Original subtitles

For the record, Detective...

please state your name and address.

Detective Sergeant Horace Flynt,

1438 Atwater Street, Van Nuys.

Could you describe the events leading up

to your going to the home of Nina Emmons

on the night of July 30, 1986?

We had a warrant for the arrest of one Dewitt James,

whose last known address was 9220 Chateau Street,

apartment 50.

What was the warrant for?

Possession of a controlled substance

and felonious assault.

Can you tell us what happened?

Myself, Officers Clayton and Todd

went to the door of the apartment, knocked

and announced ourselves.

There was no response. We then obtained entry forcibly.

Flynt: Once inside the apartment,

we announced ourselves as members

of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The perpetrator leveled what appeared to be

a 20-gauge shotgun at us.

I instructed her to drop her weapon. She refused.

She then fired, hitting me in the midsection.

My fellow officers returned fire.

When you say you knocked on the door,

what did you say as you knocked?

I said, Los Angeles Police Department.

Then, Sergeant, you say you obtained entry forcibly.

- How did you do that? - I kicked in the door.

- One kick? - One kick.

You must be a strong guy, Sergeant.

Kuzak: Now, what did you see when you came through the door?

The first room was dark.

Didn't appear to be anyone in it.

We moved into the bedroom, and it was there

that we encountered the perpetrator.

Sergeant, when the perpetrator, as you called her,

leveled what you said appeared to be a 20-gauge shotgun at you,

did you at that time, produce any badge or ID card

identifying yourself as a police officer?

I did that as soon as we entered the apartment.

Kuzak: I thought you said there was no one in the front room.

If there was no one in the front room,

there was no one to display your badge to.

The question is,

did you display your badge to Nina Emmons

when you entered her bedroom?

- No, I did not. - And why is that, Sergeant?

I didn't happen to have a free hand at the moment.

Kuzak: Well, where were your hands, Sergeant?

They were wrapped around my gun, Counselor.

What about your fellow officers, Clayton and Todd, Sergeant?

Did either of them produce a badge or ID card?

Ask them.

Did you happen to see little Sarah Emmons

sleeping in the bed, Sergeant?

Yeah... I saw her.

And did you see her before or after you opened fire?

Objection. Assuming facts not in evidence.

Hey, you think I'm happy that baby died?

The baby didn't die, Sergeant.

The baby was killed.

And you want to know something?

- Better her than me. - That's a noble thought.

There's nothing more noble than getting out alive.

Deangelo: Let's stick with the format, shall we, gentlemen?

And I want all this colloquy off the record.

I don't give a damn if it's on or off the record.

Flynt: You ever go through a door, Mr. Kuzak?

You never went through a door.

You know why you never went through a door?

Because you send me. My back is screwed up.

I've been shot four different times.

I'm gonna be 46 next month, I feel like I'm seventy.

We all have our jobs to do.

Yeah? Well, let's trade for a while.

You come down here and I'll go up there.

I'll put on the $700 suit,

sit at the big desk and look out the window.

You can strap on the Roscoe and go kicking in doors.

Are you suggesting that you shouldn't be held accountable

for what you do because your work is dangerous?

I'm suggesting that I'd rather be tried by twelve

than carried by six.

And the only thing I regret

about the night of July 30, 1986

is that she got me before I got her.

Flynt: Now, does that mean that I'm not sorry

a little girl is dead?

I'm very sorry she's dead.

Do I lose any sleep over it?

No, I do not.

I wish Nina Emmons could say the same.

Let me ask you a question.

What would you have done if it was you

walking into a one-eyed stare?

I don't know. I've never faced that situation.

Well, face it now.

[gun cocks]

[theme music]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[music continues]

[instrumental music]

Brackman: I know the impulse at this time of year

is to allow one's professional responsibilities

to take second money to holiday revelry

or holiday despondency or both.

But I would suggest to all of you

that in an office that is both overworked and understaffed,

such indulgence is perilous at best.

In short, the courts stay open for business

and so must we.

