Original subtitles

Breakfast time.

Where did you say the golden boy went?

We had a little reconnaissance mission. He volunteered.

Why do I get the idea he made the right decision?

Oh, yeah.

Dig in. Eat.

I can't eat this. I can't even lift it.

You get me out of bed for a gourmet breakfast, and all I see is 20 pounds of

polyunsaturated grease.

Now, would you please tell me what the hell this is all about?

It's going to say a person's name, Abigail.

One person's name.

Then say it. Stop chewing and talk.

Frank. Frank. That's all. Frank.

Escobar. Frank Escobar.

The Coke dealer? The Colombian Frank Escobar?

What?

He prefers to think of himself as a pharmaceutical tycoon, but, yeah, we're

talking about the same guy.

And as it happens, he's just about two blocks from this spot.

Rick, I think the flop you're reading must be affecting your brain.

Frank Escobar left the country six months ago with an army of feds on his

Yeah, well, the man is here, and he's probably sitting on a ton of plate.

As soon as HHX is placed out, we're going to pop it.

And out of the gratitude of our hearts, we thought we'd share the bus with you.

Gratitude of your hearts.

Mm -hmm.

Well, remember, Escobar skipped out on a million -dollar bail. All we want is

that little reward that the bonding company will be more than happy to

our retirement fund.

The mail's just sitting there like a ripe plum ready to be picked.

2 -11, robbery.

AJ, robbery. Two suspects.

Where? I lost mine over there. Marsh went this way, taking hers.

You all right?

He's up there.

Who shot?

I did.

You got him, Lieutenant?

That's not... That's not him. That's not the suspect I was following.

I saw your brother was, what, one, two blocks away when the robbery went down?

Yeah, he was coming back to meet me from a recon.

What about that grocer? Was he able to ID anybody?

No, I couldn't talk.

Tin, Vin Tin, he's Vietnamese. They took him to the hospital.

So what about you, Rick? Can you describe the suspect you were chasing?

Black, about 20, 6 '3", slender build, very fast.

Where'd you leave him?

Next street over on Pacific.

He, uh, climbed over a fence, was able to get across the freeway.

Oh, uh, he may have cut his hand, his butt on that fence.

Listen, Frank, how's Lieutenant holding up?

How long they gonna keep her in there?

You're not fast for you, Mulder.

Second thought, I wouldn't.

Okay, once again now, are you positive?

Absolutely positive the butler boy was not the suspect you chased from the

market. Yes.

I told you you wrote that down.

Was the suspect you chased have a gun?

I don't know. I guess that's possible.

Possible? The little things that get you hung by the neck in a court of law. I

need facts.

Did you see a gun?

No?

No.

Nice to see you again, Lieutenant Mulder.

I'll get to you and your brother in a minute.

Okay. Now, what makes you think the suspect you chased into this building?

One of the kids in the alley was looking straight at the doorway.

Well, those kids in the alley have vanished into the wind.

Hey, Lieutenant, whose side are you on?

Yours.

Hers.

Theirs.

Even mine.

The kid looked...

Straight at the doorway.

I went in.

I heard someone running up the stairs.

But I guess your ears check out better than your eyes.

For God's sake, Lieutenant, can't you see she's emotionally destroyed?

What I see is a dead 12 -year -old waiting for transportation to the

What I see is a community that would like more dearly than you ever know to

us into oblivion. Now, this lady's a cop.

So she understands the department has an obligation to get to the truth no

matter who and how much it hurts.

Finally, if you want to see someone who is emotionally destroyed,

go into this apartment and look at the dead child's mother.

She's the one who did it.

Okay,

auntie.

I'll take care of you.

You hear me?

And we'll make that damn cop pay for what she did.

You'll pay, auntie. I promise.

Abby?

You have to keep reminding yourself. You have to keep saying it over and over

again.

You fired at an armed suspect. It was self -defense.

It wasn't a suspect. It was a child.

Playing in his own building where he should have been safe.

Any cop in the same situation would have done the same thing.

