All language subtitles for Homicide.Life.on.the.Street.S06E20.Secrets.1080p.PCOK.WEB-DL.DD2.0.x264-NTb_track4_[eng]

Stearns, Minnesota?

Stearns, Minnesota.

Longest lifespan in the US.

Ten to twelve years
above the national average.

- Why?
- Well, they're in the middle
of farm country.

They get up at the crack
of dawn, they pick the corn,
they plow the fields.

You wanna know who has
the shortest lifespan
in the United States?

- I couldn't tell you.
- Bennett County, South Dakota.

Washington DC,

and a close third,
Baltimore, Maryland.

I read this, I figure,
I'm definitely
moving to Minnesota.

Yeah, well, people out there
are living longer 'cause
they're not killing each other.

I mean, this place Stearns
probably has one homicide cop
to the whole town.

Do you think that
they need another one?

So I'll become a farmer.
A couple acres,
a new pair of overalls.

I buy myself a decade at least.

[Ballard] Sergeant Rogers,
enlighten us.

[Rogers]
Body's inside the Mercedes.

Josephine Dalton,
46-year-old white female.

Seems like suicide.

Well, I don't think
she was vacuuming.

[Lausanne]
Looks like carbon monoxide.

- I'll have to check her lungs
to know for sure.
- Okay, Doc.

Nice car.
At least if you're gonna go,
she goes in style, huh?

- Was there a note?
- No note.

Her two kids are
inside the house.

The son's name is Alex.
The daughter's Samantha.

- Where's Mr. Dalton?
- Out of town on business.

[Ballard] And the children
found the body?

The car was here when
they came from school.

People in Minnesota
don't commit suicide.

You still here?
Geez, I thought you'd be
off milking a cow by now.

[camera shutter clicking]

[theme music playing]

[*]

[*]

- [phone ringing]
- [Giardello] Homicide.

[Munch] Your dad's in Richmond?

I left a message.

You're the one
that found your mom?

Well, we both did.

I saw her car in the driveway,
and...

I knew something was wrong.

She's never here
when we get home.

- She's always at work.
- Which is where?

[Alex] Fayette Securities.
She's vice president
of investments.

Was your mom stressed out about
anything? Was she depressed?

She was fine until--
until last night.

I heard her crying in her room.

Any idea why she was upset?

No.

What about you, Samantha?

Do you know what your mom
might have been sad about? Hmm?

Hey, sweetie.

[whispering] I'll get a medic.

Just because Josephine Dalton
owned a Mercedes,

does that mean
she has to be happy?

Well, there has to be something
that drove her to kill herself.

Like, she went to the doctor
and found out she was terminal,

or she caught
her husband cheating.

Are we sure this is a suicide?

Lausanne is doing
an autopsy now.

He's checking to see
if there's any carbon monoxide
in her lungs and blood.

And the lab's processing
the car for prints.

Someone could've killed her
and then stuffed her
into the driver's seat.

Talk to the ME. If he rules it
a homicide, get it up
on the Board, work on it.

If it's a suicide, move on.

Well, even if it was a suicide,
I'd still wanna know why.

Do yourself a favor, Ballard.

It's hard enough understanding
why people kill each other.

Why they kill themselves?
[scoffs]

That's not ours to answer,
is it?

Exactly.

Hey, Lieutenant,
you got a minute?

For you, 30 seconds.

How's it gonna go for Meldrick
today, his trial board?

Well, there are no guarantees.

No guarantees?
Can't you do something?

I mean,
grease it for him somehow?

Grease it? Are you suggesting
that a Departmental trial board
can be manipulated,

that there's no integrity
in the process?

- Pretty much.
- I'm shocked.

I am shocked by
the very notion of such a thing.

The case against
Detective Meldrick Lewis will
be decided upon on its merits.

Now there's
nothing else I can do.

Understood?

- Understood.
- Good.

[sighs] So what's it say?

"I'm sorry."

- Anything else?
- Yeah. "Love, Ken."

No broken heart.
No thwarted ambitions.

No explanation at all.

No, I guess our Ken
wasn't much of a wordsmith.

The deceased's name
is Kenneth Alden.
He's 54 years old.

President and CEO
of this whole operation.

His secretary, Vera Sloane,
is waiting out in the hallway.

- Okay.
- Thanks.

[camera shutter clicking]

Uh, Miss Sloane.
You find the body?

I was bringing him his coffee.

Mr. Alden had family?

A wife, Eleanor. And a son.

I haven't called them.
Please, don't make me call.

No, no, no. We'll handle it.

[Scheiner] Okay, gentlemen,
show me the body.

Middle-aged white male
of the corporate variety,

dead from an apparent
self-inflicted gunshot wound
to the head.

- Must be contagious.
- What?