Now, Stanton vs. Stanton?

Settling.

Hall vs. Atwood-Wade.

Uh... a contract dispute.

Atwood-Wade is marketing a self-squeezing tea bag,

which my client Gunther Hall claims to have invented.

His employment contract entitles him to share in the royalties

and the licensing arrangements if he did.

Emmons vs. City of Los Angeles Police Department?

I have one more deposition to take this afternoon.

People vs. Emmons?

Trial set for January twelve.

It's obvious they filed the criminal case

as a bargaining chip against the wrongful death suit.

As that brings us current...

a final word as concerns the upcoming Christmas party.

My suggestion is that we limit the alcoholic selection

to beer and wine.

Brackman: Order a minimal number of plates and cups

with an idea toward reducing consumption,

and that food be something along the lines

of Subs R Us, which would provide us

with all the cold cuts, coleslaw,

and condiments we require,

and which throws in free serving utensils to boot.

[all laugh]

Well, that sounds like a truly joyous affair, Douglas.

It sounds like an SC frat party.

Arnold, why don't you oversee the necessary arrangements, hmm?

If that's taken care of, I suggest we adjourn.

[all laugh]

- Hi, Tim. - Hey. They're late.

Ah, it's a ploy. Don't let it get to you.

I don't think Maureen is looking to make a killing.

I think she's just looking to get out.

Tim: That's all either of us is looking for.

That generally makes things a lot easier.

I think we just both realize that the...

things that make a great marriage are a little different

than the things that make a great weekend.

If we'd have stuck to the weekends, we'd have been fine.

Known as irreconcilable differences.

Yeah, that's us alright.

We don't even fight anymore, just change the subject.

Tim: About the only thing we have going for us

is a queen size bed.

Ah, you don't have to hear all this.

Hey, if it helps to talk about it.

Tim: The thing I don't understand is

how sex could be so good

when everything else is so bad.

Tim: I mean, Maureen is the most giving woman

I have ever been with in my whole life,

and it's not just that she loves sex,

although I will tell you, she loves sex.

She just gets off on giving someone else pleasure.

She just loved to make me happy.

Totally spontaneous, you know what I mean?

I don't know why I'm telling you all this.

You don't have to have a reason, Tim. I'm your lawyer.

I could be driving.

I can't tell you the number of near accidents we had

coming home at night on the Santa Monica Freeway.

Tim: I started taking Pico just to hit a couple of red lights.

It could be at a movie... at a restaurant.

She just didn't care.

She sounds like quite a special person.

Arnie, they're here.

I don't think we have a problem here, Mr. Becker.

The condo and the timeshare are both community property.

Janette: You're not averse to putting the condo

on the market, I take it?

Not at all.

Janette: Maureen would like to hold onto the timeshare

so she can buy Tim out from her share of the condo proceeds.

Excuse me, Janette.

I'd just like to ask a question here.

Would it be alright if I paid that off

in a few installments instead of all at once?

Maureen: The reason is I'm trying to fix up a place

for myself to live, and,

well, I was hoping to do it out of some of the money.

- Tim? - It's alright.

As long as it's secured, I don't have a problem with it.

Great.

Janette: Now, there's a pair of diamond earrings and a watch

that I would like deemed separate property.

Ms. Brauer, I've got to tell you,

to me that opens up a whole can of worms.

We're going to go back and forth

on what's separate and what's not.

Becker: I thought that's what we wanted to avoid.

It's okay. I want her to have them.

Becker: Well, she can still have them, Tim.

I just want to see something on your side of the table

to balance them out.

Tim knows that if he wants something, he can take it.

The truth is, if Janette wasn't in the picture,

I'd probably just have packed up a suitcase

and that would be that.

Maureen: I think Tim will tell you I'm not

the calculating type.

Ask for this so you end up with that.

I come in straight,

I don't hold anything back,

and I just assume other people are the same.

Sometimes I'm wrong.

Sometimes I'm not.

Kuzak: How many rounds did you fire, Officer Clayton?

