Original subtitles

He's gonna kill her! You gotta do something!

- Try to calm down. - [officer] Excuse me, sarge.

You have to make him stop!

You're supposed to keep the pink copy.

- [officer] Yeah, yeah. - Your father hits you?

My mother! He beats my mother!

- Can't you listen? - I'm trying to.

This morning, every night, he hurts her!

Has your mother made a complaint?

No, she won't, she's afraid.

Listen, if the victim isn't gonna complain,

we don't have enough to file charges.

So, what am I supposed to do, huh?

Am I supposed to go home

and watch my father kill my mother?

What the hell is wrong with you people?

[theme music plays]

[static crackles]

[indistinct chatter over radio]

- [phone ringing] - [man] Homicide.

[Lewis] Am I wrong?

Weren't you and Steve Crosetti jazz fusion people?

Yeah. Fusion, bebop, R&B.

Let me break it down for you.

Break it down for me, please.

- To understand Chick Corea... - [Lewis] Preachin'!

- ...comprehend Charlie Parker. - [Lewis] Comprehend!

- To dig Charlie Parker... - [Lewis] Diggin' Parker!

- You got to love Louis Jordan. - [Lewis] Love!

To love Louis Jordan,

you've got to know T-Bone Walker.

[Lewis] Can he get an amen!

- You catch all that? - [Lewis] I caught all that.

Since you're such an expert on Black music,

where's Teddy Pendergrass in all this, huh?

Teddy who?

Blind or no blind, if you're gonna disrespect

Theodore like that, I'm gonna come across this table,

I'm gonna kick your ass.

[laughing]

[gunshot bangs]

I'd like to propose a toast.

To the second annual

Steve Crosetti Memorial Night on the Town.

The little salami brain is still missed.

- To Steve. - [Lewis] To Steve.

Come on, drink up.

Crosetti thought a hell of a lot of you, you know.

He said that you was

the best damn street cop he ever field-trained.

And let me tell you something else, Thormann.

He also said you were too damn smart

to be Baltimore police.

Too smart to be a police, huh?

Yeah, that's what he said.

Well, if I was so smart...

I wouldn't be blind.

[gunshot bangs]

Hey, hey.

Hey, Chris, you okay?

[gunshot bangs]

[tense instrumental]

324 to KGA.

Charles Flavin?

Flavin. Charles Flavin!

Come on, bitch. Move.

[woman screams]

In pursuit of two suspects in the alley

at Fairmount and Spring.

Book it, book it man!

- [woman screams] - Against the wall!

Against the wall now!

I ain't done a damn thing.

No! Get off of him!

Step back. Stand back!

No, Charlie! No!

No! No!

Yeah.

You know it.

[gunshot bangs]

[blues music playing]

Chris, let's go home.

[Kay] Male victim, multiple gunshot wounds.

HarborView Towers, apartment 610.

Murder with a view.

Bayliss, you're up, who do you want to take with?

- I get to choose? - [Kay] You get to choose.

[sniffs] Pembleton.

- Me? - Is that a problem?

- No. - Good.

I'll get Brodie to meet you downstairs.

Together again.

For the first time.

You wanna drive?

[chuckles] Yeah.

[shutter clicking]

[Pembleton] So what have we got?

[officer] His name's Franz Rader.

[shutter clicking]

He lives here with a wife, Lucille,

and a daughter, Billie.

What's Billie short for?

Wilhelmina, maybe?

So where are they?

No sign of either of 'em anywhere.

Anybody else around?

Front door was open when I got here.

Neighbors heard a fight, shots.

By the time anybody got the nerve to take a peek,

shooter was gone.

Yeah, slow neighbors. I hate that.

Uh, that looks to be your weapon.

Is that where you found it?

- Haven't touched it. - Okay.

We got multiple chest wounds, an open door

and a weapon halfway across the living room.

It's gonna be hell writing this one up as a suicide,

- I'll tell you that much. - [Pembleton laughs]

What we have are three entrances in the upper chest.

One exit wound in the back of the right thigh,

suggesting a severe angle of entry.

Yeah. Downward?

Yeah, either your shooter plays low post

for an NBA franchise, or--

The victim was on his knees.

That's very good, Brodie.

Elementary, my dear Bayliss.

All right guys. You ready to rock'n'roll here?

