Original subtitles

- Ow! - What?

Something bit me.

Am I bleeding?

Shit, you're right.

Great. What the fuck was that?

No, no, that can't be real.

That's got to be left over from Halloween or something.

Dr. Wells.

There are two gentlemen here to see you.

You know, I really should be

questioning her alone.

Spare me the "I'm a cop and you're not" lecture.

Well, I'm more than just a cop, Gino, I'm a detective.

You're a detective, I'm a reporter.

We're both investigators, okay?

So, easy.

Hello, I'm Dr. Hannah Wells. How may I help you?

Hey, I'm Detective Read. This is my friend Gino,

- Gino Barelli. Downtown Native. - from the, uh, Downtown Native. That's...

We'd like to talk to you about

the blood samples you took

the night of The Ascension bar firebombing.

Look,

we're not interested in why you took those samples,

okay, or whatever research you're conducting here,

but it's very possible you took the blood

of someone we're looking for.

I'm afraid I can't talk about that.

- My research is confidential. - You must've heard about

the most recent murders of gay men in this city.

Of course.

So, we feel that the killer

was at St. Vincent's that night,

and if you took his blood, you might have his name

- and information. - I'm sorry,

I wish I could help you.

Why don't you just

take a moment to look through your records.

I'm sure it won't take that long.

My time isn't the issue.

I'd be betraying patient confidentiality.

Yeah, I understand.

Nobody needs to know what we're talking about here.

Okay? And given the stakes,

it's very likely you could be saving lives.

And you wouldn't be aiding and abetting a murderer.

We're done here.

This man preys on the gay community.

He butchers them. He cuts them up.

He slices off their heads,

- their hands... - This isn't an official

investigation, is it?

- What are you talking about? - Detectives usually

don't travel around with reporters.

The police in this city

don't give a shit about dead gay men,

so we're looking into this as private citizens.

This is the man

we're looking for. Do you recognize him?

That mark-- have you had it checked out?

I've seen similar discolorations

in several of my patients.

- Let me see. - Gino.

It's just... It's a bug bite.

If you two are partners,

you both might want to get checked out.

I've only been seeing it in gay men.

Uh, all right, can we just stick to the subject here?

There's a killer at large.

I've made myself clear. No one cares more

about the well-being of your community than I do,

and if you go about the proper channels to obtain a warrant,

I'd be happy to comply.

In the meantime,

consider making an appointment for a checkup.

Hey.

- Yeah? - I just got a call

from the administrator

over at St. Vincent's. Said you were down there

flashing a sketch of the Mai Tai Killer.

Yeah, just following up on some questions I still have.

Well, we told them that we were done with all the interviews.

They're starting to worry if we think

the killer might be one of their staff.

Then they're idiots 'cause I didn't imply that at all.

I don't have to explain my moves to you, Mulcahey.

Go back to your desk,

carry on making ignorant gay cracks behind my back, okay?

You know what?

For somebody who always seems to have the answers,

you don't know jack shit.

Detective Read.

Detective, my name is Frankie Del Rios.

I live out on Fire Island.

Okay. What can I do for you?

I was gonna call the regular island police,

but we heard from a friend of a friend

that you're different. That you're one of us.

Anyways, my friend and I,

we found something on the beach, Detective.

It's a body. It's been there for a while.

Oh, and this guy is wearing a black leather mask.

- A leather mask? - Yeah.

It's on the north shore, behind the house

at 4 Seafront Drive.

Have you told anyone about this?

You're the first person I called.

Okay, good.

Listen to me very carefully.

Keep this to yourself, understood?

Easy, easy, easy. It's a sculpture you're uncrating,

not a Frigidaire.

You know, you two should thank me.

Your tiny, little worldviews are about to expand

just by looking at it.

Gently, gently.

Hello?

Hello, Sam. It's Patrick.

We have a problem.

Oh, wonderful. Just when I thought

I was running short on those.

No, I'm serious. Two guys found a body.

On Fire Island.

So, what are we doing out here?

Why aren't we meeting at the club?

Front page.

Fifth article this month by this guy,

shitting on the police. He's stirring things up.