[Scheiner]
Second suicide of the day.

Ballard and Munch
handled the first one.

- Can I have him?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He's all yours.

- [Scheiner] Thank you.
- Let me see that note.

[Jasper]
A violation of Departmental
rules and regulations, to wit,

use of excessive force
on the 16th of January

involving Detective Meldrick
Lewis, sequence number C106,

and a citizen,
one Georgia Rae Mahoney.

- Detective Lewis?
- Sir.

It's my understanding
that you have elected

not to contest
the substance of the complaint.

- [Lewis] Yes, sir.
- You are willing to waive
your right to a trial board

and have this panel
recommend disciplinary action
at this time?

- I am.
- Our recommendation
is for Detective Lewis

to lose five vacation days,
receive a letter of reprimand,

and receive counseling
on community relations and
the appropriate use of force.

This hearing is concluded.

Whew. Whoa.
It all unfolded just like
you said it was gonna do, Gee.

Well, my word's my bond.

Exactly how many favors
you have to call in on this one?

- More than you
ever wanna to know.
- [chuckling]

- Detective Lewis.
- Captain.

- [Gaffney] You look good
in uniform, Lewis.
- Why, thank you, sir.

If it was up to me,
you'd be back in a radio car
for that stunt you pulled.

- Yes, sir.
- Of course, your lieutenant
here, he thinks otherwise.

But I've always said,
Al's problem is
a lack of discipline.

If I was runnin' his shift,

I'd be offering you
a transfer out.

Respectfully speaking, sir,

if you were runnin' his shift,
I'd be takin' it.

Hey. I thought you were sick.

Got a half hour
of Regis and Kathie Lee.

Had to get out of the house.
Did I miss anything?

Munch and I are working
a possible suicide.

It was a suicide.
That was Lausanne.

Mmm. Okay,
so now we know how she died.
We still don't know why.

I don't care
and neither should you.

Oh, my God. Are you
always such a curmudgeon?

The ME says it's not a murder,
it's not a murder.

Gee says move on, I'm moving on.

You missed me, didn't you?

Hey, Ballard.
How'd your guy kill himself?

Uh, it was a her, and it was
carbon monoxide poisoning. Why?

Really?
'Cause our dead guy in Gilford,

Kenneth Alden,
he killed himself also.

- You think there's a connection?
- Well, not unless yours was

a middle-aged
corner-office executive
who blew his brains out.

Josephine Dalton
was 46 years old,

vice president
of Fayette Securities.

She pumped exhaust into
her brand-new Mercedes.

[Ballard] We're a long way
from Wall Street.

The financial community in
Baltimore can't be that big.

Maybe they knew each other.
Maybe they did
business together.

Yeah, maybe Alden and Dalton
brokered a deal,

deal goes south, both lose
big bucks, both call it a day.

[phone ringing]

- [Pembleton] Homicide,
Pembleton.
- You know something?

Coincidence or no,
two suicides in one day
is plenty.

Well, they say bad things
happen in threes.

We'll be right down.

- What's up?
- That was the widow Alden.

She wants to
have a word with us.

So much for working murders.

Hey, if this keeps up, we're
gonna call Homicide "Suicide."

Twenty-one years and four words
is all he has to say.

First I thought he was sorry
for shooting himself.

Then this came
in the mail today.

What is it?

I know what's inside
this envelope is connected
to Kenneth's death.

If I show you detectives, I hope
that this will stay between us.

We'll try our best.

I take it this isn't you?

Of course not.

Kenneth was having an affair.

Yeah, which someone else
caught on film.

Looks like a telephoto lens.

Whoever took those pictures
must have shown them to Kenneth.

I believe he killed himself
out of fear of exposure.

That's a little extreme,
Mr. Alden.

Please forgive me.

Plenty of men are unfaithful,
plenty of men are found out.

They don't
end their lives over it.

If you consider
who he was sleeping with,

suicide makes more sense.

Do you know this woman?

Her name is Jessie Metzger.

She's Kenneth's half-sister.

[tense instrumental playing]

[camera shutter clicking]

- Incest?
- Jessie Metzger
and Kenneth Alden

had the same mother,
and that makes this kind of
carnal activity strictly taboo.

- Dalton killed himself
out of guilt?
- [Bayliss] Mmm.

I don't know, Gee. He doesn't
look guilt-ridden to me.

Our guess is that
Alden was okay by this
as long as nobody found out.

So someone was taking pictures
of Alden and his half-sister
without him knowing,

and now they're holding it over
him like some kind of a threat?

Well,
he was a successful businessman.

Maybe somebody
did it for the cash.

- That's blackmail.
- Otherwise known as extortion.

Extortion which may have
led to the death
of another human being.

Track down this half-sister,
Jessie Metzger.