[officer] Pull!

[shutter clicks]

No other exit wounds.

I'll bet you find your slug on the floor somewhere.

Gonna get your other two when I open him up.

So what sort of man gets shot in his own kitchen

in the middle of the day?

[Brodie whistles]

[Bayliss] Franz Rader was a chef.

[tense instrumental plays]

[shutter clicking]

[Lewis] I can't believe they went through with it.

Moved Cal Ripken to third.

- Blasphemy. - What?

Cal Ripken not playing short-stop, what's next?

Blue crabs with drawn butter?

The Union Jack flying over Fort McHenry?

Well I guess maybe old Cal's lost a step.

You Lewis?

No, you're looking for the blasphemer

to my immediate right.

[chuckles] What's up?

- Mack Reich. - Hey.

I'm an investigator for the State Parole Commission.

You worked a shooting in March '93.

The defendant was a Charles Flavin.

The victim was a city patrolman, a Christopher Thormann.

Yeah, yeah. I know Charles Flavin.

I just need to get a quick look at your case file.

- Why? - Flavin's up for parole.

He beat her.

Lucille's always covering up bruises.

I said, "Talk to the police."

Her daughter though, Billie, she wasn't afraid.

You could hear her shouting all the way down the hall.

- Did they fight a lot? - Oh, yeah.

Old Franz'd get back from the restaurant--

Oh, he was a chef?

At that Italian place in the Belvedere Hotel.

- Rinaldi's? - That's it.

Anyhow, he'd get home like 2:00 in the morning

and decide to go ten rounds.

The whole family got into it.

Were the police ever called?

Not that I remember.

And they got on the elevator?

Right after the shots. Lucille looked terrible.

Billie said she was taking her to the hospital.

I've gotta get to the airport.

[Bayliss] Frank, let's go to the hospital.

That's where the daughter took the wife.

Okay, uh, don't leave town, captain.

- What? - [chuckles] I was kidding.

- Don't leave town? - I've always wanted to say that.

[tense instrumental plays]

We were in the kitchen.

I was leaning against the table.

He hit my arm. He--

Things always got better later.

He'd be so sorry.

Our daughter came home, she saw him with the gun.

She went crazy.

She grabbed him, the gun fell.

She picked it up.

She made him get on his knees.

Her own father.

She made him beg for his life.

[whispering] My Franz.

Begging.

She shot her own father.

I screamed for her to stop.

But she kept shooting.

And where's your daughter now?

She must be with her boyfriend.

Neil...

Take your time.

...Passey.

And where does this Neil live?

I don't know.

He works at Rinaldi's.

[gasps] Franz got him the job.

[sobs]

I'll testify against Billie.

Pardon?

I'll testify against my daughter.

I'm just a fact-finder, detective.

I'm not working for or against Flavin here--

- [loud slamming] - Do you mind?

Yeah I do mind.

I kinda get upset about the thought

that you could shoot a cop in this town,

blind him for life, get caught, get convicted,

and then four years later you're up for parole.

You know that kind of thing just upsets me a little bit.

It's an unusual circumstance.

Where's your copying machine?

Unusual circumstance, huh?

I'm not really supposed to comment

outside of the hearing process.

- Sorry. - What can't you tell me, huh?

What can't you tell me?

That Charlie Flavin's found God?

Or he's got a cure for cancer?

Bottom-line is, the man put a gun to the head

of a police officer and compressed the trigger.

End of story!

Knock yourself out.

Look, detective, we're trying to learn

everything we can before the hearing.

Anything you wanna add to this file, you can.

I'll be happy to take a statement from you,

or from Detective Crosetti for that matter.

Crosetti?

[Reich] He's the other investigator in the case, right?

Is he around?

What about Thormann, huh?

How do you expect the guy to carry this news?

By law, the victim is always notified

of parole deliberations.

Officer Thormann received formal notice a week ago.

A week ago?

- You wanna go talk to Chris? - Yeah, definitely.

Go on, get outta here. I'll cover for you.

- Thanks a lot, sarge. - Take your time.

[mellow jazz instrumental plays]

Man, I haven't been right since I got that letter.

Eva wants to move, leave Baltimore,

you know, put a lot of miles between Charlie Flavin and us.