I emptied my chambers.

Which would be six. Is that right?

- Right. Kuzak: Did you reload?

Yeah. You always reload after you get off the sixth.

How many times did Nina Emmons fire, Officer Clayton?

I don't know. I'm not sure.

You're not sure? Well, let me ask you this.

How many spent shells were recovered in the room?

Just one. I think just one.

But you had already laid down six rounds,

and you were ready to lay down another six,

weren't you, Officer?

Look...

I didn't want to shoot at all.

I didn't see any baby in that room.

All I saw was the gun.

Clayton: I was so afraid of getting shot...

letting my partners down.

I thought I was aiming low, but the gun kept jumping on me.

I didn't know that baby was there

until the lady started screaming.

The whole thing probably lasted 15 seconds,

noise, smoke, and then it was over.

The lady screaming...

[somber music]

And Flynt was moaning on the floor.

And me standing there with this

damn gun in my hand, shaking.

I kneeled down and held a compress on Flynt...

and all the time I'm looking over at the bed

and that kid lying there...

[music continues]

And I can't stop shaking.

Mister...

everything changed in that room that night, you know?

Clayton: On account of little kids aren't supposed

to get shot and die.

They're supposed to live forever.

[music continues]

Michael, Sid Hershberg.

Oh. Thanks, Elizabeth.

Well, not too bad.

Yeah, for a drugged-out,

psycho, depressive whacko.

[chuckles] Don't throw those clinical terms at me.

How you doing, Sid?

You know...

I go through bouts of depression,

but at least these drugs have taken

some of the fight out of me.

Hershberg: I haven't swung on anyone in a couple of hours.

[both chuckle]

[sighs] Oh, God, Mike.

The truth is, it's a bitch.

I'm trying to pretend there's some...

meaning in what we do.

Well, what about Nina Emmons? She's out of jail,

she has a hell of a shot at a wrongful death claim.

There's meaning in that.

I want you to know I appreciate you having taken this over.

I'd hate like hell to see this woman get sent away...

just because I was one brick shy of a full load.

Forget it, Sid.

I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done.

[scoffs]

Maybe, maybe not.

But, while we're on the subject of appreciation,

I have to tell you...

I'm really grateful to you.

Hershberg: You were there for me.

I'm a lawyer, Sid, like you.

I took on a case.

I'm not talking about the case.

You were there for me.

Come on, Sid.

When I was in the hospital,

you were the only one to come to see me.

I like you, Sid...

even if you are nuts.

Nobody else, Mike.

Hershberg: And I want you to know...

it meant a lot.

Well, I'm just glad to see you back.

[sighs]

It's been tough.

I won't lie to you about that.

[scoffs] I honestly didn't know if I'd ever be able to

walk into a courtroom again. [chuckles]

If I'd be able to get out of my own room for that matter.

Looks like you made it.

We'll find out today.

I'm... in Division 50, this afternoon.

Why don't you come see me in action?

What kind of case?

Solicitation.

A jury trial for solicitation?

Heh. Well, the girl didn't want to go to jail,

and the DA didn't want to let her walk with a fine.

Well, if I get a chance, I'll drop by.

- If you could, Mike. - Yeah.

Uh, a friendly face is...

it's a nice thing to see.

Yeah.

When one brews oneself a cup of tea,

the common practice is to allow the bag

to steep a while in the cup

and place the bag inside the concave portion of the spoon,

wrap the string several times around both bag and spoon,

and by tugging on the string,

wring the bag...

before... discarding.

Now... what I have designed...

is a tea bag which by dint of a heat-sealed covering

of polyethylene, ...57 millimeters thick,

bent in half, permits one to simply

slide the tag downwards,

wring the bag without

use of string or spoon.

- Quite ingenious. - Thank you.

Is this the first thing that you've invented, Mr. Hall?

Oh, my goodness, no.

Gunther: I've developed numerous advances

in the manufacturing of teabags,

both to facilitate the osmotic action when immersed in water,

and as involves the actual attachment of tag and string.

