Original subtitles

You gotta talk to me sooner or later, Tease.

No doubt.

Tess, this is stupid. If you don't tell me what's bothering you, how can I fix

it?

Tess, you're not being fair.

Fair? Yeah, fair.

Look, all over the city tonight, there are people out there who have problems.

A lot of them are talking about them.

Well, I don't want to talk about it. Well, I do.

I call you, what, four or five times, and what do I get?

Nothing. Not even a message on my machine. A total freeze-out! No!

No, a freeze-out is when I'm sitting in your old man's bar, and that jerk

Holland comes up to me and tells me that my best friend in the world just killed

himself. And I look around for a friendly face, and I don't get anything

except a bunch of Mount Rushmore imitations.

Then I see you.

Who are you doing, Kay? Teddy Roosevelt?

Dickie, I'm sorry.

Yeah, right.

No, I really am.

I wanted to say something.

I wanted to be there for you, but we're in my dad's bar, and he's standing there

staring daggers at me, and I just... I just froze.

You didn't have to say anything, Kay. You could just give me a nod, a little

look, just something to tell me you were with me, that's all.

Yeah, well, I guess I don't know sign language as good as your new boss.

Leave her out of this, okay?

What are we supposed to do now, kiss and make up?

Well, I was hoping for a little more than a kiss.

Turn

it

off.

Turn it off.

She's got the devil in her.

Now you get on out of here, for I call the Humane Society.

Have them put you in a cage.

This racket is messing up my studies.

Nobody takes away my sound and my taste. Shut up.

Oh, Lord.

Shut up.

I'm going to have to cut the devil out of you. No, maybe.

Because it's going to get into me. Okay,

maybe we can talk about this.

When we separated we talked about how you felt and how I felt.

I still feel the same way. I still feel like you don't really need me.

But I want to try to work something out.

It's not like I'm out there having the time of my life.

It's not like I'm seeing someone else.

What are you talking about?

I saw you!

I guess I better go.

When I think of us, this is how we are. Really?

It's funny.

When I think of us, this is how we are.

Is that right?

We better work on this.

Yeah.

No.

No.

Okay.

I'll be right there.

That was her, wasn't it?

It's my job.

You know that.

I don't know what I know.

I'll be back later.

Another fun night in the city?

Important? No.

I was at home reading the fiables.

You? TV.

Am I gonna make it?

You're gonna be just fine.

I don't want you cutting on me.

Yeah, well, I'd say you've been cut on enough for one night.

This is Valerie Hall.

In living color.

Who are you?

Detective Cobb. This is Miss Kaufman from the district attorney's office.

You lock up that nutcase yet?

What in that case would that be, ma'am? The one that put me here. Must have cut

me a dozen times.

Talking all that trash about Satan and studying. You know, he would have killed

me if Reggie hadn't pulled him off.

Do you have a name for us?

Lionel.

Lionel Bradford. He stays in my building in the basement.

You know, you got to find him or he's going to kill me.

John, I think you're gonna have to just wait till the morning.

Perfect.

Bad luck for me is good luck for you.

Somebody's always happy.

You guys working on the Bradford thing, right? That's right.

Any luck? You got the need to know?

Yeah, I got the need to know. I'm investigating for the DA.

Great. Hold on. Let's see if we can get through this without a fight, okay?

We'll tell you when we get him.

Any leads, anything, when we make the call, we'll bring him straight to you.

Hey, you don't like it? Find him yourself.

People ain't very forthcoming in this neighborhood, though, if you get my

drift. Oh, but they'd open right up to a Boy Scout like you.

Come on, we're doing court.

It was a mistake, Tess. I felt unfulfilled in our marriage.

I was stumbling around out there looking for something. I don't know what.

So I saw someone else. It was wrong.

I'm not seeing her anymore.

Do you think this separation is any easier for me than it is for you?

Yes.

Why?

You left me.

Hey, how you going?

Good. Great.

Uh, let me go try to find, uh, Lionel Grant.

Was that your husband that I saw walking out of here?

Boy, did he look like a whipped puppy.

Sure not being too rough, huh?

What do you mean he hurt you?

You mean physically?

In my heart.

No one has seen him, and I hope no one ever does.

That his place?

Mm-hmm.

Why so crazy? Even the junkies leave him alone.

I'll check it out.