Hey, Charlie Flavin ain't gonna make parole.

And even if he does, he's not gonna mess with you.

Meldrick, man...

You can't imagine how vulnerable you feel

when your world goes black.

You don't know how many sounds there are in an empty house.

How much there is for the mind to imagine.

[chuckles] I mean, on one level,

I know Flavin and his parole don't mean anything to my life.

I know we're never gonna meet again, but,

then again, I think about him out...

...living his life.

Living like it never happened.

And it makes me crazy.

Yeah, well, you know...

you leave the department, man, what in the hell you gonna do?

What have I been doing?

Working in the medical section.

Answering phones. Playing receptionist?

That's not being a police.

Okay, so take your disability pension.

Ain't nobody gonna blame you for that.

But if you decide to stay, you ain't got no reason to run.

The man shot a cop.

How's he gonna make parole?

I can't even understand

how he got a hearing so quick.

- They didn't tell you? - Tell me what?

Two months ago...

when they had that riot at MCI-Hagerstown,

the one where a few guards got cut up and taken hostage?

Yeah, what about it?

They say Flavin carried one of the guards

out of the exercise yard,

fought to bring him to the infirmary

and then...

went back to help negotiate the release of the other hostages.

[scoffs] Charlie Flavin?

Yeah.

Can you believe it?

The son of a bitch is some kind of hero.

Hey!

[Cox] Oh, hey.

What, are you going to a dinner party or something?

No. No.

Uh, are you?

No. I just ordered a pizza at BOP's next door,

and I remembered that I'd run dry.

Huh.

You like pepperoni?

Excuse me?

Pepperoni. I ordered a pepperoni pizza.

I'm gonna go back to the boat.

What, is that invitation to dinner?

Sure. You want to come over?

No, I don't think so, but thanks.

Why not?

Because the last time I went to your boat,

Kellerman, you were in the midst of this cleaning fit.

And I walked there with my broken foot,

and you were in a complete mood,

practically suicidal or something.

Why'd you say that?

Why'd I say what?

Whatever.

Hey, no, wait a second. Mike, what's the problem?

Well, I was just having a bit of a rough time

that night, that's all.

All right.

So you want to come over or not?

You know, pepperoni, it's sort of been done, hasn't it?

Okay, uh, how about anchovies?

Olives.

Olives? On pizza?

I guess it kinda goes with the wine.

[clerk] $31.70, please.

All right. Anchovies and olives.

Okay.

You ever been to Rinaldi's?

On my pay? No.

The Burger King couple blocks from here,

that's the closest I've come.

How about you?

I took Mary there for our anniversary.

I miss Mary. I miss Livie.

I miss all of us, uh, being together.

Mary was miserable.

She probably should have split long before she did.

I mean, if you're that unhappy, why stay and suffer, hmm?

[indistinct]

You're saying that Lucille Rader should have left her husband?

Hmm?

Well the truth is, I don't know how anyone

could stay with someone who harms them.

One time would be enough for me to find the door.

Come on, Frank. That's pretty simple.

I mean, no one can know how they would react

to something unless they'd been through it.

Things happen to people,

and people, they just-- they respond in different ways.

Well, the answer is pretty simple.

As brutal as her marriage was, Lucille Rader stayed

because, for some reason, she wanted to.

Life with her husband had more to offer to her

than life without.

- So she's at fault? - No, no, no.

No. But she had a choice.

She's complicit on some level.

She is the one who was being hit, Frank.

She is the one who was living with the fear.

- Fear? - Yeah.

Fear? Franz Rader's two hours dead,

and she's offering to testify against her own daughter?

She doesn't know what she's saying.

It sounded pretty damn clear to me!

This woman is a victim.

Well, of course she's a victim.

The daughter's a victim. They're just not our victim.

Our victim's got three holes in his pericardial sac.

[shrill whistle blowing]

I've known Franz 20 years.

This is the one thing we couldn't discuss.

I tried to talk to Lucille. Get them some help.

What did she say?

That they were working on it.

What do you do in a situation like that?

The man was an immigrant.

He was raised in East Germany, had a horrible childhood.

Actually, we're less interested in Mr. Rader's childhood days

than we are in finding Neil Passey.

He's a busboy. He's probably in the back.

Is he involved? Can we talk to him?

What do you mean, he left?