Talk to Alden's friends,
co-workers, other relatives.

Find out who took
those photographs.

What about Josephine Dalton?

- Who's Dalton?
- Our second suicide.

Same profile as Alden.
Successful executive,
mother of two.

She might have her own secrets,
her own set of photographs.

All right,
talk to Dalton's husband.

Find out if he knows anything.
But please, be discreet.

What about Josephine Dalton?
What do you think she's hiding?

Well, maybe she had
some deep, dark secret.

Or maybe she just
ran out of St John's wort
and couldn't cope.

Do you think it's incest,
like with Alden?

Oh, I don't know.
What would be the odds of that?

Yeah, even if it was,
what would that explain?

Getting caught wouldn't mean
she had to commit suicide.

Kenneth Alden
didn't have to, either.

If someone found out
that you were

sleeping with your own brother,

would you kill yourself over it?

I don't even have a brother.

Yeah, but you know what I mean.

Time passes on,
people forgive anything.

They go on to the next, and
they go on to the next scandal.

What would it take for you
to end your own life?

And what could be so bad?

A date with John Munch.

- Ready to roll, partner?
- Yes.

I don't know.
That's a tough one.

When I get an answer,
I'll come back to you.

Kenneth first kissed me
when I was 16.

We were together 25 years.
That's longer than his marriage.

Did you see Kenneth
at all yesterday?

We usually met at lunchtime.

I went to the apartment,
but he called to say
he couldn't make it.

Which apartment is this?

Ken rented a place
at the Ambassador.

After so many years,
we wanted a place of our own.

Did anyone else know
about your relationship,

anyone who may have
wanted to blackmail Kenneth?

Not that I know of.

What about these photos?

Who might have taken them?

I have no idea.

All right, then.

Thank you very much for
your help, Miss Metzger.

And we are sorry
about your loss.

[Jessie] Kenneth and I
were in love.

I was never ashamed
of our relationship.

Had he felt the same way,
he'd still be alive.

Hey, the football's back.

Hey!
I was wondering where it went.

- Hey, Meldrick.
- Nice to see you mooks too.

I can move my stuff.

No, that's-- that's all right.

I can, uh--

I can slide
right over here by Mac.

Huh, Mac? Just, uh--

Meldrick, I--
I can move my stuff.

I said this is fine.

New desk, new vibe.

I'm all about change right now.

[Kellerman] Hey, ball up.

Come on!

You wanna look through
my wife's things?

We're especially interested
in any recent mail.

Packages, envelopes,
anything she might've received
in the past couple days.

Would you mind telling me why?

Josephine was unhappy.
She took her own life.

- What is there to investigate?
- We had a second suicide today,
Mr. Dalton.

We just wanna rule out
any connection between
your wife and this other person.

- Kenneth Alden.
- Yes.

Yeah, I heard about
his suicide from Fairglen.

- What's Fairglen?
- It's our country club.

I just saw him there
last Sunday brunch.

How well did you know him?

We'd see him at meals.

I played doubles against him
in a tennis tournament.

What about your wife?
They were both in finance.

- You ever see them
talking business?
- No, never.

We have evidence
relating to Alden's death,

so it could be more complicated
than just a simple suicide.

What kind of evidence? What does
it have to do with Josephine?

Maybe nothing, but that's why we
wanna search your wife's things.

There's no need, Detectives.

I won't make you
waste your time.

- Excuse me?
- I know why my wife
killed herself.

It had nothing to do
with Kenneth Alden.

Who's the kid?

Joshua Dillinger.
He babysits for Samantha.

They were having an affair.

How long did you know about it?

The pictures came
in the mail today.

But you didn't tell us?

If that was your wife, would
you be passing them around?

This is obviously something
that Josephine didn't
want people to know about.

It's clearly the reason
she was so distraught.

I was planning on burning 'em
as soon as I got a chance, and--

Trust me, Mr. Dalton,
it's a good thing you didn't.

[camera shutter clicking]

- Hey.
- Hey, Mikey.

What's up?

I just wanted to tell you
that I'm glad you made it
back to the Unit.

- Yeah, thanks, man.
- You know, if, uh--
if you felt like it,

maybe we could work a call or
two together like the old days.

Sounds good. Maybe.

And, uh, thanks for
that tip on Calvin Barnes.

Who?

Dead dope dealer in
the project courtyard?

Inside that plain white envelope

was everything I needed
to put the case down.

You think I had something
to do with that?

Yeah, I know you had
something to do with it.

We all know it was you
who gave us those envelopes.

Get out of here, Meldrick.
If there are informants

out there giving up that much
evidentiary detail on murders,

you think the city
would need trained detectives?

Whatever. Why don't you
grab that 25 plate for me?

- Tell me something.
- What?

How'd you get the Mahoney crew
to turn on itself like that?
What'd you do?

Nothin'. I was under suspension.
You're forgettin' that.

Whatever. Well,
it's gonna get a lot worse.

I took that tape I made,
the one with the judge?

- I took it over to the FBI.
- Yeah?

And you were right. They weren't
very much interested in it,

but that's because
they already got a case
up and running on Gibbons.

He's gonna roll over.
He's gonna give 'em Georgia Rae.

- They told you this?
- Yeah.

And I'm tellin' you this
because whatever you were doing

to screw up Georgia Rae,
or not doing,

I figure you ought to ease up.

You know, with the Feds
on her now, she's done.

Hey, I'm going down to
the Courthouse tomorrow.

Jury selection on
the Mahoney civil suit.

I figure I'll go watch
Gibbons sweat. You wanna come?

That sounds like a blast,
but, uh, I got laundry to do.

[officer] Got the owner of the
restaurant. At least one shot to
the head through and through.

The body was discovered
by the manager. He's sitting
over here in the booth.

- Where's the ME?
- Hey, busy day.

- Robbery?
- The register's full.

Still has his wallet
and all his jewelry.

- You got a name?
- Tonio Cornell.

Let me guess.
The Mahoney organization.

Last few years, he's worked
his way up the ladder.

Rumor had it that he was
in line to replace Luther

if Georgia Rae
hadn't stepped in.

Another soldier down.

More like a general.

You know, if guys like Tonio
are getting killed,

there can't be much left
of the Mahoney crew.

So, think we're gonna
get a little white envelope
for Tonio here?

I figure we might as well
talk to Meldrick directly.

- What are you saying?
- I'm saying
what you're thinking.

That Meldrick mailed those
envelopes? You don't know that.

[sighing]

What I'm gonna tell you,
you don't repeat.

All that time that Lewis
was on suspension,

I was feeding him info
on Mahoney's people.

And guess what? Most of
those names landed on the Board.

Now, what Meldrick was up to,
I don't even wanna know.

I figured he used what he knew

to turn Mahoney's crew
on itself.

I figure he made it happen.

Well, why'd you help him?

He's my partner. He asked.

You know,
when you came on to Homicide,

you started asking
all those questions
about Luther's shooting.

I thought you were on a mission.

I thought you were
IID or something.

IID? Now that's funny.

Then why were you asking?

When it came up, I couldn't
get any straight answers.

Here I walk on to Homicide,
and half my shift is carrying
around some kind of big secret.

I got worried.
Like, what did I just step into?

If I knew what the dirt was,
I can decide.

Maybe I stay in the unit,

or maybe I sidestep
and transfer out.

But if I don't know what it is,
I can't protect myself, can I?

- And that's all it was?
- That's all it was.

I took a careful look,
came to the conclusion

that the Mahoney shooting
wasn't quite right,

and I figured I was not
gonna be working with Kellerman.

Are you asking me
about that shooting?

There's no need. I know enough.

Was Tonio Cornell one of
the names you gave to Meldrick?

Nope. This one ain't on him.

Well, then this situation
is officially out of control.

Meldrick might be
good at starting a war,

but I got a feeling
he's nowhere at stopping one.

[*]

I'm very sorry, Detectives.

The Ambassador does not give out
information about our residents.

- Okay.
- The occupants have
the right to their privacy.

What goes on inside of
their homes is their business.

Well, did Mr. Alden
own his apartment?

No, I believe Mr. Alden
signed a two-year lease.

Of course,
I'm really not allowed to say.

Do you recognize this woman,
Miss Gurman?

Mr. Alden would bring her here.

Mr. Alden's relationship
with Miss Metzger
is between the two of them.

Even if they met here
several times a week,

which they often did, I wouldn't
be permitted to tell you.

Well, we understand that,
Miss Gurman.

Uh, but besides Jessie Metzger,
was there anyone else
whoever visited Mr. Alden?

As I said,
The Ambassador does not give out
information about our residents.

What about in
the last day or two?

All visitors are required
to sign this book, you see?

They have to put down
their names, the apartment
they're visiting,

and the time
they arrived and departed.

So we have a Brenner Jones
who signed in at 8:40 pm

and left at 8:52.

He must have been
the photographer who got into
the argument with Mr. Alden.

- The photographer?
- He had a fancy camera with him,
one of those long lenses.

After he went upstairs,
several of the neighbors
called down to the desk.

They could hear the yelling.

Did they know what
they were fighting about?

I don't know, Detective.

But even if I did,
I'd have to keep it to myself.

- Our building policy says--
- Yes, that The Ambassador

cannot give out information
about its residents.

- Exactly.
- [Pembleton] Okay.

Well, if you ever decide to
change that policy, Miss Gurman,

please... give me a call.

[*]

[Brenner] I didn't think
you guys were coming back.

Well, we are sorry
about the delay, Mr. Jones.

[chuckles]
Yeah, don't get me wrong,
I wanna be the good guy here.

It's just I got a life
I gotta get back to.

[Bayliss] Right, right.
And you know something?

We wanna be very clear about
what we're about to do here.

It's just gonna breeze by.

Mr. Jones,
you're a photographer, correct?

- [Brenner] Yes.
- What kind of work is it you do?

Uh, I'm a freelancer,
so that means I pretty much
shoot anything.

[Pembleton] Okay.
You shoot these?

[chuckling] No.

[Pembleton] No?

Why you smiling?

Uh, 'cause when I said
I'd shoot anything,

I didn't really mean anything.

Do you know the man and
the woman in these photos here?

- [Brenner] Uh, no.
- [Bayliss] No?

I thought that you said that
you wanted to help us out,

you wanted to be a good guy.

- Yeah, I do.
- Then why you lyin'?

I'm not.

Oh, you see, now,
someone said that they saw you

at this man's apartment
around nine o'clock
the night before last.

They even heard you fighting
with him, even had your name
signed to the log book.

What, you got nothing
to say about that?

Guys, you told me that you were
gonna be clear on what this was
about, but you haven't been.

Okay, so you won't say
anything about Alden. Uh...

What about, um--

What was that woman's name
in the Ballard and Munch case?

- Mmm, Dalton.
- [Bayliss] Right, right. Dalton.
Josephine Dalton.

- What about her?
- Look, guys, if I need
to get a lawyer, I will.

- I don't wanna have to--
- Yeah, Mr. Jones, getting
a lawyer might be very wise.

[Brenner] Why?

Kenneth Alden
committed suicide yesterday.

I have a feeling
he didn't know about that.

No, I have a feeling he didn't
know that Josephine Dalton
killed herself, either.

Mr. Jones, when you blackmail
somebody and you get caught,

you might be in
a little bit of trouble.

But if you blackmail somebody

and they just happen to blow off
the back of their head...

[whistles]

...and you get caught,
well, that's it.

You're screwed.

- All right, I took the pictures.
- [exaggerated exhale]

And occasionally I would
make deliveries, guys.
That's-- that's all I did.

You gotta believe that.
I didn't-- I didn't
blackmail anybody.

Who blackmailed somebody?

'Cause unless you're willing
to give up a name

or something we can go on,

there's no need to go further
in this investigation.

- You look guilty as hell to me.
- [Bayliss] Mm-hmm.

Remington Hill.

[both] Remington Hill?

- Remington Hill.
- Remington Hill.

Well, well, well.
Remington Hill. Who's he?

He's just this rich guy who's,
uh, old money, old society.

- [Pembleton] Some old, rich guy?
- So how do you know him?

I've done a lot of publicity
for the country club
he's a member of.

And which country club is this?

Uh, Fairglen?

Mm-hmm. Mmm. Kenneth Alden
and Josephine Dalton

happen to be members
of this very same--

That's the connection,
and that's how--

And this Remington Hill
chooses to blackmail

two members of his own club?
Is that it?

That's what
you're trying to tell us?

- Did he give you a reason why?
- No, he just told me

where I would catch the people
and what they'd be doing.

He happened to
be right both times.

And where could we find
this Mr. Hill?

I-- I don't know where he lives.

He always had me
meet him at the club.

Detectives.

Look, I know you think I'm scum,
but you have to believe me,

I did not wanna be
a part of this.

Why'd you get involved?

I needed the money.

[tense instrumental playing]

Come to see the show, Detective?

Why not? I'm easily entertained.

We'll be picking a jury
all afternoon.

My guess is we won't
get to opening arguments
before tomorrow.

It's no problem. I'll stick
around long enough to give
Judge Gibbons a friendly wave.

[bailiff] All rise.

Division 14 of the Circuit Court
for Baltimore City
is now in session.

The Honorable Judge
Gerald Gibbons presiding.

Miss Weaver, Mr. Robbins.

I've reviewed
the pre-trial motions

in the case of
the Mahoney estate versus
the City of Baltimore et al,

and I've come to the conclusion
that my initial ruling

on the defendant's motion
to dismiss was incorrect.

After a more careful
consideration of the facts,

I find that the allegations
of excessive force
in the death of Luther Mahoney

to be largely unsubstantiated.

Therefore,
I am dismissing the suit.

[gavel banging]

[bailiff] All rise.

Gee whiz. Does this mean
we don't get to pick a jury?

[*]

- [Pembleton] Mr. Hill?
Remington Hill?
- [Remington] Yes.

Detective Frank Pembleton.
This is Detective Bayliss.

- From the Baltimore
Police Department.
- How you doin'?

Oh, yes. Please, have a seat.

I was told you had questions

concerning Kenneth
and Josephine.

Sir, how well did you know them?

Well, not as well as I thought.

Their deaths have come as
quite a shock around here.

Do you know of a photographer
by the name of Brenner Jones?

Brenner Jones?

[Bayliss] Are you not familiar
with that name?

Mr. Jones has been hired
by Fairglen at various times.
Why do you ask?

He claims he's been
hired by you, Mr. Hill.

- By me?
- To take pictures.

- Oh?
- Yeah, sexual pictures.

Of Josephine Dalton
and Kenneth Alden,

caught in
compromising situations.

I see.

Now, we interviewed him
about an hour ago,

and he answered
everything that we asked.

He's a weak man,
don't you think, Detective?

He spoke the truth, didn't he?

I hired Mr. Jones to do
some research for me, yes.

Ah. Research.

Well, I like that.
That's, uh-- that's polite.

Maybe not so much polite
as proper.

And that's very important
to you, being proper?

It should be important
to you as well, Detective.

Forget about me.

But it should've been more
important to them, am I right?

Sexual relations with
your own flesh and blood?

Molestation of a child?

I should say so.

Yeah, but it wasn't,

and that's when
you made them pay.

People who can't
afford a scandal,

but can afford a cover-up.

You can't find two better
candidates for blackmail.

I'll admit I approached
Kenneth and Josephine

about the photos
that Brenner Jones took,

- but I never asked for money.
- If it wasn't about money,
what was it about?

It's simple. The two of them
were behaving like animals.

They were a disgrace.
It had to stop.

What right do you have
to dictate another
human being's morality?

Kenneth carried ugliness.
Josephine was filth.

I demanded that they change.

By threatening to expose them?

I never threatened anyone.

There's been nothing conditional
about anything I've done.

I went straight to these people,

I told them
they would be exposed.

I mean, are you saying
that you didn't even give them
a chance to keep it quiet?

When a man is stripped bare,
reduced to his basest form,

shamed,

well, then and only then
is there a chance for renewal.

We have got, uh, more pictures
here of Dalton and Alden.

Now, these aren't the kind of
pictures that you had taken,

but these pictures exist because
of the ones you had taken.

[camera shutter clicking[

What was that you said
about a new life?

I'm not responsible for
the weakness of others.

If this is all there was inside,
then they're both better off.

- Are their families better off?
- How's that?

Now we have two teenagers
without a mother,

and we have a little boy
with no father.

Humor me for a minute here,
Mr. Hill.

Let's assume that they are not
better off without parents,
even flawed parents. What then?

Then they were sacrificed
for the greater good.

The decay in this club doesn't
stop with Dalton and Alden.

There are others
you've done this to?

If you listen carefully,
Detectives,

a whisper at the bar
will reveal who is weak.

The punchline of a joke
will tell you

who cheats, lies, steals.

For over a year now,
I've compiled information,

targeting those
who needed intervention.

This week,
eight other men and women in
this club,

men and women with families,
were confronted.

I'm happy to say their children
now have better lives.

Eight of the ten faced up
to their transgressions.

If two others took
the coward's way out?

Well, doesn't our moral balance
sheet still show a net gain?

[tense instrumental playing]

Hey, Your Honor.
How's it swingin'?

You better hope to hell you
never bring another case into
my court ever again, Detective.

Yeah, I'm not much worried about
that. I got a feeling your time
on the bench is winding down.

- Oh?
- Yeah, I just wanted you to know

I'm not dealing in
the same kind of dirt as you.

You didn't have to fix Georgia
Rae's civil suit on my account.

- That's what you asked for.
- Only to get you on tape.
A tape that I gave to the FBI.

The Feds have got you dead to
rights on half a dozen things.

You wanna stay out of jail?
You better give up
Georgia Rae Mahoney!

- [Pembleton] I'm going back.
- You're what?

I'm not finished
with Remington Hill.

You gotta be finished,
Frank, at least for now.

Hill knows we got
nothin' on him.

- He knows?
- Yeah.

What does he know?
Why does a man like that

get to decide
between right and wrong?

Dalton and Alden,
they killed themselves.

Hill didn't turn on
the ignition,

- he didn't pull the trigger.
- He might as well have.

Remington Hill was working
towards a greater good.

He was trying to hold people
up to a higher standard.

And who can say
about these things?

I mean, if someone had taken
pictures of me and my uncle,

if someone, you know,
anyone had tried to help,

I might have been better off.

[scoffs] I mean,
I would've been better off.

You comin', Frank?

The question is of what?

Well, if he asked for money,
then it's extortion.

Since he didn't,
I don't think there's anything
we can charge him with.

Kenneth Alden and
Josephine Dalton killed
themselves because of Hill.

- He must somehow be responsible.
- All he really did
was say he'd tattle.

As far as I know,
tattling's not a crime.

Well, maybe it should be.

What about the photographer,
Brenner Jones?

He took still pictures only,
no video?

Not that we know of.

Well, you're not allowed to
tape someone without consent.

Still photos are okay.
Of course, depending where
he took the pictures from,

we might be able to charge Jones
with breaking and entering.

Oh, now you're talkin'.

[knocking at door]

- Pembleton, Bayliss.
- Come in.

[Gharty] Gotta head back
to the country club.

- Why, what's going on?
- I just took the call.

It looks like Fairglen
has one less member.

- Victim's a white male.
- [Pembleton] Mmm.

- Gunshot to the head.
- We found a wallet
in his sport coat,

- and the driver's license says--
- Remington Hill.

How'd you know?

I recognize his tie.

- So who found him?
- The club's membership director,
Jason Cahill.

- Well, I guess guilt got to him.
- What guilt?

Last time we spoke to Hill,
he didn't have any.

Well, maybe he found some.
Two suicides on his conscience,

it's bound to
make a man follow suit.

You'd think.
Except this isn't a suicide.

It isn't?

His trigger finger? It's clean.

The hell? A .44-caliber
Smith & Wesson ought to
have left an impression.

So he didn't shoot the gun.
Then we're looking at a murder.

[man] Why is this happening?

- Why is this happening?
- [Pembleton] Mr. Cahill?

It's okay, let him go.

That's three losses in two days.

Look, there's gotta be
some explanation.

I need to know what
I'm gonna tell these people.

Well,
the best thing is to not tell
them anything for right now.

Mr. Hill's death may not
have been self-inflicted.

- You mean somebody killed him?
- Um, sir, we're gonna need

a list of everyone
who was at Fairglen today.

Please, step this way.

[camera shutter clicking]

So he was murdered.

By who?
Someone he was going to expose?

Okay, there were eight other
Fairglen Country Club members
who received photographs.

According to the records,
three of them were at the club
today, but they had alibis.

Two were playing
golf all afternoon.

The third was having lunch
with a party of ten.

Yeah, the only other guy who
was at the club this afternoon

who had any connection at all
with Remington Hill

was, uh, Brenner Jones.

- The photographer?
- Yeah, but he was
getting paid by Hill.

- I don't know why he'd kill him.
- I suggest you get him in
the Box and ask him yourself.

I went to speak to
Remington Hill.

- What about?
- There were more people
he wanted dirt on.

Oh, so you're back on the job,
huh, Mr. Jones?

- No.
- No?

No. I told him I didn't
wanna do that anymore.

Oh. Why was that?

I don't know.
I guess I got tired of feeling
like a terrible person.

Well, that sounds like
a good enough reason.

And what about Mr. Hill?
How did he respond?

Not too well.
He got pretty upset.

So what did you do?

I just told him I didn't care
and I got out of there.

That's it?

You haven't seen him since?

No.

All right. Well, at this point,
Mr. Jones, we need to inform you

that Remington Hill
was found dead today at
the Fairglen Country Club.

Looks like suicide.

Then I guess that's some
poetic justice, huh, Detectives?

You said that Mr. Hill was
angry earlier, is that right?

- Yeah.
- Based upon your observation,

of what you saw of Mr. Hill's
state,

would you have guessed
that he would kill himself?

[sighs] I just wanted
to get away from him.

I was fixed on
how I was feeling.

I don't know. I wouldn't be able
to say anything about that.

It's a little oddball, because
Hill didn't seem the type.

Well, it's suicide.

I mean, you'll never know.
It'll always remain a mystery.

Oh, yeah, yeah.
If it was a suicide, right,
you know, forget about it.

- It's mystery theater.
- I thought you said
it was suicide.

No, no, no.
I said that we thought
it looked like a suicide,

but we don't think that it was.

- No?
- [Pembleton] No,
we don't think so.

The weapon used was very
powerful, a .44 caliber.

The trigger pull pressure
is extremely high.

If someone shoots a shot
from a weapon like that,

more than likely
there's gonna be an imprint.

- [Brenner] And there wasn't one?
- No.

So that makes you sure
that it wasn't a suicide?

- No, no. What makes us sure
is the gunshot residue test.
- What's that?

Well, that's the test used to
determine if any powder residue

from the gunshot was left
on Mr. Hill's hand.

Yeah, but there wasn't
any powder, so this guy,

he shot him point-blank and then
he put the gun in Hill's hand,
staged the suicide.

All right,
so maybe it was murder.

But even if you know how it was
done, you'll never know who.

No, how leads to who.

