Original subtitles

- You give me a headache. - [Bayliss] I'm only asking.

You keep asking. Every five minutes you're asking.

[Bayliss] Come on, Frank.

The most extraordinary event

that can happen to a living creature

has happened to you, so forgive me for being excited.

- People have babies every day. - Not you. Not you.

Not my partner. Oh, God.

- A beautiful little baby girl, and it happened to you. - [Pembleton groaning] Enough.

It's got to be an amazing feeling.

It is.

Well, that's all I'm saying.

Here we are, once again, in the crime scene circus.

- This time you've got three rings. - What's that supposed to mean?

Two dead bodies in there, and one still breathing.

We bid a speedy recovery to you, Ian McKenzie.

Went down over here.

Gunshot wound to his right knee.

Meet the late Mr. Douglas Wrobel,

and the equally late,

Ms. Mary-Rose Tabori.

Both dead from gunshot wounds to the chest.

- Anybody else? - [Rogers] The manager, in the back.

- Got shot in the back? - No, he's sitting in the back.

Is it me or is everyone talking in code today?

No, no. It's you.

Okay, all these cash registers are empty.

This is a robbery.

Or a disgruntled employee.

Or a guy who got coleslaw instead of curly fries.

You know, my niece had

her sixth birthday party in this place.

[camera shutter clicking]

[tense music playing]

[theme song playing]

[music fades]

[office din]

Hey, hey, hey, look who's back from his honeymoon.

[Munch] Whoa, if it isn't Meldrick

"I Get Married On The Spur Of The Moment" Lewis!

- [both chuckling] - So how was your honeymoon?

Yeah, we heard you were, what, in the Virgin Islands?

- No, no, no, Toronto. - Toronto? [laughs]

- Wait a minute. - What's this obsession with Toronto?

Toronto's a very romantic city.

- Well, I'll just take your word for it. - Hey, hey, hey.

Come on, come on. Leave the guy alone.

- Come here, come here. - What, what?

What'd you think of the present

I left for you in your hotel room?

What are you talking about? What present?

You kidding me? You didn't get it?

Get what?

The case of condoms. I gave you 500 condoms.

They were all different sizes and colors, right?

- That's pretty funny, huh? - Hilarious.

- [phone ringing] - This one's on me.

Lewis, homicide.

What is the intersection? All right.

- Let's go. - Why? What have we got?

Murder on Route 40.

You didn't see anything, Mr. Sobel?

Call me Herb, no, I was back here

getting some more "sweet meal, sweet deal" placemats.

[Pembleton] Well, you must have at least heard the shots.

No, I did, but I didn't know that's what they were.

We've been having some trouble with the fryer.

I thought maybe it backfired.

Am I going to be on America's Most Wanted?

Sir, what exactly did you hear?

Two shots, one right after the other,

and then a third off a ways.

- And you found the bodies? - Yeah.

I came out and I saw poor Mary-Rose,

and-- and the customer lying there.

You think I'm going to be on America's Most Wanted?

Uh, you might want to go out the other way

unless you want to deal with the press.

Press. Short for pressure.

[office din]

You know, when you said murder on Route 40,

I thought you meant a-- a roadkill

or maybe a drive-by, not a bowling ball.

Yeah, well, somebody dropped a bowling ball.

Hey, when you get done dusting this ball for prints,

I want you to go up top

and do that handrail up there, all right?

Looks like we got us a potential red ball here.

Yeah, more like a gutterball.

Why is it that you can't take this case seriously?

Why? It's a stone whodunit.

You know, some kids go up top there,

screwing around, testing the laws of gravity,

and they drop the ball, literally.

And we're going to drop the ball figuratively

because we're never going to find who did it.

No, we are going to trace the make of this bowling ball,

find out what store it was sold from, find out who they sold it to,

go to every damn bowling alley in the country if need be,

and we're going to work this case thoroughly and completely.

Great. And you know what?

When we're done, it'll be just like I said,

some kids screwing around.

I mean, we're talking a lot of hours here for nothing.

You really want to put in that kind of overtime?

If necessary.

Meldrick, I think you'd want to get home

as fast as you can to see the new missus.

[Lewis sighs]

Barbara understands that I am a cop,

and this is what I do for a living, all right?

Oh, I don't know, when Annie and I got married,

we stayed in bed for two weeks, we couldn't get enough.

Yeah, okay, so Barbara and I are just different.

What do you mean, different?

I'm going to go up top, see what I can find.

Whoa, come over here.

Is there something you're not telling me?

[scoffs] No.

Barbara and I have yet to consummate our marriage.

Okay?

Hey, am I talking to myself here? I want to get up top.

Move the civilians back,

and get me a damn ladder, okay?

[cars honking]

What's the wife's name?

Beatrice Wrobel.

Widow Wrobel.

[Beatrice sobbing]

[Bayliss] Have a seat over here, have a seat, ma'am.

[sobbing continues]

Would you like anything else? Water or anything like that?

- [sobbing continues] - Go get her some water.

- What's the father's name? - Mark Tabori.

[Bayliss sighs]

Hope he takes it better than Mrs. Wrobel did.

[office din]

- Hello, Gee. - Oh, Detective Lewis.

What's the latest on the bowling ball murder?

The deceased's name is Len Steiner.

Kellerman's off at the ME's, picking up the autopsy report.

Hey, Bayliss, hey, Frank, how's the new kid, man?

- Great, great. - How's the new wife?

- Great. - Great.

- Gee, you got a second? - Sure.

Great.

Okay, we didn't get much

from the father of the dead girl,

but, um, Mary-Rose Tabori

was dating some guy that she worked with,

- named, uh, "Alois"-- -"Elwah."

- Alois Pfeiffer. - Mm-hmm.

Now, they split up two weeks ago,

and Alois has been calling the house trying to get back together.

- He made threats? - No, it was just your average hormonal,

"I'm sorry I cheated on you with your best friend," that sort of thing.

This Pfeiffer has no priors, but we have an address,

so we're gonna head over to see him.

Frank, I'm going to have to tell you

the kind of stress that we're under here.

You're right. You don't need to tell me.

It seems like every week there's a murder, the bosses are getting on your ass,

the press is sticking their noses in,

and you turn to me and you say, "Frank, we're under a lot of pressure."

Well, I know we're under a lot of pressure, Gee.

- I'm not an idiot, okay? - [Giardello] Okay, Frank.

- Okay, take it easy. - [Howard] Pembleton.

- Your shooting victim, Ian McKenzie? - Yeah.

Harbor Hospital says he's conscious, ready to talk.

One of you get over to the hospital.

The other one, track down this, uh--

uh, what-- what is his name?

Oh, Alois Pfeiffer.

Alois, what the hell kind of a name is Alois?

I'm not letting you in.

Look, I am a cop. Here's my badge.

- Oh, you're a cop? - Mm-hmm.

So that means what, you won't rape me?

- Your parents in? - My parents work for a living.

Why aren't you in school?

- I got a cold. - Playing hookie?

You want a note from my doctor?

So you say that you have no idea where your brother Alois is?

Nope, he hasn't been home since yesterday morning.

Uh-huh, and him not being home,

that doesn't worry you or your folks?

Alois's 22, he pretty much does what he wants.

Look, what's all this about?

- Parking tickets. - Yeah, right.

Alois doesn't even own a car.

[Pembleton] Ian McKenzie, Detective Pembleton from Homicide.

They're dead?

Oh, jeez.

[woman on PA] Dr. Les Jordan.

Dr. Les Jordan to ophthalmology.

I need to know what you saw.

Not much.

I was walking up to the door.

He came out, shot me.

I don't think I saw the gun until he pointed it at me.

- At your knee? - At my chest.

Then he saw it was me.

He lowered the gun, hit my kneecap.

Wh-- what do you mean, when he saw it was you?

Well, that we knew each other.

You can identify the shooter?

Yeah, of course. We went to high school together.

- What's his name? - Alois Pfeiffer.

Are they really all dead?

Uh-huh.

[solemn music playing]

What?

What?

[office din]

You're really not going to talk to me about it, are you?

No.

Look, you say to me that you and your wife

have yet to consummate your marriage.

- Shh! Don't-- - No, I mean, you drop a bombshell like that.

You've got the biggest mouth in the squadron, you know that?

I never should have said nothing.

It just slipped out. Just forget it, all right?

- So you're not going to talk about it? - No.

Do you have the ME report for me, please?

Yes. Huge surprise.

Steiner died from a fractured skull.

Death by Brunswick.

Meldrick.

Did you ever think that maybe

by talking to someone, you know,

talking it through with an objective third person

like your partner, that you might find an answer?

I don't need an answer.

- You don't need to find an answer? - No.

I mean, we're talking about your marriage.

No, I am talking about my divorce.

Okay, all you do is you dig, dig, dig, pick, pick, pick.

Are you satisfied?

As of 15 minutes ago, Barbara and I are separated.

- Oh, Brodie, come on. - [Brodie] What?

Come on, I just--

I hate being photographed, okay?

- Well, you better get used to it. - Why?

Because the city's putting up video cameras downtown.

- Attached to all the street lights. - Huh.

They're going to be monitoring everyone walking on the sidewalk

within a 16-block radius, 24 hours a day.

You know, I was still a captain when they came up with that one.

But I thought they decided it was too expensive.

They're just watching out for crime on the streets, right?

Right.

But what's to prevent them

from pointing their cameras away from the streets

and into your bedroom window?

What, you mean some city employee's

going to know what-- what I'm doing at night?

We're not alone.

Big Brother is watching.

That does it. I got to get some curtains.

[slams fist on table]

Judy. How you doing today?

Gentlemen. Alois Pfeiffer.

We spoke with his parents and his sister.

They claim not to know where he is.

We've got an unmarked unit sitting on the house.

Uh, but we have to assume that the family will

or already has warned Alois that we're looking for him.

So it wasn't just about a robbery.

- He wanted to shoot the girl. - Yeah, yeah.

He kills Mary-Rose Tabori out of some misguided passion

and then gets the money to leave town.

- Any luck in finding the weapon? - No.

We searched the Pfeiffer home. No gun.

So Mary-Rose Tabori dies because, uh,

she realizes Alois's a psychopath

and she breaks up with him.

And Douglas Wrobel died

because he had a hankering for, uh,

two all-beef patties.

Then there's nothing left that can be done.

Until we catch the guy.

Go home, get some rest.

I've still got some back work to do, Gee.

No, do it tomorrow.

Go home and enjoy that precious baby girl of yours.

That's a direct order, Frank.

- Can I come? - Come where?

- To see the baby. - You've seen the baby already.

I know, I know, but I love babies.

Then have one of your own.

Hey.

Hey, you remember when I said to you

that you never invite me over?

Well, I want to come to your house, Frank.

No, not tonight.

Oh, I'll call your wife. Your wife will let me come over.

- Your wife likes me. - God knows why.

I'll meet you in the garage.

Oh, happy day.

- Hey, John. Is Meldrick here? - [Munch] Hey, Kellerman.

[Munch] Yeah, he's in the back, in the kitchen.

- What'll it be? - Jim Beam.

Jim Dandy.

- How's he seem to you? - Who?

- Meldrick. - Fine.

- Why? - He hasn't said anything to you?

- About what? - Anything.

- No. - Good.

- What? - No, nothing.

That's three bucks.

- [Kellerman] Hey, Meldrick. - What?

The bowling ball was sold to the owner

of the Towson Fairlanes off Providence.

We could all use a little providence.

- That's still three bucks. - Put it on my tab.

- You don't have a tab, Mike. - Then start me one.

Oh, God, she's beautiful.

- [Pembleton] Shh, shh, shh. - [Bayliss] What?

[Pembleton] You want to wake her up?

Good. I want to hold her. Hey, hey.

- Hey, hey. Olivia. Olivia. - Shh, shh, shh.

- Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. - What, what, what?

Babies are not toys that you can play with

any time you feel like it.

She's got her own sleep rhythm. You got to respect that.

Yeah, hmm.

- I'm going to wait. - No, no, no.

- You're not going to wait. - Oh, yeah.

Yeah, because I'm gonna...

- give her this. - Another gift?

Yeah.

See, when I saw that, I knew she would love it.

She's two weeks old, Bayliss. She doesn't know what she loves.

Sure she does. Sure she does.

Hey, hey. You-- You like Uncle Timmy, don't you?

- Huh? Yeah, you like Uncle Timmy. -"Uncle Timmy," geez.

- I hate that. I hate that. - What?

Talking to babies like they understand it

in that goo-goo voice, I hate that.

[whispers] I hate that.

Well, how is she going to learn to talk

if you don't talk to her?

Well, come on. She's my daughter.

When the time comes to talk, she'll talk.

Geez, Frank.

Uh, what must you feel when you look down

into this crib and see that face?

I see...

Mary and me struggling with two salaries to make ends meet.

I see us saving every extra penny

to make sure Olivia goes to college.

I see me going ballistic because she comes in after curfew.

I see a guy just like you

walking through my front door saying,

"I'm going to marry your daughter."

Wait a minute. What does that mean?

"A guy like me?" You mean I'm not good enough for your daughter, hmm?

What's in the bag? Hmm?

[Bayliss exclaims, laughs]

[Bayliss clicks tongue]

[laughs] That's cute, isn't it? This is cute.

It's too cute.

You're welcome.

- Want a drink? - Yeah.

- Help yourself downstairs. - So beautiful.

I love you, Olivia.

Yeah! That felt great.

It's very therapeutic knocking stuff down.

- Yeah. - Yeah, look at this place.

It's almost empty, man.

This used to be America's favorite pastime.

Oh, you wait and see.

Bowling's going to make a comeback.

[Kellerman grunts]

[Lewis] Not the way you bowl.

Come on, Meldrick. We're done here.

I mean, we know that the--

the ball that flattened Steiner's head

was stolen from here.

Owner's given us a list of all of his regular customers.

And you know what?

If we track every single one of them down,

we're going to end up with nothing.

Why you got to be so negative, man?

[Kellerman grunts]

[Kellerman grunts]

Let's get out of here.

No, no. You get out of here, okay?

I can finish this up alone.

Come on, Meldrick. Stay on the boat tonight.

I love you, man, but I'm not in love with you.

Seriously. You don't want to be alone.

I got no problem being alone, Kellerman.

I've been alone most of my life.

When you say that the marriage was never consummated,

do you mean you and Barbara never had sex even before?

Yeah, we had sex, man. We had plenty of sex.

We had sex 20 minutes before the marriage ceremony.

[sighs] I don't know what happened, man.

Everything was going great until I put

the wedding ring on her finger

and then all of a sudden I couldn't do nothing right.

I'll tell you one thing, though. I made one mistake.

- What's that? - I got married too fast.

Nah, you know, Meldrick,

going slowly doesn't guarantee anything.

Anne and I lived together for three years

before we tied the knot.

Now look at me, I'm eating cold cereal

for dinner three nights a week.

Yeah, well,

people find out about Barbara splitting on me, man,

I'm going to look like such a chump.

Who cares?

Look, Meldrick...

the important question is, is it really over?

I don't know, man.

Do you want it to be over?

- Thanks. - Thank you.

- Nope. - Then?

- What? - Nothing.

- What? - No, nothing. I--

I was going to say then don't let it end.

But that's stupid, because I didn't want

my marriage to end and it did, so I'll just shut up.

- Well, thanks. - For the advice?

No, for shutting up.

You got cable on your boat?

Yeah, I get everything but the food network.

Hey, you haven't reopened yet?

Yeah, we reopened.

I guess people are still nervous about coming back.

I mean, I'm sure eventually they'll forget, right?

I mean, I don't want to lose my business

over something like this.

Mr. Sobel, you wanted to talk to us?

I didn't say anything the other day because I was afraid.

I didn't want him to come back here and kill me, too.

- Who, sir? - Alois.

Alois Pfeiffer?

He worked here until I fired him.

How long ago was it that you fired him?

- A couple of weeks. - And why did you fire him?

Well, basically, he's a slacker.

Now, look, I don't pretend that anybody works these jobs

for any reason other than the money,

and I don't pretend that minimum wage

is any more than minimum wage.

But I expect a person who works for me

to show up on time, sober, and to put in a day's work.

Now, Alois, he does not see it that way.

- He gave you an attitude? - A major attitude.

Now, look, it's one thing to get snarky with me or the other workers,

but he's getting in the faces of the customers, you know, he wasn't worth the grief.

[Bayliss] Now, when you fired him, did he react badly?

Oh, yeah, a lot of testosterone, you know, a lot of hurt pride.

But, you know, I fired people before, so I just forgot about it.

Sir, what is it that you wanted to tell us today

that you haven't already told us?

Well, like I said, I was in the back,

but I heard him come in, I recognized his voice.

I stick my head out of the storeroom

and I see him and the other guy.

- Then uh-- the customer? - No.

No, it's, uh, his friend. What's his name?

Always hanging around with him, Ivan, Ian, or something.

- Uh-huh. - [Herb] Yeah, yeah.

They're up here talking real friendly with Mary-Rose.

They-- they're even joking with the customer.

I hear him ask for me, and I'm about

to stick my head out, and say hello.

That's when I see Alois pull the gun.

I duck back in the storeroom and that's when I hear

the other guy say, you know, "Give us all the money you got."

The, uh-- the other guy, Ian?

Yeah, him and Alois come in together.

[Pembleton] I see.

Okay, thanks very much, Mr. Sobel.

Hey, uh, people are going to come back, right?

Yeah, yeah, they're going to be back.

In droves. Take care now.

Well, [indistinct] will be out of business in a month.

Let's go to the hospital and have a chat with Ian McKenzie.

No, no, no, he's not in the hospital anymore.

He got released this morning.

Then let's go to his house and get him,

because bad knee or not, I want his ass in The Box.

Gee, I've got the final report on the Desassy shooting.

I thought you might like to see it

before I send it up to the bosses.

Well, no, Kay, I'm sure whatever you've written

is fair and accurate.

You know, a state's attorney review,

it's-- it's just routine.

I killed a man.

I don't see what's routine about that.

You killed a man in self-defense.

And whenever I walk past that board,

I see his name.

I'll be glad when this review is over.

I want this put to rest, even if it means my suspension.

That's not going to happen, Lieutenant.

I don't know.

- Excuse me, Gee? - Yeah?

Bayliss and Pembleton wanted me to tell you

they have a potential suspect in the Wrobel-Tabori murders,

only he doesn't know he's a potential suspect.

- They're in The Box. - Thanks, Munch.

[somber music playing]

Sergeant's prerogative.

Really appreciate you coming in, Ian.

Hey, anything to catch, uh, Mary-Rose's killer.

If you're so civic-minded,

why is it you need a lawyer, huh?

I'm here at his father's request.

[Bayliss] Oh.

Ian, did you know that, uh, Alois Pfeiffer owned a gun?

No.

Hmm, or that he was, uh,

planning to rob Hector's?

No.

Well, did you know that he was going to shoot Mary-Rose?

- Hmm? - No.

[chuckles] Now, how well do you know him?

Pretty well, I guess. Since we were kids.

Oh. You knew him that well.

But not well enough to know how depressed he was

from breaking up with Mary-Rose,

so depressed, that he'd kill her.

Detective, please, do you really expect Ian

to be assessing Pfeiffer's psychological state?

Right.

Did you know that, uh...

Alois was upset?

How's that? All right?

He was upset, but not that upset.

I mean, he loved Mary-Rose and all, but, uh...

[Bayliss] But what?

Well, he--

he told me that he was kind of relieved

that they had broken up.

Said she was a whiner.

A whiner. God rest her soul.

So then Alois's sole purpose in going to Hector's was to rob him?

[Russom] Gentlemen, gentlemen, please, you asked my client in here

to answer questions relating to the shootings.

Where-- where is this all leading us here?

[Pembleton] To be perfectly honest, Mr. Russom,

uh, I don't know.

I mean, I'm very, very, very confused.

And the worst part of it, I shouldn't be.

I mean, I have all the information I need

to put this case down.

I got two people dead in the morgue.

I got the name of the guy who put them there.

I even got myself an eyewitness,

but still, I'm confused.

Because when I first interviewed my eyewitness,

he told me he didn't see the shootings.

But this morning,

I spoke to another witness who said

that you and Alois came in together.

You told me that you were coming in when Alois ran out.

Why would you lie?

That's what's confusing me.

Ian, I suggest you don't answer them.

You know something? He's right. He's right.

You've got a very smart lawyer on your side.

You know that?

Is he allowed to tell us how he got outside?

[Russom] Alois shot the two others, then my client.

Alois ran outside.

My client followed, then he fell.

Ah, you see, I'm still confused.

You say you followed Alois, hmm?

Why would you follow someone who just shot you?

- Well, I-- - [Russom] Shut up, Ian.

The boy had just taken a bullet. He was traumatized.

- We react oddly when we're traumatized. - [Pembleton laughs]

Good. Good answer. Great lawyer.

Hey, how much do you get paid an hour for your services?

Hey, that remark is completely inappropriate.

No, I know, anything you do or say

is completely inappropriate, lawyer.

Please, please, gentlemen,

I believe we have strayed from the point, please.

Sit down, Mr. Russom. Please, sit down, sit down.

Please, please, sit-- sit down.

Okay, you say that you were shot inside the restaurant.

This is a report from the medical examiner's office

on the blood samples taken from inside Hector's restaurant.

They are a universal donor and B positive.

What blood type are you? Is he allowed to answer that?

- No. - B negative.

Which means that of the two samples

taken from inside the restaurant,

one belonged to Mr. Wroble

and the other to Mary-Rose, not you.

You were shot inside,

but you didn't bleed until you got outside?

How do you explain that, Counselor, huh?

My client and I need a few minutes together, please.

Mm, yes, you do, because now we all know

what really happened.

You and Alois went to Hector's to rob the joint,

but you never figured on anybody going down, huh?

Alois panicked, shot Mary-Rose, shot Wrobel.

The two of you ran outside. You said something to him.

You said something like-- like, mm,

"We're never going to get away with this."

Alois freaked out, shot you too.

That's what happened, isn't it?

My client has nothing more to say.

[Pembleton] You and your pal-- Hold on.

You and your pal have been trying

to get out of town for a long time,

and figured where better to get the dough

than where Alois used to work.

I mean, he even knew how to open the cash registers.

So what you thought was going to be a simple little robbery

turned into a bloodbath,

and now you're not ever going anywhere,

- ever, ever, ever. - [Russom] My client--

This interview is over.

Look, I don't have a trigger man, Counselor.

I got the next best thing, an accessory.

I got an accessory, Counselor. Let me tell you something, son.

In the great state of Maryland,

anyone participating in a robbery where life is taken

is guilty of felony murder.

Tell your client what that means, Counselor.

Tell your client how many years he's going to be doing in Jessup.

Huh? Go ahead.

Tell your client. Huh?

I know you didn't pull the trigger, son.

I know that, but two people are dead, and you got--

[Pembleton shouts]

[Pembleton shouts]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Pembleton grunting]

Jesus. Frank?

Frank? Frank?

Gee. Come here! Call a doctor!

[*]

Frank? Frank. What's happening, Frank?

Frank, what's happening, what's happening, Frank?

Frank, what's happening, Frank? Frank, what's happening, Frank?

- [camera shutter clicking] - [woman] Pembleton! Pembleton!

[voices all shouting at once]

- [echoing shouting] - [gunshot firing]

[Bayliss] Come on! Come on! Open your eyes, come on.

[clock ticking]

[man] Gunshot wounds to the chest.

[Bayliss] What? Dead.

- [Giardello] Frank. - [Pembleton] What? Tim?

Frank.

- Frank. Frank. - [camera shutter clicks]

[Pembleton] No. No.

No. No.

Get up. Get up.

Can you hear me, huh?

[Howard] He's breathing okay.

[Giardello] Have you got a pulse?

- Take the pulse, damn it. - I can't find the pulse.

- [Bayliss] Try his neck. - [Munch] The ambo's here.

The ambo's on its way up.

[paramedic 1] Coming through. Clear the door.

[paramedic 2] Excuse me.

Uh, you know, he-- he was screaming,

and he was fine, and he's Frank.

Frank, come on. Frank, can you hear me?

Can you tell me your full name?

Francis Xavier Pembleton.

How old are you?

- What city are we in? - Sinus brady, 55.

Is that bad? Huh?

- Frank, what day is it? - Enough with the quiz.

Can you just take him to the hospital?

Take it easy, Munch, take it easy.

Blood pressure is 220/140.

- Right side's looking weak. - Take the man to a hospital.

Look, will you back off and let us do our job?

We can't transport him until we know that he's stable.

- [Pembleton mumbling] - He's trying to say something.

A cigarette.

[all sighing]

- He's back. Frank's back. - [Bayliss] Yeah.

- [all exclaiming at once] - [paramedic 1] No, he ain't.

[paramedic 2] Already seizing again. Come on.

- Let's hit him with a D50. - [Bayliss] Whoa, whoa, whoa.

- [all shouting] - [paramedic 2] Whoa, Frank!

- Is he epileptic? - [Bayliss] No, no, no, no.

- What is going on here? - [paramedic 2] Could be a CVA.

- What the hell is a CVA? - Stroke.

[heart rate monitor beeping]

[*]

Somebody tell Mary!

[siren blaring]

- He's out. - [heart rate monitor beeping]

BP's up at 220/160.

Frank? Frank?

He can't hear you now. He's in a coma.

[sirens blaring]

[tense music playing]

Male, 34. Observed seizure, possible CVA.

We ran a glucose line and, uh, pressure's 220/160.

Okay, straight back.

Semi-conscious when we got there, but now non-responsive.

He went out during transport. We intubated him.

- I'll take it from here. - [paramedic 2] All yours.

[Dr. Devilbiss] Okay. On three.

One, two, three.

[doctor] Okay.

Run ten of labetalol with an IV push,

and a gram of Dilantin.

- Is he a drinker? - Uh, oh, Frank?

No, not really, he's not drinking.

Been here before?

- Homicide, right? - Yeah, yeah, uh, Bayliss.

Get this patient to CAT scan and page neurosurgery.

[whispers] Okay.

[*]

I went down to the high school near the overpass.

I'm figuring if one of the kids dropped a bowling ball,

he's gonna brag about it to his friends and the girls.

Either the guy is incredibly modest,

or none of these kids did it.

Okay, so what have we got?

Meldrick, like I said, this is a stone-cold whodunit.

Let's just do the paperwork and move on.

We are not moving on, okay? We can close this case.

- What's wrong with you? - Oh, yeah? Well, you show me how, then.

You guys want a ride to the hospital?

Yeah, but why are we going to the hospital?

You haven't heard? Frank had a stroke.

He's at the University Medical Center.

That's funny. [chuckles]

[Russert] Meldrick?

You serious?

- I'll drive. - No, no, I'll drive.

If you drive, we're liable to end up in the hospital bed beside him.

- They're gonna operate? - Yeah.

It's, uh, some kind of a, uh,

ruptured artery and clotting.

He's got blood-- It's all around the brain--

Something hemisphere. Hemorrhaging, hemorrhaging.

He's got a hemorrhaging in the hemisphere

with a big clot in the middle, it's right in the middle.

He's got too much pressure built up in his head,

and they're going to release that pressure.

But I knew that, you knew that, everyone always knew.

Frank always had a little too much pressure in his head.

Pressure built up in his head, and he exploded.

- His head exploded. - [Lewis] Any word?

- [Brodie] They're going to operate. - Where's Mary?

She's on her way. She was having trouble finding someone to watch her baby.

- Oh, hey, I'll go. - [Russert] No, it's okay, Megan.

We got, uh-- Naomi's headed over there, thank you.

How is Mary?

- [Howard] Good. - Yeah, she's good. She's fine.

Look, y'all, let's get this out of the hall.

I appreciate everybody coming out here to be with Frank,

but knowing Frank, the last thing we'd want

is for the Homicide Unit to shut down,

for the work to stop.

So everybody, please, go back to headquarters,

and I'll keep you, uh, posted as to this progress, okay?

- Okay? - All right.

Let's go close this Steiner case.

All right.

- I hate hospitals. - You too, Bayliss, go.

No, I'm staying, Gee.

You got a double murder that's wide open.

You have to get back in The Box with McKenzie.

- It's Frank's case. - What are you going to do?

Stay in the hospital until he gets better?

He was the primary. Now you are.

Well, you just give it to someone else.

- Bayliss. - No, I'm staying right here, Gee.

This is where I belong.

- Kay, who has the lightest caseload right now? - Uh, Russert.

Get back to headquarters and tell her and Munch

to take over the Wrobel-Tabori Murders.

Okay, sir. Right-- right away.

Thanks, Gee.

[somber music playing]

[song lyrics playing]

[*]

[Bayliss sighs]

I am good murder police, aren't I, Gee?

Yes, of course.

I've been standing here...

thinking about Frank,

thinking about everything that I've learned...

from him the last four years.

His technique in The Box?

Oh, no, it's-- no, it's more than that.

You know, when I-- when I find a suspect,

I like to, uh-- like to get in their brain to find out...

why they would want to take another person's life.

Why?

But, Frank.

Well, Frank... [chuckles]

...he just sees a dead body.

It doesn't matter to him who they were...

or what they did.

He strips away their personalities.

He, uh, makes them all equal in death

because if they have been murdered,

they must be avenged fully without hesitation,

without any kind of moral dilemma.

His mind is so clear on that, Gee.

His mind is...

You know, I think I-- I finally...

just started to understand how his mind works.

I just don't know if I'm going to be

as good of a detective as I am without him.

[Giardello] You'll be fine.

Come on, Frank is not going to let a thing like this

slow him down.

- [chuckles] Come on. - [Bayliss laughs]

- Huh? - Yeah.

- Yeah. Frank. - [both laugh]

I don't know, I'm gonna see if Mary needs something.

Yeah, go and do that.

They've agreed, Ian will plead out, and give up Alois Pfeiffer.

- He's all yours, huh? - All right.

Did you ever think that maybe somebody wanted Steiner dead?

Someone hired a hitman to stand on an overpass?

I mean, come on, Meldrick, get real.

Bowling balls don't fall out the clouds, Kellerman.

Meldrick, I want you to do me a favor.

Go home to Barbara, and sort out your marriage.

I'm not going home.

Ian, I want you to answer all these detectives' questions.

- But before you said that I-- - Yeah, well, trust me, we made a great deal.

Ian, I'm Detective Russert, and this is Detective Munch.

Hey, how's that other guy? Man, he went down fast.

We need you to make a full statement about the shootings.

Sure.

You know, that other detective thought

it was about Alois getting over Mary-Rose.

- But it is a robbery, right? - Well, yeah.

Also, Alois was disappointed

that Mr. Sobel wasn't there at the time.

Okay, wait a second. Sobel is who again?

- Mr. Sobel, Herb Sobel. He's the manager at Hector's. - [Russert] Oh, right.

[Ian] See, Alois told me beforehand that, uh,

he was hoping Sobel would be there

so that he could scare him.

Why would Pfeiffer want to scare him?

Payback, man.

Sobel had fired his ass. He took it personal.

He called Alois a slacker,

and Alois hated being called a slacker

more than anything else.

He hated that word.

Do you know where Alois might be now?

Sure.

You want me to write down the address where he's hiding?

That would be nice.

Proceed with extreme caution.

No heroics.

[suspenseful music playing]

Alois Pfeiffer? Baltimore Police!

- Hey, anything? - No.

Uh-uh.

- [Russert] Anything? - No.

[*]

[Munch] This could be our boy.

- He's got a note pinned on him. - What's it say?

"I'm not a slacker."

[*]

You got a man...

ordinary guy after a long day's work

that's on his way home.

He's got his whole life worked out.

He's got plans and hopes for the future.

Maybe he's even got a brand-new wife.

He's driving along thinking he's got the world by the nads.

A bowling ball drops out the sky.

Stops him dead.

Or maybe-- maybe he has a stroke.

[scoffs] Huh.

There ain't no explanation for it. There ain't no answer.

Only a chump tries to figure it out.

Am I right, Mikey, huh?

Absolutely.

[Lewis sighs]

[fog horn honks]

- [Kellerman yawns] - [Lewis sighs]

You know, that ball was evidence.

I'm gonna have to go fish it out.

Have fun.

- I'm gonna go find my wife. - Yeah.

[Dr. Devilbiss] The surgery went very well.

[Bayliss] Frank's gonna be okay?

We have to wait, monitor his vitals,

but hopefully he'll wake up.

Hopefully?

[heart rate monitor beeping]

How extensive is the brain damage?

We decompressed as quickly as we could.

If he, uh, comes out of the coma,

most likely there'll be some right-sided weakness

and some language problems.

Don't hedge, Doctor.

I need to know the truth.

Will Frank recover?

The truth is, I don't know.

I honestly don't know.

[sighs] I can't--

I can't-- [sobbing]

[Pembleton] Hey, let me out of here. Hey.

Let me out of here. Let me out of here.

[overlapping shouting] Let me out of here! What are you doing?

[cacophonous shouting]

- [shouting continues] - [drumroll playing]

[echoing] What are you doing?

[*]