And it's not just the fruits,

regular people are starting to talk.

No offense.

So, what do we care?

We're not the police.

But some of the police are with us.

Look, we need them to get certain things done,

you understand? They're our friends.

- You know how this works. - Sure, Angelo.

And now some of our friends

have asked us to take care of this problem.

Quiet things down.

Is that really necessary?

When the boss says it's necessary,

then it's fucking necessary.

- Right. - This falls on you.

Look, we don't care how you do it, but no showboating.

We don't want anything found. Just, uh...

disappear this guy,

make sure he's written his last fucking article.

Oh, Gino.

- Where are you going? - They found a body.

Think it might be related to the Mai Tai Killer

on Fire Island.

Fire Island? Why did... Why are they calling you?

Apparently, I'm the only cop

gay enough to care.

Okay, well, I'll come with you.

- No. - No?

No. I-I don't want to make a whole scene of this.

It's not my jurisdiction.

I got to tread lightly.

I'm... confused. This is...

So, you're gonna spend the night?

Uh... I don't know.

Hopefully not.

I'll call.

Are you fucking someone?

My life is complicated enough right now

without a jealous partner.

Please don't be that person, Gino.

- Hello, Gino. - Jesus!

How'd you get in here?

Well, you left the door open when you ran down the stairs.

You know, you're better than this, Gino.

Young men are a waste of time.

Oh, sure, they're fun in bed, but...

...it never lasts.

What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?

You know,

the men who run this town--

not the politicians, but the ones with the real power--

they need people like me

to be their eyes and their ears,

watch the books,

that sort of thing.

You know, or worse.

I'm not just a barfly.

- You're a fucking hit man? - That term

is gauche.

These men are unhappy

with what you've been writing in the Native.

It's bringing the wrong kind of attention

to their establishments, it's affecting the bottom line.

It has to stop.

Or else...

I'm gonna have to do something

I really don't want to do

to that pretty little face of yours.

Who are you really working for, Henry?

You get rid of me...

...you're only helping the killer.

Ugh! This obsession

is unhealthy, Gino. Get rid of it.

He's already moved on to Fire Island. They found a new body.

Fire Island?

Are you Patrick?

Is he a cop, too?

- I'm Tom, this is Freddy. - Frankie.

Right.

Can we see your badge, please?

Sorry, I just figure there's probably

some kind of criminal exposure for finding a body

and not reporting it to the cops.

And the finger cut me.

Do you think I could get some sort of disease from that?

No. I wouldn't worry about it.

Come on, we'll show you where the body is.

We're cops. We can find it.

You can go.

- Uh... - Leave.

This is a crime scene now.

And if either of you fuckers

- tell anybody about... - All right.

Thank you for your services, gentlemen.

For your own security,

we need to keep this between us, okay?

Okay.

God, I miss it here.

I think this is the only place I ever felt

- truly relaxed. - That's probably a result

of the drugs, Sam.

What were we thinking, burying him

in a shallow sand dune, Patrick?

Yet again...

...probably the drugs.

So, what do we do?

We dig more.

The remains we scattered ought to be around here.

We need to get those remains in our bag

and bury them somewhere safe.

Safe? Wh-What is safe

- for a rotting twink, Patrick? - You know what, Sam,

I haven't really thought about that yet, okay?

Just get digging. This poor kid

deserved way more than this.

But you killed him anyway.

Henry, wh... Who the fuck is this?

Hello, Sam. I brought him.

He wanted to know about the killer.

I just left out the part that the killer was his boyfriend.

The fuck is going on here, Patrick?

It's not what you think, Gino.

- All right, tell him. - Go home, Gino.

I'll talk about this when I get back. This has

nothing to do with you. You are not a part of this.

But the three of you are?

What is this, some sort of murder cult?

Did you kill Barbara?

No, we did not fucking kill Barbara. I didn't kill anybody.

This was a mistake, okay? This was a freak accident,

a horrible thing that shouldn't have happened.

But you're gonna want to hear all about it.

It's quite the heck of a story.

Although I'm not sure it's gonna end up

in the pages of The Native.