You know as well as I do, you've got less than a second in which you live or

die.

Stay put. I got an idea.

Listen to me, Abby.

There are two punks out there who beat a 60 -year -old man senseless with a gun

that may have ended up in Robbie Butler's hand.

Don't quit. Not now.

Moldauer just gave us a big lecture on the truth, so what do you say we all

stick together and we will find it out?

Oh, come on, man. You gotta be kidding.

I start nosing around Dogtown and my face could look a lot worse than it does

now. It's impossible.

Listen, Al, old buddy, let me ask you a question here.

Being the sleaziest bail bondsman in the business, how much do you suppose that

Frank Escobar would be worth to his bonding company?

Escobar? Mr.

Cope? That's the one.

Well, they sure took it in the shorts when he decided to walk.

Yes, they did.

So to an entrepreneur like yourself, he could be worth a bundle, right?

Come on, Ricky. Smart Money City's in Columbia. Yeah, yeah.

Your money is in Chula Vista.

Get you to find out what I asked you to do.

Tinsmart. Mm -hmm.

Okay, Ricky.

I'll be in touch.

Lieutenant, I'll be direct.

Several witnesses at the scene of the shooting claimed you failed to identify

yourself.

What witnesses? There weren't any witnesses.

Maybe in all the confusion, you didn't see them.

Nevertheless, they claimed you opened fire without any kind of warning.

Now, that disturbs Deputy Chief Connors.

Frankly, it disturbs me even more.

You have nothing to say?

I told you.

I identified myself before I fired.

Now it's up to you to decide whether you believe those witnesses or a member of

your own department.

It isn't that simplistic.

Then I guess what you're trying to say is you're going to pull the plug on me.

Well, under the circumstances, there's nothing else I can do.

Lieutenant Marsh, pending the outcome of this investigation and review by the

district attorney, You are hereby relieved of all duties.

Hi, Mrs. Butler.

That's right.

I'm A .J. Simons, my brother Rick. I'm very sorry about what happened.

We both are.

What do you want?

We're private investigators, Mrs. Butler. We're trying to find out

can about the shooting.

Cops hire you to clean up their mess for them?

Put on a little show for the liberal politicians?

No, ma 'am.

We're friends with a police officer who...

Who was involved in the shooting?

That bitch who murdered Robbie.

You're dead, sucker.

Eugene!

You go home right now. I never want to see you do that again.

I'm sorry. That sort of thing can happen when there are guns.

Robbie didn't have a gun.

It was a toy.

No, ma 'am.

That was a real gun that may have been used in a robbery a few blocks from

It was broken.

Robbie found it in an old car.

He showed it to me, and then he said he was going out to play.

Isn't that something?

You know what he was always playing?

He was always playing the cop.

Pushing a little hard, aren't you, boys?

Just trying to find out what really happened here.

Why don't I let you know after I finish my investigation?

Well, what is taking you so damn long?

Lieutenant Marsh chased a suspect in here.

It was dark.

She saw somebody at the top of the stairs. She identified herself. She told

to freeze. He turned with a gun in his hand. She fired.

Gentlemen.

Trust me, she'll get a fair investigation.

But it's going to be without your dirty footprints.

So if I ever see you around this place again, I'll book you on interfering

and throw away the key.

coast can expect heavy cloud cover extending from new england down through

georgia blue snow for parts of new york pennsylvania boys

are

here abby including chicago where parkers and galoshes are the order

Well, Mom, I should... She hasn't moved in an hour.

She didn't touch a bite of food.

Well, I had always hoped that when I first look at you in a bathrobe, we'd be

under different circumstances.

We've got good news.

Rick and I timed it out, and we're positive that your suspect couldn't have

anywhere except into that tenement.

And we're pretty sure the boy's mother's lying about where he got the gun.

I am really not up to this.

Well, Ambie, the world is not going to sit on its hands until you are up to it.

He's right.

And this is an ongoing investigation. If you just sit there pretending that it's

happening to somebody else, they'll bulldoze your class.

