night.

Yeah, so I got the late call, and I met the truck here after these guys picked

up the load of money.

And you were in the back?

Yeah. It took a hell of a ride, I'll tell you that.

Smashed in the guardrail, impact pop the door right open.

And you couldn't stop the money from flying out?

Detective, it was all I could do to keep myself from flying out.

That must have been pretty hairy.

Well, if any of you guys come up with anything relevant, please don't hesitate

to give me a call.

Will do, Detective.

Marines, huh? Six years.

Discharged as a sergeant.

I was an Army Ranger myself.

Thanks, gentlemen.

Oh, you know...

If I may ask one more question, why didn't anybody make a move to recover

money?

We're stuck up there on that bridge.

Yeah, we couldn't exactly take on the whole neighborhood.

Right.

We've passed our flyers all over the neighborhood.

We've urged people to come forward.

We're pretty much looking at their response.

Has any money been turned in?

I'd say we're about as popular as the ice concession on the Titanic.

Thanks. Let's go, Chief.

I have got to get Dr. Hapsford down here.

Who's that?

He's the head of the sociology department.

Someone has got to study what's going on down here. What's the study?

With all that money literally falling out of the sky, these people have

rationalized that it's rightfully theirs.

And a good social scientist can peel back the layers of the onion and find

truth at the core.

Look, I'll give you the truth.

You peel back the onion any way you want, people are rationalizing it.

not breaking the law.

Jim, take a look around you, man.

Do you blame him?

What's up, boy?

What's

up,

you hear something?

You're my witness.

What up, man?

Yeah, gone rainy day here in Cascade.

How you doing? I'm Detective Ellis.

Would you be Mark Watson?

Marcus. Oh, Marcus. I'm sorry. Some of the merchants in the area said you might

have been the one to see the spill of that armored car.

I didn't see anything.

Well, we got a witness that said that you were right by the overpass there.

Well, actually, I was under it.

And I heard the crash.

Next thing I know, money starts falling out the sky.

Did you grab any of it?

Give me a break, man.

Nice kicks you're wearing. What do they run you, about a hundred bucks?

It was a birthday present.

I wouldn't know.

Marks, you got an ID on you?

You live here, huh?

Yeah. Says your birthday was eight months ago.

Took me that long to grow into it.

You know, some of the people that picked up that money might think of it as a

gift from God, but in reality, it belongs to the U .S. government.

Um, these aren't bad people around here, detective.

I'm not saying they are.

You lived around here.

All that money fell into your lap.

What would you do?

I'd like to think I'd do the right thing.

If anything comes to mind, give me a call, okay?

being nice guy about this, Watson.

My patience is gone.

Well, so is mine.

And so is every tenant in this building.

Get on inside, son.

Now look, the damn boycott, over.

Kaput. Finished.

You and your people are going to start paying your rent. Will you do something

about the roaches and the rats?

Fix the plumbing.

We expose electrical wires, the peeling paint, and the falling plaster.

That's when this boycott will be over. Look, you know if it was up to me that

I'd do anything I could. Who the hell is it up to?

Who even owns this darn building?

All you gotta know is I'm here the first of every month. Now here it is, the

10th, and I've got nothing to show for the whole building.

I'll be back tomorrow, and I won't be alone.

You and your fellow freeloaders, you pay up, or you'll be sleeping on the

sidewalk.

At least the sidewalk isn't crawling with vermin.

So you don't think there's going to be some kind of muscle down here tomorrow

throw us out and we don't pay the rent?

Legally, they can't touch us.

They don't give a damn about the law, man.

If you don't stand up for your rights, people are going to walk all over you.

There's only one way people are walking all over you, and that's money.

Appreciate your honesty.

Hey, what's up? You hit the quick pick?

No, it's evidence from the spill.

What we recovered.

$7 ,200.

You have a $100 bill in your wallet?

What do I look like?

You look like the type of guy that would carry around a C -note just to impress

women. Come on.

For your information...

It's for emergencies.

Emergencies, huh?

Earthquakes, floods, stranded coeds.

Why you gotta hurt me like that for? You bring it upon yourself.