Because this fellow
that we're after,

he tried very hard,
but he wasn't very good.

Undoubtedly he'll have
left behind some hair,

fiber, fingerprints.

Might take a couple of weeks,
but we gonna catch up to him.

[breathing shakily]

I shot him.

And you put the gun in his hand.

Why?

Well, you two sure as hell
didn't do anything to stop Hill

after the big deal you made
about bringing me
in here before.

- Someone had to do something.
- Hey, you didn't
have to kill him.

You could've just walked away.

He wouldn't let me do that.

Well, why wouldn't he?

I was like everybody else
at that club, all right?

I had a secret.

And Hill told me that he was
gonna expose that to my family

unless I did everything
that he asked me to do.

I know better than anybody when
it comes to something like that,

and, I mean,
he is a man of his word.

[Bayliss] We all have secrets.

Why was yours so bad that
you felt that you had to kill?

I'll never tell you.
I'll never tell you.
I'll never tell you.

[*]

[Munch] Nathan Bihari.

Passport says DOB is 8/10/63.

Yeah, AKA Nathan the Nigerian.

Mm-mm-mm,
how the mighty have fallen.

- This guy's big-time?
- Yeah, he's a D importer
for Luther Mahoney,

not to mention five or six
other East Coast organizations.

So another one of Mahoney's crew
rolls a seven, huh?

Yeah, but this one here,
Munchkin?

This one here,
I don't get at all.

- And why is that?
- Well, this guy's a supplier.

He's not on the inside,
he's not involved.

It's like he's neutral,
like Switzerland or some place.

Hey, hey,
don't go trusting the Swiss.

It turns out
they spent World War II

skimming money
from my dead relatives.

- Say what?
- I don't like their chocolate,
I don't like their cheese,

I don't like that little knife
that folds out into cutlery.

Don't go talkin' up
the Swiss to me.

Yeah, whatever. I mean, why
would they whack a guy

who ain't playin'
for either team?

I mean, especially
when they gonna need him

- after this whole war's over?
- Murder for murder's sake.

No, this one here, this one's
way beyond making sense.

You want sense?
Violence is a contagion that
sets in and feeds on itself.

Trying to make sense of
an east Baltimore drug war

is like trying to
make sense of cancer!

[*]

- [Bayliss] Here you go.
- Hey.

So, Brenner Jones confessed
to killing Remington Hill?

Yeah.

Hill got what was coming to him.

What's that, some kind of
strange justice, huh?

Very strange.

[Ballard]
Well, I'll drink to that.

Can I get you something to eat?

We got very nice specials
this evening.

We have a pasta,
and it's got chicken,
sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto.

No. I hate to eat alone, so.

- [Bayliss] Well,
how about if I join you?
- Yeah?

Yeah,
it's not very busy here tonight.

I mean,
if that's all right with you.

- Yes, that would be very nice.
- Okay, I'll order us the food.

John, let me get
two of the pasta specials.

- Cheers again.
- Cheers.

So, we haven't had dinner
together since--

Since our disaster of a date?

- [Ballard giggles] Yeah.
- Yeah.

We never really
talked about that.

No, we didn't.

Is there anything to talk about?

Um... you know,
it wasn't you, it was me.

How many times
have I heard that one?

- No, really.
- Mm-hmm.

I never really talk to a lot of
people about my personal life.

- You talk to Pembleton.
- Not about everything.

You ever thought about, uh...

having a relationship
with another woman?

Am I gonna have to
come over there and
kick you upside your head?

- No, I didn't mean it like that.
- Yes, you did!

- No, I didn't.
- Oh, come on.

You and every other man on the
planet means it just like that.

It's like it's the ultimate
sexual thrill to see
two women in bed together.

I gotta tell you something:

not a lot of women
imagine two men in bed together.

So that disturbs you?

No,
it doesn't disturb me at all.

But it doesn't excite me.

I didn't mean it
like that either.

Are you saying that--

- I'm not gay.
- What are you saying?

I'm not, um...

strictly heterosexual,
either, it seems.

What does that mean, "strictly"?

Well, you see, I've had a lot
of relationships with women,

and when they fell apart,

I always blamed the women.

All the time. Never me.

And then I met this man,
and I thought that--

Are you involved with a man?

Well, I'm not in love with
the guy. But I don't know.

I guess the thing is that
I'm never satisfied, see?

When I've been involved with
women, I've thought about men,

and when I've been
involved with men,

I've also thought about women.

You know, you really didn't
have to tell me all this.

I did have to tell you this.

Keeping things secret
is no good.

Doesn't help anybody, really.

See, the problem is that...

I always thought that if I told
anybody who I really was,

they'd run away.

Well...

I'm not running.

- You're not?
- No.

- Good.
- [laughing]

[theme music playing]