You do that, but I suggest you call an exterminator first.

Anybody home?

Somebody die in here?

Great. All the comforts of home.

He's studying this stuff.

No wonder he's crazy.

You're in my house!

I'm Detective Dickie Cuff!

This is not helping your case.

No, you're not going to keep him from putting me in jail, shooting me up with

all them drugs, making me crazy.

What do you expect to go around stabbing people? Now, come on.

Tristan!

I'm so sorry I'm late. It was my cousin's wedding. The party got out of

hand and... Mrs. Hall, have you been drinking?

I said it was a party.

I like to dance my shoes off.

Well,

you can't come into court looking like this and you cannot have liquor on your

breath. I know that.

But me partying on the weekend ain't against the law. I mean, I work hard

during the week.

Uh-huh.

All right, what about this Reggie Darden who pulled Lionel off you? We need him

as a witness.

Reggie gone off somewhere.

Police want him.

Can you find him?

I think Reggie's in the wind, gone.

That doesn't help the case.

We know Lionel did it.

Even if he pleads insanity, we can still send him to the hospital.

What if he pleads not guilty?

Then what do we got?

Our star witness, Mrs. Hall.

Mrs. Hall.

Mrs. Hall.

Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry.

We'll call you if we need you. You're going to make sure that boy's off the

street, right? You can count on it. Thank you very much.

I am not going to take this to trial, not with her as the only witness.

Even though Bradford attacked her with a scissors, not to mention me with a steam

iron? You saw her.

Pleaded out.

Do what you have to do. You've got more important cases than this one.

More important than Tuptonburg?

Oh, it happens up there all the time. There's nothing that you and I can do

about it.

Nobody gives a damn anyway.

Allie, come in here, please.

No one gives a damn anyway except the people who live there, but, hey, hardly

any of them vote, so... Right?

Allie, uh, let's...

Send Valerie Hall a letter thanking her for doing her part in bringing a

criminal to justice.

Hi,

stranger.

Boy,

I've been in showers that don't run as hot and cold as you.

A peace offering.

I thought we could go to the park.

Sounds great.

But? But I got work to do.

Come on, Kay, it's the middle of the day.

You work in the middle of the day, you work in the middle of the night. You've

been working an awful lot lately. Look, I think I know where you're headed with

this.

Don't.

Yeah, well, the only place I'm heading is out of here.

Don't choke on a chicken bone.

What the hell do you want from me?

You're such a smart cop, you figure it out.

Hey, your choice.

You want a breast or a wing?

You're weird.

I know what Lionel did was wrong, but he's a sick man, and there's a

difference between sick and bad.

How long has he been sick?

Happened to him in college.

Lionel went to college?

Yes, sir.

Had a scholarship to Wayne State.

What happened?

He came home after his second year.

All haywire.

His girl quit him.

His head was full of religious stuff, and it wouldn't leave him.

He went back in the fall, but he just couldn't handle it no more.

And he's such a talented boy.

He used to write poems and stories.

You all got to help him, because if he goes to prison, there won't be nothing

left of him.

Try to find the best thing for him, Mrs. Bradford.

ate that up, didn't you?

He may not be your average felon, but he's still a real dangerous guy.

Oh, here we go.

Another course in Tess Kaufman humanist prosecution.

Okay.

Gold wants them all to walk because they clutter up his caseload. You think that

they're all victims of their environment.

And should be helped.

I mean, what the hell's the point of catching him if you keep putting him

back on the street?

Maybe he's different.

Maybe he's not.

But it probably doesn't matter to the next guy he tries his scissor act on

because maybe he'll be dead.

I mean, what the hell do I know, huh?

I just worked here.

A little early in the day for that, isn't it? You're right, it is.

Sorry.

You got troubles?

You know, Pop, I guess I do.

Well, if they're about Dickie Cobb, I don't want to hear them.

Well, that works out great, because I had no intention of sharing them with

you. Hey, Kay.

I'm gonna get a chance.

Be right there, Mike.

Anyone down in a hurry?

Only way I get to talk to you.

Ordering beers.

Are you telling me you want another one? No, that's not it at all. I'm telling

you our conversation should be about more than what I'm drinking.

Do you pick the subject or do I?

I do.

It's about us.

Let me get you that beer, Mike.

No. I'm serious here, Kay.