Make sure I get that back.

This

money

is counterfeit.

Secret Service has been tracking this stuff all over the Northwest for the

six months.

It's very high -quality work.

So are we assuming that all the money that fell off the truck, that all of

counterfeit? Well, the evidence report indicates the bills were recovered over

widely scattered area in South Town. I mean, I'd say it's a pretty good bet

all phony. So somebody steals the real two million, substitutes with the fake,

stations an accident, spreads the bogus money all over South Town, there's a

good chance the switch will never be discovered.

If the money's going to be destroyed anyway, why go through all this trouble

staging this accident?

Because odds are the Treasury inspectors would realize they were getting a load

of counterfeit dough for shredding. What do you think?

Inside job, Jim?

Allison. Detective, this is Albert Lone.

I didn't want to say anything this afternoon because I wasn't sure.

About what? Well, after you left here, I called Harry Westerberg, the guard with

the food poisoning.

Well, it turns out that Westerberg had dinner last night with Dwight Marshall,

the driver.

What are you saying? You think Marshall did something to his food?

Yeah, I think so.

There's some other things, too.

Mr. Lone, do you think we could speak in person somewhere?

Yeah, sure.

I'm still at work. I'll be there in 20 minutes.

Definitely an inside job.

How you doing tonight?

You buying something?

Look, um...

I need to talk to someone.

The payphone's outside.

Bert Unger.

You see his name on my mailbox?

Look, Mr. Comadre.

Everybody knows he hangs out down here.

Sorry, kid. You know, bye. Head on out.

Yo, uh... And this is where my friend Serge purchases all his licorice, huh?

Yeah, my 17 -year -old friend.

That's the end of that.

Four, three, two, one.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, baby, yeah.

Point spread made.

Let's go. Everybody pay up. Come on.

Pay up.

There you go. Come on.

You too, my friend. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Gee, I hope there's no street hundreds in here.

Hey,

Bert. Here's your visitor.

What do you want?

Can't I pay you the rent money we owe you?

Don't leave us alone.

Hang on to it.

You can burn it to keep warm when you're sleeping on the sidewalk.

What's the problem?

I pay the rent. My dad paid the rent.

What difference do we make?

You find the money on the street this morning?

Hey, thumb schmuck.

Ain't you heard? It's all over the news. The money from that truck is fake.

This stuff ain't real?

Yes.

It ain't real.

Come here, kid.

Anybody asks you if you saw me at the bridge this morning, what are you going

say?

I didn't see anything.

Smart boy.

Now, you stick to that story, or things are going to be a whole lot worse for

you and your old man of getting thrown out of that rat hole.

Get him out of here.

Remember, you didn't see nothing here.

How the hell do you think the cops figured out the scam so quick?

Beats me. We had our bases covered.

All I got to say is Jones better come up with our share.

You tell him we're not waiting six weeks. We want our share now.

You don't got to be so damn polite.

As long as he's holding the money, I do.

That's just street.

Isn't that South Town?

Dude's calling the shots.

Thanks for coming out on a Friday night.

Albert Lone said he'd meet me here. I see his car parked outside, but no sign

him. I checked out the door. It was locked.

It's no problem. I just hope everything's okay.

Mind if I take a look around?

Go right ahead.

I'll get the lights. All right. Thank you.

What's up? You want to know something?

Chordite.

In blood.

someplace over here.

The cause of death was a bullet to the heart.

He also took a bit of a beating before he was shot.

Anything on that body pointer who did it? Nothing definitive.

We'll see what the autopsy turns up.

Man, this let me go nice and peacefully in my sleep.

Hold on a second. Sorry.

Can you find something?

No, sorry.

There's nothing.

Can I just see you outside for a second?

Thanks very much, sir. I appreciate it.

What was it?

There's an impression on the skin right where it was hit, like from a ring.

Well, could you make out what it was?

Yeah, it's a Marine Corps insignia, just like the one Marshall was wearing.

Set it right down here.

That's nice.

We collected some residual material off the armored truck tire, but it'll be...

Another 24 hours before the test results are final?

Thanks. I just wanted to take a look at it.