AJ?

Hello.

Hey, Nixon.

All right.

All right, thank you.

Well... Tin survived.

That's the grocer who was beaten during the robbery.

All right, I think we're on a roll.

Made it through surgery.

Doctor feels that he should be ready to testify by this evening.

Abby, don't you know what this means?

Lieutenant, he can give us a description of the suspect.

That will match the guy you chased. Now, if A .J. and I can prove that he went

into that tenement, we will have a pretty damn good idea where Robbie

that chrome revolver.

And we all live happily ever after.

You want the truth?

I can't remember what the guy I chased looks like, and I don't even care.

Abby, you snap out of it. You have to remember.

This is your career. Hell, this is your life. I can only remember one thing.

I killed an innocent 12 -year -old little boy.

What about his life?

Simon and Simon.

Private investigators.

So you're the ones that bothered Emma Butler this morning.

If you had any goodness in your heart, you'd leave that woman to her grieving.

Well, I couldn't agree with you more, Mrs. Copeland. That's why we decided to

talk to you instead.

Well, you're wasting your time. I don't know nothing.

Like I told the cops, I read my Bible, watch a little Christian TV, eat frozen

dinners, and go to sleep.

That boy was shot almost right outside your door.

If it was open, and I'm betting that it was, you saw somebody run past here just

before the shots.

Did you ever read where it says, was this not evil?

Matthew 5, 39.

What it means is, sometimes it's best to leave things alone.

Let it rest.

Copeland, a boy is dead.

His mother is suffering, and the woman that shot him is totally destroyed. You

don't let that rest.

My door was shut.

I didn't see or hear anything.

Now, please, go.

All right, you've got our card with the numbers on the back.

If you change your mind, please call us.

Mrs. Copeland, when you're reading your Bible today, why don't you take a glance

at John?

8 .32.

Granny,

I'm back.

Took me a little longer because Tim's market is closed.

Old Papa signs and all this.

Okay, let's see.

Two fried chicken dinners.

Cream.

Light sugar -coated cereal.

Uh -huh.

Butter. Milk.

Diet soda.

And something extra to help keep you warm. I didn't tell you to get that.

I never touched a drop of liquor in my whole life.

Hell, it's always the first time, Granny.

By the way, uh, who of the two dudes just come out of here?

Salesman. Tell them what?

The Bible. Can you imagine?

I told them I had this.

It belonged to my mother and her mother.

I expect when I die, it'll be good for another two generations.

Oh, well, now, it's going to be a long time before you die, Miss Copeland.

And if you behave yourself, well, I expect you outlive us all.

We've been being here, don't you, Abigail?

I resent being ordered to be here.

Would you come on your own?

Probably not.

Sometimes, at rough times, it's good to talk to someone who's trained to help

you sort things out, understand your feelings.

Look, Doctor, all I need is to get the hell away from here, from the wonderful

department that treats its own with such dignity and respect.

Do you think you made a mistake? Do you think it was a bad shooting?

Department does.

I'm asking you.

I don't know anymore.

And I don't even care.

Oh, yes, you do.

Otherwise, you wouldn't be so angry.

You ask about feeling?

You want to know how I felt when I walked through the front door of this

building today?

I felt worse than angry.

I felt abandoned and ashamed.

Like I was...

naked in front of a tribunal of old men with powdered wigs and hateful eyes.

So, Doctor, if I don't come back the next time I'm ordered to see you,

you'll know it's nothing personal.

Each of the four witnesses gave strikingly similar accounts of the

leading up to the shooting.

All four reported that Lieutenant Abigail Marsh failed to identify

Court, they were strikingly similar.

You pea brain, they were all together when they made it up. Talk about a

crucifixion. Guy should have had hammer and nails.

What guy?

Carpenter. Hired a guy to come in here and do some work. The jerk shows up

without his tools.

Hmm. Hmm.

I thought you might have been referring to the Channel 3 news anchor.

Seems everybody likes an easy mark to shoot at.