He got a call around 5:00, some emergency.

I let him go.

Who knows where Neil Passey went this evening?

Who knows where he lives?

- Well, you got his address in your files? - Should be.

You gonna be all right?

Yes.

- Thanks. - What's your name?

Bonnie Tiles.

You worked under Mister Rader?

What was he like?

He was wonderful.

He never yelled, ever. He never got mad.

Always patient if you made a mistake.

He made everyone feel relaxed.

It's like...

whenever he walked in here, he suddenly got so cheerful.

What was he like away from work?

Away, I--

I really don't know.

What about Neil Passey?

He started working here a few weeks ago.

Did you know he was dating Mr. Rader's daughter?

He was?

Do you know where Neil Passey is right now?

Sorry.

Okay.

Just asking. Thanks.

Franz was torn between staying here

and leaving to form his own restaurant.

Lucille pressured him constantly.

As she should, I suppose.

She had ambitions for him. It's only natural.

- Right. The address? - Here it is.

Thanks.

He tried to stop, you know.

Once, he didn't touch her for over a year.

But Franz, he was an unhappy man his whole life.

He never really got past...

I mean, you just can't go back into his childhood

and fix it, can you?

[*]

The pizza's gone and the wine's gone,

so I'm outta here.

Well, you don't have to go.

Oh, yeah, I do.

Where'd I put my bag, Kellerman?

- Julianna. - Yeah?

[Kellerman sighs]

The last time that you came to my boat,

when I was in my cleaning fit, right?

You said that I was practically suicidal.

Yeah.

Well, I almost did kill myself.

[tense instrumental plays]

I-- I don't know what to say.

You don't have to say anything.

I just wanted to tell you.

Well, I hope I haven't...

totally scared you off.

- No. - Good.

So will you stay?

You know, it works a lot better if you push the button.

Something on your mind?

- Chris Thormann. - He's a friend of yours?

Crosetti was his Sector OIC, broke him in.

I guess I'm kind of filling his shoes.

So how's he doing?

Hey, he was doing pretty cool up until lately.

Today, the mope that shot him is up for parole.

I'm supposed to pick Chris up and take him to the hearing.

Now, the guy's already a wreck.

I mean, what's he gonna do if--

What am I supposed to say to him

if they cut this son of a bitch loose?

The guy's not gonna make parole.

Yeah? I wish I could believe that.

Well if he does, I'm sure you'll find

the right words for Thormann.

I wish I could believe that.

[chuckles] Well, I for one have heard your words

when things had to get said.

- You're pretty good at it. - [elevator dings]

Yeah, well, you know how it is, Mikey.

Some people are easier to sweet-talk than others.

- Go help your friend. - Yeah.

- [Pembleton snoring] - Hmm. Geez!

Hey, rise and shine.

- [Bayliss groans] - What, it's my turn again?

Yeah. One hour on and one hour off.

That's what we agreed on.

Oh. Oh, boy. [groans]

Anything?

No. No light, no movement.

[sighs] To hell with this.

Let's turn this over to the Fugitive Squad.

Let some younger guys sit out here and wait.

I mean, this girl's not exactly Hannibal Lecter.

She's the shooter, it's a murder,

so we wait.

- Murder? - Yeah.

What else would you call it, Frank?

Manslaughter, five years, suspended.

[scoffs] Three in the chest, on his knees?

No, she executed the guy.

Second degree and ten years, at least.

Are you out of your mind? The girl grew up in a boxing ring.

She was lucky to be alive.

That's more than the father can say.

Two hours ago, you were all teary-eyed about

how much of a victim the wife was.

How much abuse she had to put up with.

- The wife was hit. - What hurts more?

Getting hit by your father or watching your mother get hit by your father?

I mean, this is awfully darn close to justifiable homicide.

As far as we know, he never threatened the daughter.

He never hit her.

So unless she fears for her life,

Billie Rader has no right to shoot her father down.

This guy's a bastard.

- Yeah, he was. - He got what he deserved.

Yes he did.

Manslaughter, five years, suspended.

What are you talking about? It doesn't work that way.

- [chuckles] It doesn't? - No.

No, you can't just go through this world

giving every bastard what he deserves.

You can't do that.

[dog barking in distance]

Okay.

I admit it. I'm sick to my stomach.