We really ought to get together.

Well, Mike, I didn't know that you considered me good sack material.

I mean, that is all you think women are good for, isn't it?

A sack?

You do get right to it, don't you?

Not with you, I don't.

Come on, Tess. This case is garbage, and you know it. The victim is a lush, and

she's got no witnesses.

Well, I hope you're not suggesting that we just let him walk.

No one wants him to walk.

Probation is all over this.

What do you got, 250 on your caseload now?

Lionel will be closely supervised, Detective Cobb.

Yeah, you better have a long choke chain.

We got a lot of dedicated people working on this, Cobb.

Let's just get it done, okay?

Spare me the song and dance about your client going to college, Miss Teddy. My

ruling's not gonna be based on SAT scores.

You go along with all this, Miss Kaufman?

If the treatment plan is adhered to, Mr. Bradford will be aided and society will

be protected.

That's how it's supposed to work.

If the treatment plan is not adhered to, Mr. Bradford will be returned to

custody. And the county has the bodies to make sure this doesn't happen? Your

Honor, Mr.

Bradford will live with his mother...

Receive daily medication at a clinic where he will also get counseling and

mental health reviews. Miss Kane in probation will also try and get him into

a job program.

Mr. Bradford.

Stand up.

Yes, sir.

You ready to toe the line here, son?

Or are you gonna make us all look like fools if we give you probation?

Oh, no, sir.

I'm not gonna give anybody any trouble. I'm gonna stay with my mom, and I'm

gonna look for a job.

And I'm gonna do some studying.

Okay, I'll agree to probation, but I can't impress on you enough the gravity

of what you've done and the severity of the punishment for any future

misconduct. Do I make myself clear?

Yes, sir.

Next case.

You did it.

Next case.

Docket number 3895.

People versus James.

I know it's a done deal, but plea bargains suck.

I don't want to cheer up.

And I don't think I want to go see my girlfriend.

And I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to see me.

She wants something.

Be damned if I know what it is.

Commitment?

I've made some commitments.

I don't see, uh... Other women?

I had a family.

Not a very happy family, but a family.

Um... I got my, uh... my girlfriend pregnant

after the, uh, senior prom.

We got married.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Little boy.

Zach.

He had trouble sleeping.

First time he slept all the way through the night, I felt great.

I went in the next morning to wake him up.

And, uh... He was dead.

As, uh... That crib death thing.

I'm sorry.

Anyway, a year later, I got divorced, and I took the

civil service, and I became a cop.

a single cop i don't know if i want to stay single i know that

every time i get

attached to someone this wall goes up that i don't really care about getting

through

It's great.

He got Venable Cole to murder one. He sings, we bleed it out.

Lose this domestic garbage.

You don't have an appointment with my fist if you don't get out of my way.

What's this, John?

Well, I don't know. Could you... You write me about being an outstanding

citizen and then you put that clown back on the block?

Well, we appreciate you coming forward. Coming forward?

Put in the emergency room, cut up, lucky to be alive, and you let the man that

done it walk away free.

He's on closely supervised probation.

Is he bothering you, Miss Hall? Because if he is... I haven't seen the fool, but

that's not the point. I heard he's out, and I want you all to know you're not

doing your jobs. The judicial and penal systems are severely overloaded right

now. We can't go to... I don't want...

live isn't the issue here oh it ain't huh but when some crazy stabs a white in

your neighborhood we'll see how fast he gets out of jail your job is to protect

all the citizens and you are way off the mark you get out of my way

God, I'm so glad I caught you. Yeah, well, catch me tomorrow. We closed ten

minutes ago. No, no, no, no, no.

Wait, I gotta get my medication.

Between nine and six. No, please, please, you don't understand.

See, I got on the wrong bus.

Come on, man, you're gonna help me out.

I need my medication every day. Every single day.

What do you need to see?

Miss Graham.

She left five minutes ago.

They're all gone up there.

It's happy hour. I'm sorry.

Oh, but there's got to be somebody. There's got to be somebody. There ain't

no one. The place is closed.

Oh.

Oh, well, what am I going to do?

Go home and take it easy.

Come back tomorrow.

That's all you got to do, pal.

You'll be all right, hear?

Yes, sir.

Glad I caught you, Detective.

I had your meeting with Lionel. He didn't have it.