Where have you been?

I called Mom. She said you were out.

I had an appointment with the department shrink.

Good. She referred to it as the first step in the healing process.

Step number two is I'm going to spend some time with my family.

In Denver?

Actually, they're at our place in the mountains.

Did your therapist suggest leaving?

I mean, I thought you'd be getting ongoing counseling.

No, you see, what she's really concerned about is my stress level, and nothing

takes my mind off my troubles like catching a rainbow trout on a dry fly.

What about the department?

Let them catch their own fish.

I need a break, and I'm taking one.

So, please thank Cecilia for me, and I'll think about you, too, when I'm

standing knee -deep in rushing water, breathing pure, rocky mountain air.

Hold it.

I talked to the emergency room surgeon who saved Trang's life.

Laceration and skull fracture caused by a severe beating within a regular

-shaped object, possibly a gun barrel.

Now, that old man had the guts and the spirit to pull through.

And quite frankly, I think the very least you can do is hang around long

to help us question him.

Sorry, guys, I'm just another private citizen.

All right, Miss Private Citizen.

How about sticking around long enough to help us catch the two animals that are

responsible for this mess?

And then you can go stand up to your knees in ice water and ruin your lungs

your precious Rocky Mountain air. Is that asking too damn much?

Okay.

Okay.

Let's just get it over with.

She should have been there at the tenement with us.

And a cop posted at every door just to keep the Simons out.

Ah, but the Simons are resourceful. They use the fire escape.

Of course, the left -footed Marine almost didn't make it.

Took old number 22, UCSD varsity basketball, to lead the way.

You're on your way to C -10.

You're wasting your time. Blood mule is not one damn thing you can do to stop

us. He's dead, Simons.

Died 15 minutes ago. He had a blood clot.

Did he identify the punks who attacked him?

Not to me.

He was dead before I got there.

Being alone.

She left the house early this morning. She didn't tell Mom where she was going.

Oh, man.

After what happened yesterday, I just hope she's decided to go back to the

departmental shrink.

I don't think so.

She was in Brighton early.

Left this.

Asked me to make sure it got the person in there.

Poor thing's in a parable. Looks like she hasn't slept in a week.

A letter of resignation.

Short, sweet, and to the point. Nixon, who else knows about this?

Just me. I figured I'd give you guys some time to see if you could get her to

change her mind.

Somehow I don't think anybody's going to be able to do that.

You know, you took a big chance bringing this stuff to us.

The most important thing in the world to me is my friends, and it's funny, but

she's also the best damn supervisor I ever had.

We're going to party.

We're going to party.

Fiesta, caramba, forever, all night long. Jayco, it's too early

for that.

Hey, amigo, I just bagged king of the funny pharmaceuticals, Mr.

Frank Escobar, to the two of 50 big ones, all

night long. Knock it off.

Man, I don't know which stinks worse, your singing or this cigar.

Hey.

This little stinker cost ten bucks.

Havana honey.

Ah, the smell and taste of prosperity.

Thanks to you, Ricky.

Or... If you don't have the information I asked you for, I'm gonna take that

cigar and I'm gonna shove it up your anatomy.

Lit.

Maybe this isn't the time or the place.

Give me a break. If Nixon didn't have a forgiving heart, you'd be making license

plates by now.

Okay.

Here's a straight scoop.

You know that dude you're looking for?

That punk with the cut hand?

His name is Willie Potter, and he hustles pool at Fat Johnny's.

All night long.

All night.

Whoa, that's the one place I wouldn't want to go near without an army. Who

an army?

I got good old number 22 right here. Good luck. Hey, Nixon.

Live a little, man.

See anybody with a gut hand?

No, but I think Nixon was right. We should have brought an army.

Relax, number 22. While you were shooting buckets and chasing co -eds, I

learning how to handle guys like this.

How's it going, amigo?

Just blew in from Vegas. We're looking for a little action.

Some of these hot shots might life a little less than a nine ball.

You want action, skinny face?

Okay, bye.