Knock yourself out, detective.

Oh, hey, Jim. You know what I just realized? You never gave me back my

bucks.

Got logged in with the evidence, probably.

Wait a minute. I'm sorry. Probably what?

Well, it's all on its way down to Washington to the Secret Service.

Oh, Jim.

What? Just don't worry about it. The department will make good on it. They

make good on it.

A hundred bucks is lost in some bureaucratic abyss. That's okay.

What are you looking for?

Whatever blew out this tire.

It's petroleum jelly.

What? That's weird.

I

didn't

realize copper wire was a common component in the average truck tire.

You think there was some kind of charge?

Triggered remotely.

Why wouldn't they just set it off from inside the truck?

Well, they could have, but that would mean they'd have to dispose of a

triggering device.

Jim, we came up empty.

We had stakeouts at their houses all night.

APBs out on both of them. Marshall and Trout have vanished.

You think they'd kill their co -worker and stick around?

Any chance these guys pulled the armored truck job on their own?

I doubt it. Those clowns aren't sharp enough.

Then who else are we looking for? Whoever came up with the counterfeit

the plan to get rid of it. I don't know, Chief.

What do you got?

Do we have any witnesses on the crash?

Well, we got a potential, but he's not talking.

Use some of that Ellison charm.

Get him to talk.

I'm through talking.

I'm through messing around.

You tell everyone in the building that the rent is past due.

If I don't get it today, they're out of here.

I've told you all conditions.

Your condition is going to be critical unless you pay up.

Is there a problem here?

What the hell are you?

I'm Detective Ellison.

Are you a landlord?

More or less.

Well, more or less.

I think you better watch what you say to these people.

I don't want to hear of any trouble.

Thanks for the advice.

By the way, we'll be calling in an extra patrol around the building for the next

few days.

Good for you.

Thank you, detective.

Something should get him a muzzle.

Are you Marcus Watson's father?

Yes, I am. But he's not here.

I just wanted to ask him a few questions.

We think he might be a witness in the armored car crash.

All right, come in.

A lot of people down here think the cops are scamming them.

Saying the money's counterfeit to get them to turn it in.

I'm sure the rumors are flying.

Do you know if Marcus by any chance borrowed any money home?

No, he's a good kid, detective.

I'm not doubting that, Mr. Watson.

But in the excitement of it all, I would imagine a lot of good people might have

picked up the money without thinking about it.

I suppose if he was right there, Marcus could have grabbed some.

But he never even told me that he was there.

I don't envy your position here, Mr. Watson. I mean, having to raise a

all by yourself?

Sometimes it seems as if everything is working against you.

You must have a lot on your plate, sir.

I'd like to speak to your son, though.

Please give him my card when you see him. I appreciate it. Well, you bet I'll

talking to him.

I want to know what the hell that boy's been up to.

126 Hester Street.

This Jones guy better show up.

See if you can open it.

Well, this guy likes to keep his identity a secret. Maybe he just left

purse to pick up, huh?

We've got a positive ID on the victim.

The guy's name was Dwight Marshall and the other one was Donald Prout.

Yup. There go your murder suspects.

What's left of the body? It's stuck.

Not much at all.

I will double -check with Dental about that.

Sure.

You said there was trace of petroleum jelly?

Yeah, and evidence of copper wire.

You know, it sounds like a potassium chloride device.

All you have to do is add the chemical with the jelly, set it up with an

electrical charge. That's more than enough to blow out a tire.

You're saying this charge could have been detonated with a remote triggering

device? Absolutely.

What caused this? A bomb?

No, it's simpler than that.

A valve was left open.

A apartment filled with gas.

Something set it off and bang.

Two dead bodies and a hell of a mess.

Any idea what set it off? No, not at all. Not yet.

Whoa.

That's a fresh one too, huh? Captain Tiger. Yeah. Don't know if the building

here. Okay. I'll see you guys now. All right.

Sounds like a big burnt match up here.

It's because it's toast in here.

I don't know. It's something distinct.

Phosphorus.

Sulfur.

Yeah, it's coming from over here.

It's covered with this stuff.