I knew it.

Look, he got to my office okay, but I was tied up on the phone.

I mean, I've had three felony beefs on my caseload in one day.

Wait a minute. He showed up and you couldn't see him? He only had to wait a

few minutes.

I guess he got tired and left.

Right.

That's not the worst of it.

He missed his medication today.

You know, you people are great. Look, I did the best I could.

I am overloaded.

I can't keep track of every person all day long. I know. And that's why this

guy shouldn't be back on the street.

Maybe I can see him tomorrow.

And maybe I should have the DA rescind parole.

Just let me try, okay?

Don't take this so personally.

You know, it'll fry your brain.

Could I buy you a drink or something?

You know, I'd like that a lot, but I'm sort of seeing somebody.

Maybe some other time, then.

Thank you for your help.

What the hell are you doing, boy?

I'm, uh, um... You know, uh... Uh, nothing.

I know you're nothing, but you can go be nothing somewhere else.

Oh, I'm not going back there.

Oh, that's right.

Who the food for?

My mother.

Oh, you're staying with your mama now.

Huh.

Well, you better go back to her, because if I tell the police you were here,

they're gonna send you back.

I was just getting food for me and my mother. Uh-huh. You get a brand-new pair

of scissors, too. Huh?

Huh? And, you know, I hope your mama don't play the wrong music. You go on

and get away from here with your no-showering, bunion-head, nut-jaw...

Can I come in?

I

want

to say something to you, Tess. I don't expect you to answer me.

I don't even want you to.

But I do want you to hear me out.

Okay?

I know that I have treated you badly.

And I'm sorry for that.

I know that I've hurt you, but believe me, that's the last thing in the world I

wanted to do.

I would do anything to make that hurt go away.

I know things don't work that way.

Anyway, I was lying in bed last night. I couldn't sleep.

I started to think about us.

I remember today, about six months after we started dating, we were supposed to

meet in front of the monkey cage at the zoo.

Something got screwed up. You had the day wrong. I had the time wrong. In any

case, I was there and you weren't.

It started to pour.

I was wet. I was cold.

But I stayed there.

I waited for hours in the rain.

At some point I said to myself, this is crazy.

What are you doing here?

And I remember thinking I would wait forever because...

I love this girl that much.

I know that you're angry with me. And I know that you probably hate me.

I don't hate you.

I'm glad.

Because I still love you that much.

And I'm still ready to wait forever.

I'm going to go.

But please, think about what I've said.

Also, I think that we should think about seeing a marriage counselor.

A marriage counselor?

Don't say anything to us. Just think about it.

See you.

So I says to him, I said, what were you so nervous about?

And he says to me, you know how he does his head, he says, I realized halfway

through Miranda, I forgot to load my gun, huh?

Huh? Huh?

What, are you lost, cop?

Lost my life, Holland.

You want something?

Just looking for Kay.

He's not here.

Maybe I'll wait for her.

Wait all you want. Just don't do it here.

Thanks, Joe.

You're a real sport.

Boy, I gotta be some kind of a jerk.

I could be having drinks and dinner with Debbie Kane.

Instead, I'm sitting out here in the cold with you.

Yeah, I knew you'd understand.

Dickie's not here.

I didn't realize that your job required you to make house calls to your

investigators.

Can you understand what I'm saying?

I'm Tess.

Oh, first names, like we're going to be friends.

Tess and Kay.

I don't think so.

Because what's someone like you, been to law school, you dress nice, you got a

big job?

What could you possibly have in common with someone like me?

I mean, I work in a bar.

You've been there.

I've seen you.

Although I bet you didn't see me.

No, the only thing you could see was Dickie.

Dickie... No, wait a minute.

He wouldn't fit in your life.

He's from the same place I am.

You're wrong.

About Dickie?

The hell I am. No.

About me.

She's gotta turn it off.

They also

serve...

who only stand and wait.

Turn it off.

Turn it off.

Turn it off, turn it off!

Sorry if she was so rough on you. You don't deserve that.

Hey, I know you can take care of yourself.

That's not my point.

What do you want to talk to me about?

You going to see a marriage counselor?

Boy, that's asking for trouble.

Yeah, yeah, I saw a department doctor once.

What for?

I killed somebody.

Department policy.

You know, he kept wanting to know how I felt.

How do you feel?