And did you receive extra compensation

for these inventions?

Yes, per my contract.

But it never amounted to very much.

Whereas this...

Heh. I suppose there's no fool like an old fool.

Gunther: In any event,

I sat in Mr. Atwood-Wade's office not six months ago.

I presented him with drawings,

with prototypes, everything necessary to begin production,

which is exactly what he's done.

Except, that he now claims

the entire process was his idea,

and I'm entitled to be compensated not one whit.

As far as teabags go, this...

figures to be a big item?

Big? This figures to be the biggest breakthrough

in teabag technology since the Lipton people

developed the W-fold.

Since Henry Addison isolated orange pekoe.

Not to appear immodest, Ms. Kelsey,

but this is a watershed event,

and I'll not be robbed of my moment in history.

Kuzak: The long and the short of it, Nina, is they're worried.

They don't want to go to court in the wrongful death claim.

They don't want to risk a jury verdict.

They don't want the publicity.

So the offer is to drop the attempted murder charges

in exchange for your release.

What means what?

You walk if you drop your suit.

Just like that? No probation, no nothing?

No nothing.

Nina: What do you think?

I think it stinks.

They don't have a case against you and they know it.

What they want is for you to drop the case

you have against them.

In other words, they're looking to get something for nothing.

Yeah. Well, that's nothing new, Mr. Kuzak.

You think I can get money for my baby, right?

Absolutely.

And you don't think I'll end up going to jail?

No, I don't.

If you hadn't taken my case over,

I'd still be sitting in that cell.

You're a smart man, Mr. Kuzak,

and I appreciate what you did in getting me out.

But I believe I'd like to take their offer.

It's not a good offer, Nina.

Yeah, I'm sure it isn't.

But, see, you're somebody who feels lucky.

Nina: You get out there and you figure I'm going to do okay,

and you're right most of the time.

But I don't feel lucky.

I figure I'm gonna lose,

and I'm also right most of the time.

You could do better.

I could also do worse.

Now, if they're willing to let me keep my kids

and not spend any time in jail,

then I'll cut my loses right here.

They're bad enough already.

You see, the prosecution

would have you believe as they do,

that this case should not be wasting your time.

Hershberg: That the defendant is a common whore...

in a garden-variety solicitation case,

and that she should just take her medicine,

do her 30 days or her six months,

then do her parole and be done with it.

One could argue...

what real difference does it make

if she goes to prison...

or goes free?

She isn't famous, nor is she rich.

When she dies, she will not rate

even one line in the newspaper.

There may well be no one there to grieve.

She will live out her life...

be it long or short...

in the sort of...

pervading anonymity

that permits us to dismiss her

and dismiss her without a second thought.

[scoffs]

I have to ask myself...

how many more of us are dismissed

in the same manner on this rock-hard Earth?

When the reaper's scythe is on the back swing,

what distinguishes any one of us?

What do any of us do with our lives

that mark us as worthy of consideration?

Uh, quite honestly, I'm at a loss to say.

Is it that once we had dreams?

Or a birthday?

Or maybe that we've been children.

That we've known Christmas.

What I always thought Christmas was about...

is a kind of free pass.

A time of saying, "Hey...

you don't have to earn it.

We'll consider you,

the least of you,

and we'll do it strictly on faith."

But Christmas goes...

the audition continues...

and each one of us is sent back

to hammer on his own personal anvil...

with the idea that we will be hammering

until our hearts stop...

and someone kindly...

lays us to rest.

I hope...

you have listened to Lurline Connors...

and I hope...

you will consider her.

I thank you...

for listening to me.

[sighs]

[latch opens]

[gunshot]

[melancholy music]

[instrumental music]

Becker: Atlanta, Rams.

Arnie, Mrs. Stanton is on the other line.

She says it's very important.

Bears, Redskins, and Chargers.

Yeah, that's it.

Okay. I'll talk to you on Monday.

Bye-bye. Thanks.

Mrs. Stanton.

Alright. Maureen.

Uh-huh, tonight?

Listen, is your lawyer okay with this?

Are you sure?

Okay.

8:00.

I'll see you there.

Alright. Bye-bye.

Kelsey: I thought we swore to each other,

no time for shopping, no presents.

[chuckles] I know.

It's-- it's just a little something.

You've been a good friend, Ann.

[Abby chuckles]

I can't resist toy stores.

You get to assemble it. Erik gets to play with it.

Actually, Jim is going to have Erik for the holidays.

I thought he was going to let you see him on Christmas day.

Changed his mind.

Oh.

How about spending some time with Stuart and me?

I have a major project.

I'm going to clean out all my closets and drawers.

You have no idea how disgusting they get.

[knock on door]

Excuse me, ladies.

Am I breaking up a personal moment, here?

Abby Perkins, Vinnie LaRosa.

You're probably too young to remember Julius LaRosa.

The singer, you mean? Are you related to him?

You're kidding me, right?

You can't see it in the face?

Very nice to meet you.

A pleasure.

Look, I don't want you to get nervous here.

I'm gonna do this in such a way

as to keep the damage to a minimum.

[crinkling]

Now, I did a preliminary sift through, Ms. K.,

and I don't know, there might be a few items here

that might be worth a look. [crinkling continues]

I say to myself, what could the garbage

from a place like Atwood-Wade be like?

Crumpled bits of papers probably,

maybe some tea bags. Clean, though.

Forget about it. Garbage is garbage,

and theirs don't smell like vanilla ice cream cones.

[paper crinkling]

Kelsey: Aha.

Mr. Hall, Ann Kelsey.

Atwood-Wade's secretary, what's her first name?

Gisela.

Thank you, Mr. Hall. I'll be speaking to you.

Who's the letter to?

Mistress Gisela.

[soft music]

Can I get you something from the bar?

A Fleischman's and a beer, please.

I'll have whatever she's having.

"What's behind this?" he thought to himself.

"Why would my client's wife call me

and ask me if I'm free for dinner?"

It is an intriguing question.

Want me to answer it for you?

Only if I won't be disappointed.

As soon as you walked into that conference room yesterday,

I knew I was going to go to bed with you.

I can't put it any other way than that.

That's okay. That way's fine.

Waitress: Excuse me. Here you go.

Disappointed?

You seem a little distracted.

No. Actually, I was just offering up

a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude

for God's great gifts.

Oh, so he gets credit, does he?

Yeah, he gets the credit. I get you.

And what do I get?

Anything you want.

[laughs]

[music continues]

Maureen: You're not put off?

Not hardly.

I'm glad.

You see, Arnie, I don't have the time

or the inclination for subtlety,

and I dropped the pretense of being a good little girl

the day I took off the white blouse and plaid skirt

that I wore to Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow.

I would like to have seen you in that plaid skirt and blouse.

That can be arranged.

Shall I start saying my Hail Marys now

for what it is I'm about to do?

I have a feeling you better.

As far as sin goes,

I think this is gonna be a big one.

[doorbell rings]

[rain pouring]

Jim: Merry Christmas.

I know how you get this time of year, so...

I'll pick him up on Monday, okay?

Thank you.

For what it's worth...

I'm not drinking.

That by itself makes a whole lot of things much clearer.

Abby: Come on, Erik.

Abby: Hi.

I'm glad you're here to help me decorate the tree.

Do you want to hang the little drum?

[soft music]

Honey...

I really do love you.

And you know that...

don't you?

[music continues]

[sighs in relief, chuckles]

[exhales]

Just out of curiosity...

did Tim tell you anything about me?

No, not really.

Poor Tim.

Yeah. Well...

Mm.

I guess it wasn't too realistic...

to think that his name wouldn't come up

somewhere along the line.

I wouldn't want to do anything to hurt him.

Of course not.

But now...

you can put that chapter of your life to rest,

and you can begin taking care of yourself, hmm?

Not to mention taking care of you.

Yes, there is that.

Tim: Hello?

Tim: Maureen, are you here? - Tim?

Tim: I didn't see your car out front.

I've got to pick up a couple of things.

Are you decent?

Oh.

Excuse me.

[knock on door]

So, what do we got, Mike?

Are we ready to sign some papers?

Well, why don't we start with what we don't got.

No way, no how, my client's going to walk away

from a good chance at a multimillion dollar jury verdict

in return for the DA dropping a case that's gonna

fold anyway the first time I make a motion to dismiss.

When's the last time you heard of a wrongful death award

in the millions for a black infant female?

Am I giving refresher courses here or what?

[sighing] Alright. What does she want?

I don't even want to go to her

with less than a quarter million.

If you went to her with a thousand dollars

and a bigger apartment in the projects,

she'd think she'd died and went to heaven.

[sighing] Assuming I can get my boss to agree to it,

which is by no means a safe assumption...

would 50 grand square this away?

Fifty grand? That's insulting, Scanlon.

Yeah? Anybody ever insult your client like that before?

Nobody every murdered her kid before either.

Alright, look.

Scanlon: If I can come up with...

a hundred grand, have we got a deal?

You come up with 100 grand,

get the DA to drop the case with prejudice,

expunge her records of the arrest,

and I think maybe I can sell it, but no tricks.

Kuzak: I don't want this woman coming away from this

with as much as a traffic ticket.

Yeah, yeah. Alright.

You work it out on your end, I'll work it out on mine.

Scanlon: Going to Hershberg's funeral?

Yeah.

If you think of it, pay my respects, will you?

[praying in foreign language]

Although Sidney Hershberg's life was taken far too soon,

Rabbi Briendel: we must not judge him or those pressures

which he found, for whatever reason, unendurable.

Although I personally never had the pleasure

of knowing this man,

his passing leaves us that much poorer.

He'll be missed by his friends, his colleagues,

his clients who were counseled by him,

who benefited from his experience,

his wisdom, his understanding.

Now I would ask any of Sidney's friends or loved ones

to come forward and speak in his memory.

By the way, do you prefer to be called uh,

simply Mr. Atwood or Mr. Atwood-Wade?

Atwood-Wade is the correct appellation.

Thank you.

Mm, nice.

Earl Grey?

I believe it is, yes.

You said you wished to discuss an omission in discovery?

Yes. You failed to produce a document that I asked for.

And which document might that be?

The transcription of notes taken at the meeting

at which my client presented his invention to your client.

[chuckles] There were no notes taken at that meeting.

My client seemed to think that Ms. Gisela Redford

was taking copious notes at that meeting.

No notes.

You did have a meeting.

[scoffs] If you could call it that.

Gunther Hall came into my office

and started rambling on about a self-wringing teabag.

Ackley: Well, I stopped him after approximately 30 seconds

and told him that we'd had that idea under development

for at least six months, and that was that.

Ms. Redford?

Exactly what he said happened.

Kelsey: In other words, it's the two of you

against the word of my client.

That would appear to be a correct evaluation.

You wouldn't have any reason to lie for Mr. Atwood-Wade,

would you, Ms. Redford?

What are you suggesting?

Kelsey: A personal relationship perhaps,

a uniquely intimate relationship

between Ackley and Gisela.

As you've crossed over the line

of good taste, Ms. Kelsey,

I must ask you now to leave.

[inhales] As you wish.

We can do this in open court instead,

however, I must warn you that I do intend to impeach

the testimony of Ms. Redford

with evidence of that very relationship.

What evidence are you talking about?

I'd rather not say at this moment, but...

I do have reason to believe, Mr. Atwood-Wade,

that there are certain articles of Ms. Redford's clothing

which you find to be particularly compelling...

including, but not limited to, her shoes.

- What would it take-- - Ackley!

Gisela, please.

My client only wants what's fair.

May I ask what's going on here?

Of course you may.