Here comes all the action you ever going to want in your life.

You homeboys interested in a little nine ball income?

These two cops are looking to get their skins ripped off.

It's nice, Rick. I like the way you handled it. That was great.

What are you, crazy?

You think we'd be dumb enough to come in here and do this without an army?

Get it, Rick. There's our man.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, gentlemen.

I just want to go talk to our friend over there.

Excuse me. I'm just talking to our friend.

Friend.

No.

Hey,

hey, hey.

What point spread, boy?

You're a very lucky man.

You got no cause to be jerking me around on some humbug charge.

If you think I hustle coin on Fat Johnny's tables, forget it.

Fat Johnny don't allow no gambling.

Well, uh... There was a holdup at Ten's Market two days ago.

Now, we got a witness sitting right here that eyeballed you leaving the place.

Look, man, I stumbled into a robbery, okay?

Some... Cuban dude smacking old 10 up the side of his head.

I'm on parole, so, hey, I split.

I ran out of there like a scared little rabbit.

Cuban dude.

Can you describe him?

Latin dude.

20, maybe.

Kind of lean.

Lean and mean.

He must have beat old man 10 pretty bad.

Made him look like dog meat.

Funny situation.

Because... Where them gooks live, I hear they eat dog meat.

Funny guy, Willie.

You're the funniest guy I've met in a long time.

Yeah.

Oh, uh, by the way, Willie, this gun that the Cuban used to beat Mr. Ten,

kind of a gun was that?

Looked like an old revolver.

Yeah, that's what it was.

An old chrome revolver.

Well, Willie, you will never know what a big help you've been.

You hear that, Lieutenant?

An old chrome revolver.

Just like the one that ended up in Robbie Butler's hand.

You've been a dear friend.

And I get weepy real easy these days, so...

I'll stay in touch.

Abby, you're making a mistake.

It won't be the first one, will it?

Oh.

Well.

So the lady's cutting out.

Nothing like a good pair of running shoes when you got problems.

Listen, you two.

I'm useless here.

Non -functional.

You saw me yesterday. I'm no good to anybody.

You think you're alone in this?

You think we don't know what it feels like to shoot someone?

Yeah, someone 12 years old?

Yeah.

12's close enough.

It's a living hell, Abby.

It's the worst thing that any person can endure. It tears you into little pieces

that don't want to ever heal.

Now, you can run.

You can pretend it didn't happen. You can drown yourself in booze.

But the only way that you are ever going to get better is to stand square and

look it right in the face.

Amen to that.

I've done it.

He's done it.

And as far as I can tell, you've got more guts than either of us.

You don't get it, do you?

I am scared.

I've lost my edge. I don't think I will be able to survive out there anymore.

Even if I were put in a position where I had to shoot again, even to save a

life, I don't know if I would be able to do it.

Stay with us, Abigail.

Come on.

One step at a time.

Hey.

There is an animal out there strutting the sidewalk.

And he is going to leave more human wreckage in his wake.

There are people protecting him.

Even Robbie Butler's mother is protecting him.

He beat an old man to death with the barrel of a gun.

And then he put that gun into the hands of an innocent little boy. That's why

Robbie Butler is dead. Because of him.

Hey.

He is still alive. out there, Lieutenant.

He's still on the loose.

Hello.

Just a minute. A .J.

Hello. Mr. Simon, this is Bessie Copeland.

Who? Oh, yes. Mrs. Copeland, yes. Hi.

You shall know the truth.

And the truth shall make you free.

I see you've been doing your homework.

Oh, I knew John 832 long before you were a gleam in your daddy's eye.

What I've been doing is contemplating on it.

I think I'd like to talk to you and your brother.

Mrs.

Copeland?

Somebody got her.

Mom, call the police. 2245 Union Street, Apartment 2A.

You coming with us, Abigail?

Yeah. All right.

You bet I am.

Is that Bethany Copeland? Yeah.

I found her next to her chair.

Poor old gal must have had one too many.