Chief, let me have your Swiss Army knife.

It's something waxy, too, like paraffin.

You just described it out of a match, man.

This is the bottom of the door here.

This is the hinge side.

So when the door opened up, maybe there was a sulfur preparation of some sort in

the bottom of the door that would correspond to a striking surface on the

Sandpaper.

Marshall and Trout were probably told to come here. The gas was left on. They

opened the door.

Say goodnight.

There's your match.

This way.

My guess is that we find out who killed Trout and Marshall.

We're going to find the real two million.

Hey, Jim.

See you at the car. This is Adam Latham. He owns the building.

Detective Ellison.

Captain Tiger didn't have any information on the victims.

Positive identification can take a couple of days.

Besides yourself, Mr. Latham, who else had access to the building here?

Well, technically no one, but I'm afraid I've seen this kind of thing before.

Transients, junkies, they become squatters, open up the gas lines for

and heat, and, well, you see what can happen.

And what's the status of the building?

It's scheduled for demolition.

We're going to build some livable, affordable housing for these people down

here. Slowly but surely, we're trying to renew the neighborhood.

Uh, Mr. Latham, if I have any other questions... Uh, Captain Taggart has my

number.

Guess the goon squad ain't got here yet, huh?

Marcus. Why don't you just pay the man?

I mean, face him.

They got us.

Detective Ellison was here.

He wants to talk to you about that armored truck crash.

I already talked to him.

And I told him just what I'm going to tell you.

I didn't see a thing.

I was dusting your room.

I found this in your dictionary.

Now I know you're not going to be bugging over that, are you?

You bet you're narrow behind I am.

What are you tripping over a whole bunch of nothing?

Or haven't you heard?

I don't care.

I don't care if this is as fake as the bee you try to forge in your report

You took something that isn't yours.

The police are asking for it back.

You think I'm going to be fooled enough to turn that in?

Dad, Serge said if I turn the money back in, the police will just think I stole

it and they'll just arrest me. Serge is an idiot.

And even if it were true, you are going to have to deal with it. Because I'm not

raising you to be a lowlife and a good -for -nothing like the people on the

streets around here. Do you understand me?

Yes, sir.

And why are we at it?

These are going back.

Nothing's been turned in.

Rumors are flying out on the street.

They bring it in, we'll bust them. Or we're lying and the money is real.

Or the whole thing is some sort of government plot to make the community

bad. And the conspiracy theories have begun.

Yeah.

Mr. Watts.

Marcus. Detective.

You were right.

Marcus does have something that doesn't belong to him.

Here.

Great, thank you.

Appreciate that, Marcus.

I really do.

Oh, so that's it?

You're not going to bust me?

No, I would like to ask you some questions. I told you already, man. I

know anything.

Marcus, this isn't just about the money anymore.

The three guys that were in the armored truck, they're dead. No, they're not

just dead. They were murdered.

So help me out here.

I can't.

He'll kill me, Dad.

You too.

Nobody's going to get hurt here. Can you guarantee that? I can guarantee you

that we're going to do the best that we can to protect you.

Look, son.

If you can help put a murderer behind bars... Believe me, Dad.

You said there's some good people around here.

Yesterday. You remember that?

Yeah, I remember.

Well, I got a feeling I'm looking at one of them.

So you got my card.

Detective Ellison.

What a block I saw up the street. I saw a guy looking over the overpass

with binoculars.

Black Chrysler?

Bird under.

I can show you where he hangs out.

You go find Billy McCoy.

You tell them we got a building to evict.

And make sure they're packing.

There's a car.

And he's in it.

I put your hands on the wheel where I...

I'm going to get you to the hospital. No, let's just go. Come on.

This is Den 152. It's all patrol units.

I need the APB on a black Chrysler with gold rims. Last seen headed eastbound at

42nd Street.

I don't know what's worse, walking around with you or getting whacked with

car. Will you watch where you're going?

Hey, you.

Feeling all right?

I feel like I spent the night in an industrial dryer, sir.

Well, while you were busy enjoying yourself being x -rayed and scared, we

managed to make some real progress on the case. Did you manage to catch

No, but we were able to access his bank accounts.