How do you really feel?

Do you really feel the way you feel when you feel? I mean, come on, give me a

break.

How did you feel?

Truth.

I felt great.

Saved my butt. Saved my partner's butt. Got some psycho off the street who was

going to hurt somebody until somebody else killed him.

No. I felt great.

I guess that's not like marriage counseling.

I know.

Talking personally to strangers is hard.

You would rather talk to me than some shrink?

Why? It must be because I'm such a sensitive guy, right?

That's Kaufman's office. This is Cobb.

Oh, man, I knew it.

All right, I'll be right there. Just keep him alive.

Tell the cops to keep him alive.

Lionel Bradford just killed Valerie Hall.

He's got some hostages. They're holed up. I'm going.

I'm going, too.

No, you're not.

No, you're not. This is not for you. I'm going.

Hey,

Kyle.

Come to do a probation report?

What's going on here, huh?

He's got a woman and a kid inside.

What's he want?

Well, that's the funny part.

Not asking for a thing. Just wants to be left alone.

Happy about this lady?

No.

Some other time, Holland.

I want to talk to him. See if I can't break him out.

Just don't shoot while I'm in there.

What's happening with my boy?

He's in trouble, Mrs. Bradford. You're not going to kill him, are you? No, ma

'am. But he's got to do what he's told.

He needs so much help. Where was everybody when we needed them? He wasn't

a bad boy.

I'm gonna try to get him out.

Thank you.

Lionel!

Vicki Cobb!

Talk to me!

Get out of here! Easy.

Easy.

You and I are gonna work this out together, Lionel.

Don't come any closer. Don't come any closer.

You're not going to hurt anyone.

And no one's going to hurt you.

I need your help.

Oh.

Let them go.

Let them go. They haven't hurt you.

They don't deserve this.

Oh, God. They're gonna lock me up for good, huh?

It's possible.

Well, at least you're not lying to me.

A little late for that.

Oh, hey, I had to cut that devil out of Miss Valerie.

He's coming to get me.

It was me and my books.

Oh, I was so peaceful there, you know?

You got books in the hospital, I don't know.

Maybe you can work in the library.

You're not gonna send me to the hospital.

You're gonna send me to prison.

And I personally don't feel like listening to those screaming convicts.

Dumb.

Dumb people.

No education, you know, no appreciation.

There's just no place for me, is there?

We work together.

We might find a place.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I'm sorry

You put the blame then, Mr. Gold? Lionel Bradford committed the murder. Seems

pretty simple.

But you arranged for the play bargain that put Bradford back on the streets.

Several county agencies were involved in this. The probation's office, the public

defender's office, the mental health, even the judge.

But don't you think it's a travesty that someone is deranged as this should be

released from custody?

If Mr. Bradford had taken his medication and followed the terms of his probation,

this wouldn't have happened. He obviously wasn't capable.

Who's to say who's capable and who isn't?

Are you?

So you're saying that the plea bargain wasn't a mistake, Mr. Gould? I'm saying

the system is stretched to the max, Mr. Barrett.

Everything we do isn't perfect.

Sort of like journalists, trying to tell the truth all the time.

Mr. Gould, can I get one more question?

Can I talk to you?

I heard you lost one tonight.

You can't win them all.

That's not why I'm here.

Why are you coming down so hard on Tess?

She just couldn't wait to tell you, could she?

She's not angry.

She's not even hurt.

She just doesn't understand it. And you know something?

I don't either, Kay.

Don't you get it?

There is nothing going on between us.

And what about you and me?

Can't we just leave it the way things were?

Oh, you mean me coming over in the middle of the night for a quick roll in

the hay? I don't think that's what we have.

Well, I do.

And I need more than that, Dickie.

I need a lot more.

Enough's enough.

Call it a day.

Do it later.

Tomorrow. I'll buy you a drink.

That stuff with Lionel, it really got to you, didn't it?

Yes.

You need to learn to let it go.

You need to learn not to care so much.

I should learn to care more?

Yes. You're a cynic.

Yeah.

Yeah, I suppose I am.

Too many cynics in this business.

Some of us have to care because Valerie was right about one thing.

We're supposed to protect all the citizens.

Even... Lionel Bradford.

You're some piece of work, Tess Kaufman.

Yes, you are.

I'll see you tomorrow.