Oh, come on.

You're not gonna be up there alone, partner.

Eva, the speech?

Yeah, I got it right here, Chris.

Now you know they won't take direct testimony

from anybody but the victim

and the parole candidate,

but I wrote a long letter and I stuck it in your file.

So did Gee, so did Howard, and about a dozen others.

Oh, yeah? Who else?

You got Harris from the Commissioner's Office,

Barnfather. There you go.

Ed Danvers from the State's Attorney,

His Honor Mayor Kurt L Schmoke of the City of Baltimore,

Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder.

[Chris] Brother Ray, I knew he'd come through.

- [Lewis chuckles] - [engine revving starts]

[Pembleton] Okay, thanks.

Thanks!

[sighs] That was Rinaldi, said that

Neil Passey didn't show up for work today.

- Neither did Tiles. - Tiles?

The woman doing all the crying in the kitchen.

- Come on, take a ride with me. - Okay.

- [Cox] Hey, Bayliss. - Yeah?

Got a present for you.

Two spent .38s

from the mortal remains of Franz Rader.

One pancaked and one suitable for comparison.

When did the ME's Office start to do carry-out?

I just wanted to let you know,

I was a little off with the trajectory, all right?

- It was not downward? - Downward for two of three.

And the other bullet caught him straight on.

Uh-huh. So, he was on his knees

when she shot him twice, and then he was flat on his back

when she delivered the parting shot.

That would be consistent with the post-mortem, yes.

That's nice. That's very nice.

Still sound like a manslaughter to you, Frank?

They just went inside.

How'd they look?

They looked tough, right?

Yeah, they looked fierce.

Eva? How'd they look?

I don't know, Chris, they looked like regular people to me.

But fierce?

Eva, do I have to teach you how to lie?

Well, hello there.

You feeling better, Miss Tiles?

- What do you mean? - You called in sick today.

[overlapping shouting from inside]

You need some help in there?

I can't talk right now--

- Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! - Billie! Billie!

Let her go!

Hey, hey, hey! Step up against the wall!

- Turn around! - I shot him!

- [Bayliss] Turn around! - I shot him!

- [Neil] I shot her father! - [Bayliss] No, no, no!

- [Billie] He didn't do anything! - I shot the son of a bitch!

[Pembleton] Back off, Miss Tiles!

She's lying, okay? I shot him!

Don't be stupid! They already know I did it!

I'm sure my mother already told 'em!

That's right. That's right, Neil.

We already know that.

You have the right to remain silent.

I wanted to turn myself in last night!

He kept trying to talk me out of it.

Don't say anything till you get a lawyer!

I shot him and I'd shoot him again!

[Neil] Billie!

I really think that you should talk to a lawyer.

Why? What does it matter?

Well, believe me, I have much more experience than you,

and you should talk to a lawyer.

- [officer] Officer Thormann? - [Chris] Yes?

You don't know me, sir.

I am a correctional officer,

a shift lieutenant assigned to MCI-Hagerstown.

I don't know how to say this, but I--

You're the one he saved, right?

Yes, sir.

I thought you might be here.

Yes, sir.

I just--

I mean, I can understand how you feel about Charlie.

I know I would feel the same way if...

But after going through what I did,

I felt it would not be right

to not come here and show some support.

He saved my life.

Good. That's good.

I just--

It wouldn't be right not saying something to you as well.

I understand where you're at.

And I'm sorry

to have to meet you here like this.

I'm grateful for your life, lieutenant.

Thank you.

Nice guy.

Yeah, nice guy.

He never touched me.

She wouldn't let him.

I used to think it was because she was defending me,

but after a while, it seemed more like...

[scoffs] ...she was jealous, or something.

Like getting beat up was her special job

or privilege or something.

How often were the beatings?

[Billie] Every week sometimes.

Sometimes not for months.

The pressure would build up and he would blow.

[Giardello] How's it going?

Oh, as smooth as silk. She's talking her head off.

[Billie] At work, they thought he was some kind of angel.

Why is it I feel so bad?

[Danvers] What happened yesterday?

I came home...

and he was beating her with the back of his gun.

He'd broken her arm. She couldn't even move it.

She was crying and he was screaming at her to shut up,

yelling that she was always trying to push him!

And then he held the gun to her head,

and I just went crazy.