It wasn't an accident, Frank.

She was attacked while I was talking to her on the phone.

Maybe she was attacked by a pink elephant.

Hey, I'm telling you guys, she smelled like a distillery.

Hey, come on. The woman lived and breathed the Bible. I'll bet you my last

dollar she didn't even drink.

Don't argue about it, detective.

I want this investigation as a homicide.

When Prince gets here, I want every inch of that wheelchair dusted, especially

the grips.

Ah, excuse me, lieutenant.

But I thought you'd been relieved of duty.

If you want to sit around and ignore a possible murder, you go right ahead.

However, if I were in your shoes, I don't think I'd take the chance.

Mrs. Butler, I'm... I know who you are.

Please.

No matter how you feel about me, there's a killer on the loose, and I think you

can help us catch him.

Well, you're a fine one to be talking to me about killers, lady.

I swear to you, Mrs. Butler,

I would lay down my own life in one second if I thought it would get your

back.

Don't come around here looking for any forgiveness from me.

I will hate you till the day I die.

I understand.

But I don't think you're being totally honest with us.

I think you're withholding important information.

You can think any damn thing you want.

I wonder what you were thinking when you gunned down Robbie.

What she means, Mrs. Butler, is that you know who gave Robbie the chrome

revolver he had in his hand when it happened.

I told you he found it.

No.

It was shoved into his hand by the animal who robbed that grocery store and

killed Van Ten.

And that same very thick animal just killed Bessie Copeland.

Bessie fell. Bessie had an accident.

Bessie was attacked.

Right here.

While she was talking to me on the telephone.

Why don't you people just get out of here, all right?

Stop trying to understand things you don't know nothing about.

Don't know anything about?

I worked this area for two years.

I walked a beat and I drove a squad car. I know exactly what is going on.

Pimps and pushers and thieves are making all the decent people like you live in

terror.

They've got you so afraid that no matter what brutal or dehumanizing thing they

do, you won't turn them in.

You understand a lot of it, Lieutenant.

But not all of it.

You'll never understand all of it.

You look tired, Mrs. Butler.

Would you like to go back to your own place now?

Lieutenant, that woman knows something.

Well, if she does, I'll expect that she'll tell us.

In her own time, in her own way.

Lieutenant?

Fortunately for the police department, I don't think it'll be long before you'll

be back on the job again.

But I'd say it might make a lot of sense if you let someone else work this case.

And I'd also say your friends are okay, too.

You okay?

I don't really know.

That woman's lying to us, I'm sure of it.

She's protecting someone, and that makes me furious.

But when I saw her standing there, all I wanted to do was hold her

and cry with her and tell her how sorry I am.

Well, well, well.

Let's say we may have flushed her out.

And if I were a betting man like my brother?

You did it, didn't you, Travis?

Did what, Auntie?

What are you talking about?

You killed Granny Copeland.

Hey, what is this?

What is this garbage you're talking about?

The police know it, and so do I.

Is that it?

Is that what this is about?

You've been listening to the cops.

It was them damn cops who killed your own flesh and blood.

Robbie is dead because you gave him a gun.

That's why he's dead, Travis.

And God forgive me. I lied to protect you. No.

No, no, auntie.

See, you forgetting who shot.

Who pulled the trigger that took that boy's life?

I raised you.

for you.

Oh, my God. You're like a... You're like a dog that's gone mad and needs to be

put away.

Look, Auntie.

Now, I'm your sister's only child.

I'm family.

And I told you, we've got to stick together.

No. No more.

Robbie's blood is on your hands.

And now you have gone and killed Granny Copeland. Yeah!

Because she betrayed us.

She was going to tell the police.

Now, down here, we got a law that says you don't do that.

A poor, helpless old woman who never harmed a hair on anybody's head.

Look, Auntie, I'm getting sick of this.

Now, if you can't take the way life is, then get the hell out of my fight.

Go home and cry on your pillow.

And remember, what happened to that old bitch can happen to you.

Now, that's the law.

Then you die for your...