This is Sam's house.

Okay?

I met Sam the first time I ever came to Fire Island.

Party's this way.

Coming?

Sam scooped me up,

fresh off the ferry,

and that's when I met Billy.

Billy was his name.

I was married to Barbara, but I lied to her.

I told her I was working on a stakeout,

but I went to the island so I could be myself.

Billy was fresh off the bus. I can't remember where from,

but one of those places that kept him bottled up.

♪ The night is on, dancing to the brightness, the lights♪

♪ Ooh, disco lights♪

♪ We know you're too hot♪

♪ To stay here at all♪

♪ You know you're too hot♪

♪ The night is still young...♪

He was this firecracker

of energy and joy.

I was from New York,

but that night I might as well have been

from Akron or Tulsa

or wherever Billy was from.

I was letting myself go.

Sam gave us coke.

It was the first time for both of us.

♪ As you dance to the beat♪

♪ Ooh, as you dance to the beat...♪

But they loved it.

My parties were the placeto be.

No fatties, no femmes.

It was gay Woodstock every weekend.

♪ You mingle around♪

♪ You're just with someone that wants to get down♪

♪ Get down, get down♪

-♪ Come on, dancing♪ -♪ Dancing♪

-♪ Come on, dancing♪ -♪ Ooh, dancing♪

-♪ Come on, dancing♪ -♪ Dancing♪

♪ Come on, dancing to the beat of the night♪

-♪ Come on, dancing♪ -♪ Dancing♪

-♪ Come on, dancing♪ -♪ Dancing♪

-♪ Come on, dancing♪ -♪ Dancing♪

♪ To the beat of the night♪

♪ To the beat of the night♪

♪ Oh, come on, dancing♪

♪ Oh, to the beat of the night♪

♪

Now what?

Now we need someone to volunteer.

For what?

To be the special one.

I'll do it.

Let's make him feel special.

- You like that, don't you? Yeah, you do. - Mm-hmm.

He's gonna like that, too.

Patrick.

Patrick, stop.

Hey.

Patrick, stop it!

- Hey, stop. Stop. - What?

Hey. Hey.

Hey.

Oh, my God. No, no, no.

- No, no, no, no, no. Oh, shit. - Oh, my God.

Stop.

- Patrick, stop. - Come on, come on.

- Stop it, Patrick. - Come on, come on!

Stop it!

Oh, fuck. Oh, come on, come on.

Enough!

Why the fuck are you pulling a gun on me?!

So you would stop giving CPR to a dead kid.

- Oh, my God, we have to call the police. - Fuck the cops.

I am a cop!

- Oh, shit. - You're a fucking cop?

You're a fucking cop?!

- Why the fuck didn't you tell me that? - We can't go to the police.

Why the fuck didn't you tell me that?!

My body's full of fucking drugs. I...

This poor kid, this poor fucking kid.

What have we done to this poor kid?

Oh, my God.

I don't know. It was an accident. He-he...

he volunteered for it. He consented.

- It was... - No. No.

Not to this.

Okay.

I know someone who can help us.

He's a, um, um...

a fixer for the mob, but he's, uh, one of us.

He's-he's called the Velvet Touch.

I'm gonna call him.

Henry, thank God.

Mm.

Oh...

Well, he's not very big.

Thank God you're into twinks and not bears.

Enough with the jokes, Henry. I need your help.

Of course.

It'll cost you ten grand.

That's fine.

This is my associate.

He's a whiz at cutting up bodies.

- Is he one of us? - He's meat

for butchering, just like the others.

They were criminals. This is an innocent boy.

Get to work,

or else I'll have to call your mother

and tell her about your sexuality.

You don't want to break her heart, do you?

I can't watch this.

What's your problem?

He's so...

beautiful.

He deserved better.

Someone should have been watching out for him.

Okay...

So, is that what you've been hiding? That's the secret?

- What happened that night? - Please, just go home.

- Gino, please, you deserve way more than this. - This is...

Look, I am really sorry

that I forgot my violin for this perfect little moment,

but we do have a body to dispose of,

so you want to pitch in or get the fuck out of here?