I jumped on him and we fell on the floor,

and the gun fell and I just reached for it.

- So your father attacked you? - What do you mean?

You said you were struggling, he came at you, he swung on you?

- What did he do? - Frank, hey.

- [Giardello] Geez, Pembleton! - Can you blame him?

Not really.

He was more kind of stunned.

He was still on the ground when I got up.

- And you shot him three times. - That's right.

But you were frightened of him,

so you kept firing because you thought he might--

Frank!

I thought if I didn't keep firing,

the bastard might live!

[Pembleton] So you were in fear of your father?

- Pembleton, if you don't mind-- - [Pembleton] Right, right.

When you shot him, you were in fear of what he might do to you,

- your mother, you were in fear-- - Outside, gentlemen.

Now!

I mean, now I've really seen it all.

Frank Pembleton, Public Defender?

I'm just trying to give her an out.

The least she deserves is a chance to cop to manslaughter.

That is a decision for my office, detective, not--

I know that it is.

But by the time you make it, she'll have put herself in so deep,

there'll be no saving her.

Frank, listen to me, if she is so deserving,

why hasn't she just followed your lead?

I feel for the girl too, Frank.

But we just can't put words in her mouth!

- Just do your job! - This is my job.

This is what the City of Baltimore pays me to do.

To pin murder one on a girl in this situation?

No one is pinning anything on anybody in there!

That's right, three shots to the chest,

one while he was already on the floor.

We don't know that.

Two downward trajectories, Frank.

And one that was shot straight on.

That's what Cox told both of us. We heard it, didn't we?

Well, how about one shot head on, as the father was attacking her?

And two more as he falls to his knees, how about that?

You can twist facts to fit any scenario,

bottom line is, the mother puts Franz Rader

on his knees when the shooting starts.

That's what she says now while the blood's still warm.

But we all know, by the time this goes to trial,

she'll be backing up on her story.

If the mother backs up, fine.

But she's left us with is straight-up murder.

Which is what it is.

Now that girl in there,

she had the power of life and death over another human being,

Frank, and guess what?

- She chose death. - A human being!

Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

A bona fide wife-beating, gun-waving member of the tribe.

Now, you wanna call that first bullet self-defense, fine.

First one's on the house.

Second bullet, you want to say that

that was shot in fear,

that's great, that's no problem.

Because, you know what,

we're gonna give her a two-bullet handicap.

But the third shot, Frank,

the one where he is down on the floor,

and he's of no threat to anyone at all, Frank, come on.

Legally, all the premeditation needed for first degree murder

can come in a moment between the second and third shots.

She thinks she wants him dead.

Boom! She fires again.

[Giardello] Danvers is right.

We have to play the cards as they're dealt.

[whispering] Yes, sir.

Do I have anything more to worry about in there?

[whispering] No, sir.

[laughing sardonically]

What?

What is it?

You're the sensitive one, right?

[Pembleton continues laughing]

[doors buzzing]

[Lewis] Here comes Charlie Flavin.

It's him?

He just went past.

How'd he look at me?

[Lewis] He just looked.

He didn't sell no wolf tickets or nothing.

- He just looked. - I wanted him to see me.

He did. He did see you.

He did see you.

You say your father was on his knees when you shot him?

That's right.

Was he trying to get up?

[sobs] No.

What was he doing?

[sobbing] He was saying...

"Please, don't shoot.

Please, don't shoot."

He was begging me.

He-- he was just begging me.

Look, no matter what,

Chris will find a way to carry this.

You saw him the other night.

He's so wrapped up in this thing,

there's no room for anything else.

He's got no-- no present. He's got no future.

He's got no past, except for one moment on one street corner.

We were putting our lives back together.

And now we're back on the corner of Spring and Fairmount

with Charlie Flavin.

[sighs heavily] Chris loved being a cop.

I hated it, but he loved every minute of it.

The thing is, he still does.

Even now, even after all of this,

he still wishes he could be out there in a radio car.

And the thing is, it's not gonna happen.

[sighs] He's just gotta let go.

And not just of Charlie Flavin.

He's gotta let go of the jazz.

The jazz?

Yeah, you know, the jazz

that you guys all feel, being cops.

[typewriter clacking]

Mrs. Rader wants to talk to us.

Mrs. Rader. No surprise there.

Now, for the record, we shall hear

from the victim of the extant offence,

Officer Thormann of the Baltimore Police Department.

Should I start? Hmm?

I, um, prepared a written statement that...

for obvious reasons, my wife was gonna read.

It talked about who Charlie Flavin was,

who I was, and...

what happened the night I tried to arrest him

on an outstanding warrant.

But after sitting out there half the day

thinking on it...

I decided I don't want to go into all that.

I think, I mean...

put it this way.

You've got all the files in front of you, so...

[sighs] ...why tell that story all over again?

Anyhow...

the point is, you seem to think that Charlie Flavin...

is a different man today than he was four years ago.

I don't know, maybe he is.

All I can tell you is that Chris Thormann

is different.

That I am no longer the same.

[sighs] I mean, if the question is

whether Charlie Flavin is ready for a new future,

then my answer is that I don't know.

But me, I'm not there yet.

[soft jazz instrumental plays]

I'm still working on a future,

and I don't know how long it's gonna take.

It might take a year, it might take 20.

It might take a lifetime.

But I'm gonna get there.

And when I do...

I promise to let y'all know.

And then, maybe...

we can talk about Charlie Flavin.

Thank you for your time.

[*]

So you're saying that Franz attacked Billie?

He did.

And she fired the shots in self-defense?

In self-defense, yes.

He wasn't on his knees?

Begging?

No.

He was coming after Billie. He was gonna hurt her.

She shot him to protect herself.

That poor woman.

Daughter murders her husband, now she's got nothing left.

Yeah, I'd lie for Billie, too.

What is it with you?

- What do you mean? - You got all the sympathy in the world

for Lucille Rader.

You got none for her daughter?

Well, Lucille Rader didn't kill anyone, Frank.

Right.

- I see. - What?

You-- you see what?

Lucille took it.

Lucille suffered.

She didn't cry out or rebel or fight back.

She took every beating as if it were her due.

Billie, on the other hand, she took on the power,

and, for one moment at least...

she won.

[whispering] Listen to me.

Please, please, listen to me.

The daughter fought...

and the mother didn't.

So what?

When it finally comes down, they're the same.

They're different, but the same.

They were abused.

No matter what they did or did not do,

the sin is not their own.

- Yeah, but-- - The sin is not your own.

[Kellerman] How about a pizza?

Again with the pizza. Such a creature of habit.

Why don't we have dinner at my house and I'll cook.

- You'll cook? - I'll cook.

But I hear you're a terrible cook.

- Who'd you hear that from? - Hey, hey, hey, Chris.

Hey. I been hunting you.

Oh, yeah, you got some news for me?

Got the call an hour ago.

Charlie Flavin's parole...

was denied.

[laughs] All right, all right.

I don't know what you said in there, but it sure as hell worked.

Hey, buddy, Charlie Flavin, remember him?

Down for another nickel.

That's great. Congratulations.

Hey, come on, let me buy you a drink.

Actually, I got a cab waiting,

and I got some place I want to be.

I'll take care of that. Here you go, buddy.

- Keep the change. - Thanks.

So, where you gotta go. I'm your chauffeur.

I'll tell you on the way.

Ten-hut!

Hard hat on deck!

How you been, Chris?

I'm good, LT. How's my old shift?

Oh, still out there battling.

I just felt like coming down tonight.

Any time, Chris.

You got any words of wisdom for us before we roll out?

Words of wisdom? I don't know.

Well, back in the old days

when we used to carry six-shooters,

they used to say fire five,

save one for ourselves in case we got captured.

[cadets laugh]

Except in your case, you'd need two.

One to the head ain't gonna put you down.

[laughter]

Well, you all just get out there

and show 'em who still owns the Eastern.

Okay. Shift dismissed!

Let's go to work.

God, I'm always gonna miss it.

I know that.

And one of these days, he's gonna make parole.

I know that too.

[sighs]

It's time to go.

[train horn blaring]

Uncle George?

Do you know me?

Do you?

[indistinct chatter over TV]

Do you know who--

who I am?

Timothy.

[George coughs]

[sniffles]

[tense instrumental plays]

Tell me something, George.

Where do I put my hate?

[George continues coughing]

[train horn blaring]

[theme music plays]