I believe your client is agreeing to pay my client

that to which he is contractually entitled.

Kelsey: Am I correct, Mr. Atwood-Wade?

"Mistress Gisela,

it's you who are powerful,

and I only a recalcitrant little boy

who needs to be taught his lesson,

to suffer every bit of the humiliation

and derision I deserve...

to wait until your Yorkie

has eaten his fill, that I might have

a bit of the kibble he's left over.

If I could but worship at the altar of your shoes...

wincing with exquisite pain

at the sharp jab of your heel,

I would be for you an abject slave until the end of time.

Do with me what you will,

your loyal sponge mop, Ackley."

I...

I actually find that to be a very moving letter.

Knock yourself out, sport.

[Christmas music]

[indistinct chatter]

Victor: Hey, Grace.

Merry Christmas, Victor.

Feliz Navidad to you, too.

I thought you were doing night court.

I am, but the judge got a case of Christmas spirit.

Hallelujah.

- Is Kuzak around? - Yeah, somewhere.

See ya.

Merry Christmas, Iris.

Leland.

- Can I? - Of course.

[music continues]

Iris: Oh...

First year law student has to have a briefcase.

Oh, it's beautiful.

It's-- it's just beautiful.

What's that inside there?

"Black's Law Dictionary."

Oh, it's a must.

Thank you, Leland.

Not just for the briefcase, but...

for your support and your encouragement.

Well, just remember there's plenty more

where that came from.

Good luck, Iris.

Merry Christmas.

I made it myself.

It's beautiful, Roxanne.

You sure you really like it or

you wouldn't have rather had blue?

It's perfect.

Becker: I forgot my mistletoe.

Oh, you don't need it, Arnie.

I got you a little something, too.

Antique marcasite and pearl.

It's gorgeous.

Here.

[music continues]

Well... I think I'm gonna head home.

I'm really beat.

One cup of eggnog?

Arnie?

[music continues]

Hi.

I want to apologize for putting you in this position.

You didn't exactly do it by yourself.

So what does that make us, partners in crime?

I sure as hell feel like a criminal.

I do, too, Arnie.

But I know that all day today

I really wanted to talk to someone.

And as much as I fought it,

the person I wanted to talk to was you.

I guess we just let things get out of control.

That's it, and an innocent guy,

a guy who trusted both of us, is made to suffer.

Does it make it any better that we're suffering, too?

We're guilty. We're supposed to suffer.

I know. Mea culpa,

mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Becker: We could have at least waited, Maureen.

We didn't have to hurt him the way we did.

I mean, he's a nice guy.

That's true, Arnie.

Unlike you and me, he is nice.

But you know something?

Nice people are real killers.

The ones like Tim...

nice, vulnerable,

wearing that vulnerability like body armor,

constantly reminding you it's there.

You know where Tim is now?

He's at an orgy of his own imagination.

While you and I have been beating ourselves

with guilt and remorse,

he's been writhing in ecstasy at his vision of us together.

Come on, Maureen, don't you think

that's taking it a little too far?

Really?

Tell me the truth.

Did he tell you things about me?

Oh...

Of course he did.

He likes to do that...

tell people things.

The car rides, the movie theaters.

He had a friend with a two-seater Alfa.

One night we were all driving to a party.

Go with Tom, he said.

I'll meet you there.

We arrived every bit as late as he knew we would.

We're not betraying him, Arnie.

We're giving him exactly what he wants.

Let me lock the door.

Uh-uh.

[indistinct chatter]

[door opens]

Mickey.

What is it, Mickey?

You know how many people showed up for Sid Hershberg?

How many?

Maybe ten.

His wife looked relieved.

The rabbi didn't even know him.

Nobody had anything to say...

including me.

Oh, honey.

[soft music]

[sighs]

[crying]

Nobody cried for Sid Hershberg.

You know, this poor bastard

couldn't keep the gun from his head...

and nobody cried.

It's okay.

[cries]

It's okay.

It's okay, Mickey.

Gracie.

[theme music]