This paycheck was just deposited.

Wait a minute.

Unger worked for Elmwood Property Corporation?

Oh, easy, Chief.

Come on.

There's no company address, just a P .O. box.

We managed to trace that P .O. box to a Catherine Maris, Chestnut Hills address.

Is that name supposed to mean something?

Not until you realize that it is the maiden name of Adam Latham's wife.

The guy who runs those tenements in South Town?

Yes, including the building where Trout and Marshall were killed. So you think

Latham's behind the theft of the two million?

Not until a routine check of court proceedings that he may be involved in

up this.

The IRS just nailed Latham for a million and a half in back taxes.

Wow.

No wonder Latham's in bad financial straits.

Yeah, and I'm getting a fixed property of his we checked on. Three of them look

like they haven't had a tenant in years.

The ones that we did weren't fit for human occupancy.

Jim, you should be at home in bed, man.

I may walk like Walter Brennan here, Chief, but duty calls.

Smells like printer's ink.

What?

I've never used one of these things before. What is that?

Come on, I don't know what's in the movies, man.

Whoa. That'll be a smartass, huh? Look, I'm no legal expert here, but I don't

think we can just walk right in here, can we? Captain gave us a warrant.

Gives us permission to get on any of Nathan's properties.

Well, let's go.

That smell is coming from over here somewhere.

You don't smell that.

No.

Would you take a look at this?

Looks like Latham wasn't only a money grubber.

He was a money maker.

Thanks.

You got everything we need?

Yeah, thanks. You'll buy it?

Oh, uh, my old man sent me down here to get some food.

Before I forget, Simon requisitioned that $100 reimbursement for you. You're

right. That was quick, man.

Wait.

Man, but just look at this.

What? Well, it's $520.

So take it back to a bank and have it changed for a $100 bill. So the point

Jim, I gave you guys $100. I want to be reimbursed with a $100 bill.

You're kidding.

You're like a little kid with a security blanket with this thing.

Ellison. Yo, yo, this is Marcus Watson. Look, I just saw Bert Unger at Camatly

and Stewart. Now, if you hurry, you'll catch him. Marcus, what are you calling

Trump? Look, I'm just not paying him.

Somebody's got him.

Hold on.

Move!

Give me your wallet.

Hurry up!

So who are you talking to out there, hmm?

Who?

You're talking to the cop.

Marcus Jerome Watson.

You live in the building I owned on 23rd.

So you just slumlord, huh?

If you don't like it.

Watson.

Your father's the one causing all the trouble over there.

What the hell's a kid doing here?

If we run into any resistance, a hostage could give us some leverage.

Come on, kill him. Let's go.

I'd pay you to do that kind of work.

Now keep him covered.

Put your hands behind your back.

The other guy's getting away. All right, we'll take care of him. Put your hands

behind your back.

Close that door.

He's getting away. All right. Call for backup.

Keep him against the car.

That's good.

Would you like to grab a brush?

You want paint every other place than where it should go?

What's going on here?

The owner's death.

The building fell into receivership.

The mayor needs to score some inner city points, so he sells the building to the

tenants for a dollar.

Nice. And all the money you're saving in rent, you get to put towards making

yourselves a decent place to live.

It's great. Look at the community coming together.

It's great. Marcus.

Hey, what's up, man?

I have some good news.

That chump, Bert Unger, he's decided to cop a guilty plea, and you're not going

to have to testify.

Now, y 'all know I would have did it if I had to, right?

I never had my doubts.

So, now that you believe me, I think there's a couple of righteous people in

South Tower.

I can see there's quite a few.

Thanks, man.

You know, I was thinking, since you're going to get your diploma, you might

to consider the police academy.

Uh -uh.

I mean, y 'all hassle too many punk -ass fools for me.

You got a point. I'll see you around.

All right.

Later.

You know... Hey, are you still hurting from the accident?

No, no, no. I got a splinter in my foot from that wood you scattered all over

the bathroom floor. Tim, that's red cedar. It's a natural deodorizer. I got

three words for you, Chief.

Use the spray.