No, he's not pitching in, okay?

- Listen to me. - Well, he's either an accomplice

to the crime or he's gonna be a whistleblower

to his fag rag. Isn't that right, Gino?

I can't imagine you taking a back seat for anyone.

God, please, Gino. What are you doing?

Please, why are you helping? Just stop.

What are my options, Patrick?

I can't call the cops

because of you.

I'm stuck.

Well, at least now we can give the kid a proper burial,

rustle up a Casa Blanca lily or two.

Maybe we can contact his family so they can

- have some closure. - We're not contacting anybody.

This is going to remain a John Doe.

Hang on, these bones, these bones.

There's no cuts.

Whoever did this

dissected the body perfectly.

Huh. I'm not gonna hire a cleaner

who doesn't know what he's doing.

What was his name? Who did you bring that night?

Nothing happened that night, Patrick. You weren't here.

I wasn't here. None of us are here right now.

You know, the Mai Tai Killer

cuts up his victims in exactly the same way

that the guy who has dissected this body has.

I have spent many years

in my career, and I have never seen cuts like this before,

until these bodies started arriving.

Well, bravo, Mr. Policeman. Why are we going down this road?

We can't be throwing around accusations like this,

especially when we're dealing with the mob.

- What's his name, Henry? - Well...

...his name is Mr. Whitely.

He's a male nurse,

- and that's all I know. - You know where he lives?

Well, I could call him up and ask him.

I mean, maybe he'll ask us over for tea.

You have no proof that this is your guy.

I've seen his face.

I can ID him.

You take me to him.

What are you talking about, Gino?

He would recognize you right away.

Well, it's amazing that Scooby-Doo here

has solved the crime, but before we all

pile into the Mystery Machine, can we please

deal with the issue at hand?

- Henry and I will go on our own. - Oh, fuck that. Fuck...

Gino, please.

If I had an ounce of integrity,

I'd turn your fucking ass in.

Gino, wait. Wait.

Take this.

Please.

If you've reached this,

I am either unavailable or at my office.

Please leave a message.

Hello?

Mr. Whitely. It's Henry.

I've got another job for us.

Henry. This really isn't

the best time for me.

Well, is it ever a good time when I call?

The boss has a mess

- he needs us to clean up ASAP. - I'm sorry,

but I just can't do that right now, unfortunately.

Well, you know we really don't have a choice

in these matters, Whitely.

Okay. Where's the location?

Um...

I'm afraid I can't give that to you.

I'll pick you up.

I'll just need an address.

An address?

I'm going to be out and about.

How about we meet at Malty's bar, 9:00 p.m.

Sure.

See you soon.

He knows something's up.

What are you talking about?

Change of plans.

You're gonna ID him.

If he's the Mai Tai killer,

we take him out, then and there.

Absolutely not, Henry. No.

I'll lure him from the bar into the car,

where you'll be waiting in the back seat with a gun.

- I'm not killing anyone. - No,

you just hold him at gunpoint. We'll drive to the docks

and I'll finish him off.

You want to stop these killings, isn't that right?

Well, moral clarity's a whole lot easier

when you're sitting behind a typewriter.

We're doing this, Gino,

and we're going it tonight.

Well, that's his Buick.

That's good. Looks like he's inside already.

You do realize that this is fucking insane, right?

Gino,

you just duck down in the back seat,

make sure nobody sees you,

keep your finger on the trigger,

and I will be back in five.

Mr. Whitely.

Henry.

- Thank you for meeting here. - Mm.

I thought we could catch up over a drink before we head out.

I'll have a whiskey.

- So, what's the job? - Oh,

couple of deadbeats didn't pay their loan.

Demarco is whacking people over bad loans now?

What happened to a lean?

Maybe it's a big loan.

It's none of my business, nor yours.

We should get going.

Mind if I use the john first?

You've never needed my permission.

Fuck.

Oh... Oh...

My buddy can't handle his liquor.

Come on, buddy.

Let's get you home.

Get you to bed, where you can sleep peacefully.

- Hello? - Patrick, the killer has Henry.

Wh-What? Gino...

I need you.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH