Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999): Season 4, Episode 9 - Sniper: Part 2 - full transcript
'The forecast is cloudy and windy
and cold this morning, warming up
'with a few sunny breaks.'
- I thought I heard you come in.
- Hi, sweetie.
Good to have you home.
- You must be exhausted.
- How are you? How's the baby?
Your child has no sympathy
for a working mother.
He or she has been
up all night, kickboxing.
- You felt a kick?
- Mm-hm.
I don't feel anythin'.
No, of course not. Now that I'm
wide awake, the baby's asleep.
Smart child. Sleep,
what a terrific idea.
I'll get it.
Hello. Yes, he's here,
hold on just a second.
It's Lieutenant Giardello.
Yeah, Gee.
No! I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there. Argh!
There's been another
sniper shooting. Three down.
- I thought you caught the sniper?
- So did we.
- I gotta go back to work.
- Frank!
I'll call you soon as I can.
I thought we closed the sniper
case, that he killed himself?
Two hours later
another shooting.
I guess William Mariner
had an accomplice.
Everything indicated
he worked alone.
We'll need to make a press
statement. Keep the media out.
Avis Griffin, the new
Public Information Officer.
- Work with her on coverin' your ass.
- Shouldn't be here without a vest.
Somebody get Colonel
Barnfather and Miss Griffin a Kevlar.
- Get those helicopters outta here.
- The Commissioner ordered them.
We gotta sniper. All we need
is for him to shoot one down.
They found shell
casings on the tower.
- Who's up on the roof as primary?
- Your guy, Pembleton.
That sky jockey tries that
again, I'll give him permission
to shoot the son-of-a-bitch
down. Shoot him down!
You're out for your mornin'
jog and hear gunshots?
I come runnin' down the block
and hear this crack-crack-crack.
- You saw the shots? Which direction?
- From up there.
- And you were where?
- Right here.
- Right where?
- Right here. Standing.
You know when you
hear a bug or mosquito
buzzing around your
ears? It's... like that.
The Woman falls there, the
guy's got this tray of bread, it falls.
Did you see any
of the victims hit?
With all the gunshots goin' on
around here, I'm gonna look?
I'd end up in the meat wagon.
I'm standin' round all
these people gettin' shot,
I think to myself, "If
I move, I'll get shot."
- Yeah, OK. What's your name?
- Helena Aegis.
Alex Robey.
30 calibre rifle. Looks like
an entire clip was shot off.
We're now assuming that
Mariner had an accomplice.
At the other shootings
there was a hangman game.
How come there's
no hangman game?
It takes two to play
hangman, and Mariner's dead.
Right, it takes two
to play hangman.
- Watcha got over there?
- Fibres. Maybe wood.
If it is, it could be from
the shooter's rifle stock.
This shootin' is eight
hours after Mount Vernon?
- Yeah.
- Exactly eight hours?
Yeah. Can I help
you with that vest?
- You think I'm helpless?
- I don't. No.
We've got three tentative IDs -
Susan Darowz, the guy with
the bread is Neal Ferdette,
and the third guy, he's an
Arabber, his name is William Wixson.
- Any addresses?
- Uh-huh. She works where she fell.
The breadman's from Towson,
Arabber's from Sandtown.
- Notify the next of kin.
- Something I always look forward to.
- Maybe we'll get lucky.
- How's that?
Maybe the two guys
won't have no families.
I am so damn tired.
My eyes are so far back in my head
I'm seeing things from years away.
Pembleton, Bayliss. Over to
the Mariner house, talk to the wife.
Find out if Mariner had
any angry compadres.
- On our way.
- I'm waitin' for lab results, Gee.
- I'll get Russert to cover that.
- Captain Russert?
Barnfather demoted her.
- I heard rumours.
- We don't have time for rumours.
Please get going.
- Hey. Got your message. Saw it on TV.
- The crap's flying again.
The Colonel told me not to come
back until he made a decision
on where to assign me.
- I need you here. OK?
- He'll have my head, and yours.
- I'll take care of Barnfather.
- How?
- I'll ignore him.
- That's not gonna take care of him.
My grandfather, who
was Italian, used to say,
"Never stand in the
way of your enemies
"when they're trying
to destroy themselves."
We've got access requests from
The New York Times, Washington Post,
and someone asked us
for a hotel recommendation.
We're the Chamber of Commerce?
NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN
are sending their first teams,
they wanna know where
to set up their satellite.
Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings,
Dan Rather, Bernie Shaw,
have all requested
media access passes.
You're Public
Relations, you handle it.
I'm beat to hell, a
shower would be nice.
Mariner and somebody
slaughter nine people,
then Mariner blows his brains out
while I stand guessing hangman letters.
Now somebody shoots three
people, and you wanna take a shower!
Saving Mariner's life
wasn't your responsibility.
- I was the primary. I let him die!
- You did your job!
Nine names in red go to black.
So Mariner smoked himself.
- So what?
- Wait a minute. What are you sayin'?
You're always tellin' me that
everybody belongs to God.
Nine innocent victims. If I
were God, I'd have a hard time
holding Mariner and innocent
people in the same light.
I don't have energy enough to
care. Today we got three new victims.
Well, hate to tell you
this, today is still yesterday.
Did I tell you I was tired?
Come 4 o'clock, if we don't get this
guy, it won't matter what you tell me.
Let's go talk to the Merry
Widow, Mrs Mariner.
Maybe she's got
something to say.
We've had three more
victims this morning.
I got the wakeup call
from WBAL this morning,
they wanna know which
of Bill's friends did this.
Which one of them would have?
I don't know. Maybe
Bill wasn't guilty.
You're the cop
who killed my Dad.
- No... What's your son's name?
- What does that matter to you?
- Your husband had a best friend?
- Someone who'd want to avenge him?
No, someone who might have
assisted him in these killings.
If Bill shot those people, he
shot any chance my children
will be able to do anything.
They'll always be the children of
some maniac who killed nine people,
and will they do the same?
Anyone at your husband's office
who... Maybe they went out for beers?
I have to find a funeral home,
someone to get Bill's
body outta the morgue.
Everyone's calling him a maniac,
I've gotta find someone that's
gonna bury this maniac for his children.
I've been thinking who to
invite, what kinda service.
Any ideas? Know anyone
who'd want to come and bury Bill?
- Who would?
- You wanna come to his funeral?
You were the last
one he talked to.
Excuse me!
Do you have any children?
Are there any suspects?
I was just joggin'. I
run six miles a day.
- You saw something?
- Not a good idea to talk to reporters.
- I'll be back in a minute.
- Thank you.
- You guys witnesses too?
- Family of the victims.
- We'll go upstairs.
- Don't talk to the press.
I'm always making
a spectacle of myself.
Anything that you say jeopardises
my ongoin' investigation.
- Told you that at the crime scene.
- I'll go home.
- Need a lift?
- No, I got my car.
I'll get this gentleman
to walk you to your car.
If anything else comes
to me about this morning...
- Yeah, give me a call.
- Right.
Anything from Pembleton?
He said Mrs Mariner wasn't
forthcoming in offering information
as to who might be
involved with her husband.
They're on their way to the insurance
company where Mariner worked.
Stay on top of it.
Check with Quantico.
See how they're comin'
with that psych profile.
Brodie, go to the Mariner house.
Videotape anyone
coming in or going out.
Anyone who brings flowers or a
casserole becomes a Kodak moment.
Munch! Oh, man! Have
you seen Detective Munch?
- The ME and Firearms reports?
- I sent Shabazz to Firearms.
Shell casings were 308 calibre,
same as the rifle Mariner used.
- I'm goin' to ME's, soon as I find John.
- I got the CJIS printout.
Computer banks don't show any
recent parolees from Jessup or anywhere
with a history of killing with a rifle.
Just knives, tire irons and handguns.
- Any connection with the Mariners?
- No.
- Come with me.
- Things to do.
- I'm not askin' you out on a date.
- You're the sarge.
You're interviewin'
the victims' families?
Yeah. One's a mess, the
other one's cool as can be.
Any family member who isn't busted
up now will be hysterical in an hour.
- And the wife who is busted up?
- She'll be hysterical in an hour too.
You and Lewis, dance
the dance carefully.
We're lookin' for any
link to William Mariner.
Wait a second.
The woman was killed with a
shot that entered from what angle?
- 45 degree angle.
- Let me see the autopsy diagram.
They were all shot
from a rooftop, right?
Whoa! What are you doing?
That guy puts me in Siberia to
park again, I'll kick his teeth in.
Whoa! Easy does it, John.
- Get out of the way, you idiot.
- Slow down, what's the matter, John?
Take it easy, huh?
Are you outta your mind?
You're gonna get us
killed. Whoa! Let me drive.
- Stay in the car!
- What are you...
- Stay in the car!
- What the matter?
Not gonna get you killed. Not
worried about the sniper getting me.
One shot to my noggin,
lights out, that's fine.
But I'm not gonna be sittin' here
and watch you get shot again.
What?
You think I could ever forget you,
Stan and Beau getting shot down?
I say to Gee, "They ruined
my shoes with their blood."
I was so whacked out
from seeing your blood, I...
- I couldn't do anything.
- All right.
It's not. No more first names,
I'm Munch, you're Howard.
That's the way it's gotta be.
Mariner's co-workers
were no help.
We have to lean
on the wife more.
We could try to get an order for a
wiretap on the Mariner phone lines.
Or we could go back to the house,
get the kids away from the mother.
- Maybe they'd give up the name.
- The boy thinks you killed his father.
Come on. Hey! What's
the damn hold-up?
Some kind of nonsense
goin' on up there.
'Delta one-five.'
There's a sniper on
the roof! There he is!
Get in the car!
We have a call on some
guy on the rooftop with a rifle.
The report of a sniper
proved to be a false alarm.
Yet the fear of a report of
someone on a rooftop, is quite real.
The mother who ran to safety with
her children can testify to that fear.
Schools are being closed early,
hospitals are on emergency alert,
and homeowners are
boarding up their windows
as if a hurricane alert
had just been issued.
- Mary, we're goin' home.
- What?
- I'm safe here.
- Let's go.
- Frank, look, stop it.
- Don't make a scene.
OK, fine. Tim, leave,
and take him with you.
- I can't do that, Mary.
- You are with child, our child.
You will not endanger yourself.
I'm only in danger because you're
here, instead of catching the imbecile.
I can't have you runnin'
around downtown.
You can get scared for
me, but I can't for you?
I live through this every day.
- This is different!
- No, it isn't.
You always say to me, this is the
job. You know what, this is my job.
- I'm not leavin' until I finish it.
- Tim, get over and grab this desk.
- Give me a hand.
- Yeah, sure.
I have work on this
desk. Frank, stop it.
We're movin' this desk away from
the window, or it's goin' out the window.
And these stayed closed.
- What are the odds of bein' shot?
- I wish you would give in to me.
I am not giving in to hysteria.
- What are you doing?
- Raise your arms.
- I'll see you tonight.
- And I'll see you, OK?
OK.
OK. Shooting areas
from yesterday.
Highlandtown, Collington
Square, Mount Vernon.
This morning, the clock tower.
What's the distance between
Highlandtown and Collington Square?
Highlandtown to the
clock tower, a mile.
From the clock tower to
Mount Vernon, that's half a mile.
So all the shootings took place
in a perimeter around downtown?
The shootings are
comin' in a circular pattern.
So maybe somewhere in
Little Italy's the next shootin'.
Check with the Maths
Department at Hopkins.
See if there's some kind of
probability factor operatin' here.
This is the third
time I've called.
No, I don't remember
exactly who we talked to.
I've got interview and access to the
crime scene requests from all over.
What kind of rifle?
Capable of holding a magazine
that'll fire off 15 to 20 rounds.
You've come up with a psych
profile for Mariner's accomplice?
I know that you're
workin' on it, but I have...
I have calls from the
French, Japanese, Brits.
If Mariner's buddy stays true to
form, he starts shootin' in eight minutes.
What comes to mind is
something like an M1A carbine.
What range would
our shooter have?
Five, six city blocks. An M1A with
attachable Nikon or Leopold scope
could command a half-mile
radius from point of location.
- How many rifles like that?
- ATF faxed us these numbers.
We got maybe four
dozen local registrations.
There could be hundreds. They weren't
required to be registered before 1990.
Lovely. That's sublime.
The Governor's ready to
call out The National Guard.
That sends the message
we've lost control.
The Guard would give
citizens a sense of security.
The Guard has no experience
in leadin' a criminal investigation.
What's Russert doing here?
Math whizzes think that
probability curve has our shooter
between Little Italy
and Inner Harbor.
- Notify QRT.
- You got it, Gee.
I don't want Megan Russert
anywhere near this case.
I can't see anythin' with
you standing in my way.
Excuse me.
You know I've watched those
broadcasts from Belfast and Beirut
and I used to think, "Man, if I
could only have been there..."
This could be Jerusalem,
this could be Sarajevo.
I don't need to go there.
Gettin' it all here, Baltimore.
This is not Belfast,
this ain't Sarajevo.
- Get out of my way!
- Excuse me.
I was ordered to Little Italy.
My unit's there, and we're
back in Highlandtown?
Lewis was operatin' off
mathematical probabilities.
- We could've been here.
- You're here now. Do your damn job.
The mayor. Now
we'll get some action.
Mr Mayor!
Are you gonna appoint
a special task force?
He's this young kid,
sitting in front of me.
His head... And then all this
glass is flying everywhere.
- His head, then the glass?
- Did you hear gunshots?
- No, just the glass.
- Detective Lewis?
I... I saw it.
How you guys doin'?
Hey, Mr Robey.
What you doin' here?
I live right there.
Second floor, rowhouse.
- Hey, Frank, Tim.
- Hang on a second.
I want you to meet
somebody. This is Mr Robey.
- Mr Robey helped us out this morning.
- Really?
Oh, great. This mornin'?
- And here?
- Uh-huh.
Would you have a few minutes to
come down to headquarters with us?
- Whatever you guys need.
- Why don't you take a ride with us?
- Go with you guys?
- Yeah.
- All right.
- OK. We're right over here.
- We'll get a search warrant, OK?
- OK.
Yesterday, three incidents - Collington
Square, Highlandtown, Mount Vernon.
- Nine people down. Today...
- Clock tower, 8 AM. Three hit.
This afternoon, Highlandtown again.
Another two. The bus, shot dead.
Right. So this is
where we get confused.
- You see, we catch the one guy...
- William Mariner.
William Mariner.
'Sniper Kills Self.
Baltimore Siege Ends.'
- Excuse me?
- New York Times.
- THE New York Times?
- Early edition.
January 12, 1996.
Section B, page
twelve, column four.
Right. Right.
So this William Mariner, he
shoots himself durin' the arrest.
- You there?
- Yeah.
Did he say anythin'
before he shot himself?
Doesn't matter.
He dies and we reckon this
Red Ball is over. Right, Frank?
- Mm-hm.
- Right. So everyone can breathe easy.
'Baltimore Stunned.
Relieved As Sniper Dies'.
- New York Times again?
- Washington Post.
Front page. With a picture of a woman
sprinting away from Collington Square,
one shoe off, mouth
wide open, screaming. Ah!
This the picture there?
Baltimore Sun, Boston
Globe, Chicago Tribune.
Now all these
clippings, we found them.
They came out of your john, Alex.
You one of those toilet intellectuals?
You need something to
read to keep you regular?
Why don't you... Why don't you tell
us what happened at the clock tower?
- I already told the other guys.
- Well, tell us again. In detail.
Start with what you
were doing there.
- I was running.
- Anywhere in particular?
- Was someone chasin' you?
- No. Jogging. My usual route.
Runnin' past the market,
and I hear gunshots.
- Then what did you see?
- Blood.
- Did you see anything unusual?
- What do you mean?
You haven't told us anything we
couldn't read on your wallpaper.
See anything that
might lead to a shooter?
- Like what?
- Any drawings on the pavement?
Drawings? What drawings?
- Do you remember seeing any?
- No!
How about the bus crime
scene? Any artwork there?
Like graffiti. Is that
what you mean?
Do you recognise this, Alex?
- It's chalk.
- Chalk.
- It's 12 pieces.
- Mm-hm.
All right? Of school
certified Da Vinci chalk. OK?
- Mm-hm.
- All right. See that?
Multiple colours, as you
can see. Yellow, such.
Now, William Mariner used
to use this kind of chalk.
In fact, this box
here belonged to him.
Used it for what?
Let me get this straight.
- You don't know William Mariner?
- I don't know him.
Two shootings,
one on your block,
and you just happen to be joggin'
by one of the scenes of the incidents?
- So?
- So that strikes me as unlikely.
That's odd enough,
coincidence enough.
That makes me think that
maybe, maybe you're the target.
You're the target.
Maybe you're the target.
Frank. Yes.
- That's it.
- Yes.
The sniper shot the other
people instead. It was an accident.
- Me? The target.
- Yeah.
You must have done
somethin' to piss this guy off.
Why would someone
wanna shoot me?
We isolate motive, we better
our chances of catching him.
- What comes to mind, Tim.
- Money?
- Always a popular motive.
- You owe anyone, Robey?
You got life insurance?
Got a policy there, Alex?
Maybe some family members
who wanna cash in on it?
- Don't have life insurance.
- Oh.
- Don't have a family.
- What about women? An affair?
- An affair?
- Yeah.
An affair would be the answer.
You sleep with some other guy's wife.
That's gonna send
him over the edge.
I can look at these shootings, I can
picture them as crimes of passion.
- Absolutely.
- Uh-huh.
- I don't have a girlfriend.
- No girlfriend?
- Nobody you're dating? Even casually?
- Look, I'm not the damn target!
Those dead delivery guys,
they were the target. OK?
'You guys are supposed to
figure out who pulled the trigger.
'This is about the shooter.
He's the important one here.
- 'Ain't he? '
- 'OK, Robey.'
- Get outta here.
- Huh?
- What?
- You're free to go.
No more questions?
- No! Go home.
- I can come back.
Didn't you hear? Leave!
You are of no help to us!
I can wait outside... in
case you change your mind.
- No, thank you.
- I'm helpin' you catch the sniper.
- You're a waste of time!
- What?
- A loser. Worst of all, a bore.
- I am not.
Perhaps the most borin'
man to set foot in this room!
We get all kinds in here. People
who kill for all kinds of reasons.
- Lust!
- Revenge.
- Drugs.
- Power.
- Plain old hate.
- People kill their husbands, wives.
- Mothers, fathers...
- Sons, daughters...
- Lovers. Teachers...
- Neighbours. Strangers.
- They kill in all kinds of ways.
- Shootings.
- Stabbing. Drowning.
- Hanging. Burning.
They sit across
from us at this table.
- Some of 'em are stupid!
- Uh-huh.
Some of 'em are
crazy, some are mean.
- That's right.
- But none of them are boring.
- I need some coffee.
- Yep.
I gotta get some air.
Can I have some coffee too?
- He doesn't know Mariner.
- Never met him.
Doesn't know about
the chalk drawings.
- Who is he then?
- Mr Robey fits our psych profile.
White male, early thirties.
A loner with no prior record.
Lives in the neighbourhood,
hanging round asking questions.
He knows what
Mariner did yesterday.
He watches the city explode,
and he wants in on the action.
We don't have any hard
evidence to connect him to Mariner.
- There is no connection to Mariner.
- He's a copycat.
A copycat.
A copycat.
We can hold this guy, Robey,
48 hours on probable cause.
Go home, get a shower,
get yourselves some sleep.
Give me ten minutes for
these to kick in, I'll nail his ass.
I'll be back in a second.
Haven't gone to the
bathroom in two days.
The press has got the information
we have someone in custody.
We're interviewing witnesses.
That's the song I gave them,
but they're not dancing to it.
Barnfather and his Public
Information rummy, where are they?
- Breakfast.
- Oh.
- Frank.
- I'm not asleep.
Get somethin' to eat.
The coffee and the caffeine tablets
just need time. I don't need food.
Er... Hey, Al? Listen, do you
mind if I go in and babysit Robey?
No, he's mine.
He's not gonna go
anywhere for five minutes.
Go ahead.
All right?
- Mr Robey?
- Yeah.
- You busy?
- Nah.
Everybody who comes in here starts
to scratch their initials on that table.
- Can I see?
- I wasn't really doin' anythin'.
So there's really
not much to see.
You know you have time,
you start scratchin' your initials.
- You know, huh?
- Mmm.
- I'm Captain um... Detective Russert.
- Alex.
- Hey. You tired?
- Nah.
Can I, er, get you a coffee?
Those two detectives that I'm helpin'
out, they're bringin' me some coffee.
- You helpin' out too?
- Me? Er, no.
No. I'm, er... I'm not
involved in this case.
Well, er, yesterday
I was a captain...
and then I got busted
down to detective.
- So I'm nobody.
- You got what?
I got demoted.
Yeah. Yesterday, I had my own personal
assistant chasing after coffee for me.
Now I gotta stand in
line like everybody else,
hopin' the pot's not empty
when I get to the front, you know?
How's that happen?
Someone decided.
Now I'm out.
'Nobody.
You know, I think
you ought to go.'
But those two detectives,
they're gonna get...
- You want somethin'?
- They went to breakfast.
They've forgotten all about you.
I ain't hungry anyway.
I'm not a breakfast person.
- Frank? You bring Mr Robey coffee?
- So tell me again.
How is it you happen
to be at the shootings?
- How do you take your coffee?
- Straight, black.
- One black coffee.
- Excuse me?
- Bring Mr Robey a coffee, please.
- I get his coffee? This is my interview.
Mr Robey and I were
having a conversation.
I was just telling him
about my demotion.
She says she's a nobody.
She's not a nobody.
Just because somebody
makes a decision about her.
- That doesn't make her a nobody.
- You understand?
A black coffee?
- What do you want?
- Me? Nothing. I'm fine.
You should have something.
Whoa! What do you want?
Nothin'. I'm fine.
If you were gonna get it for
yourself, what would you get?
Tea.
I wanna tea and a coffee.
How do you take your tea?
One sugar.
A black coffee,
a tea, one sugar.
You think you can remember that?
- Havin' a nice day?
- So far.
Good.
Black coffee, tea with sugar,
black tea, coffee with sugar.
I'm bringin' a side of sugar.
- He's got a temper.
- Yeah, well, he is who he is.
- Thanks.
- For what?
- For asking for me.
- No problem.
I appreciate it though.
He's gonna get me coffee,
he can't get you somethin'?
I can't get anyone to pay
attention to what I say anymore.
Doesn't mean it
has to stay that way.
Oh, yes it does.
Then you just have to
make 'em pay attention.
You do somethin'.
That guy doing the shootings
today, he's doing somethin'.
Yeah, but I can't go round killing
innocent people, like he does.
Everyone's paying
attention though, huh?
I dunno. All the network news
people are gettin' tired of him fast.
- They're losin' interest.
- They're wrong. This guy's dangerous.
You know why?
He's more dangerous than
Mariner. Nobody knows who he is.
- He's a mystery man.
- What good does that do him?
What?
If nobody knows who he
really is, he's still a nobody.
- And a cheap imitation at that.
- Cheap?
- Yeah.
- Seen how he shut the city down?
He didn't start it though.
Mariner was the guy who lit
up the city with his first shots.
This other guy,
he's not original.
This is not a nobody
they're dealing with.
Mariner was a player, he knew
all this attention would come to him.
This other guy doesn't
want the attention.
- Sure he does.
- He's a copycat, a phoney.
Don't say that. I told
you, he's dangerous.
I saw the bodies of
the people he shot.
OK.
- Tea, one sugar.
- Huh!
- That's mine black, right?
- Yup.
- Hey!
- I need it more than you.
He said he'd get me coffee.
So what happens if this guy
doesn't stand up for the shootings?
- It gives someone else an idea.
- An idea about what?
About someone else taking
credit for the shootings today.
A copycat of a copycat?
Someone who's gonna
grab the attention.
The shooter wouldn't have
as interesting a story as the guy
who said he did, but he didn't.
- That's not right.
- There's a right or wrong in this?
Every other person is in some
rush to reinvent themselves,
to get out of bein' a nobody.
But anyone would know
right off who was for real,
and who's takin' credit for
somethin' that ain't theirs.
Nobody's gonna take
credit for somethin' I did.
- Like the shootings today?
- Well...
It ain't right when somebody says
they're somebody that they're not.
So you were at both crime scenes
today because you wanna take the credit?
I deserve the credit, don't I?
Well, no one should
take away what's yours.
I'm not a copycat.
I'm an original.
I had the idea before
this Mariner guy.
He just beat me to the punch,
that's all. I should have been first.
I've had this idea for years.
You tell those newspeople that
it was me today, nobody else.
- I'm gonna read you your rights.
- I'm not a nobody.
Can I get coffee now?
I want somethin' new. Ooh.
- An egg cream. Chocolate.
- OK. Usual? Coffee and a club soda?
Mm-hm.
- Platform shoes.
- What about 'em?
They're back. Women
are wearin' them again.
Along with beads, leather
vests, bellbottom pants.
- Platform shoes?
- Check it out, Tim. See for yourself.
We ran out of new ideas
somewhere around 1978.
Since, we've been repeatin'
ourselves - same songs and clothes.
Even the same crimes.
Like Robey, no imagination.
He's just part of
the rhythm of all this.
This is 1996. Here comes
the millennium. Hmm?
But people are nervous. They're
on edge. They're jumpy. Huh?
This is supposed to be somethin'
new. But we can't look that in the face.
So what do we do? Grab
somethin' from the '50s,
little of somethin' from
another year, late '60s.
We think we're
creatin' somethin' new,
but all we're doin' is just
repeatin' the same old... nothin'.
We're all copycats. Right?
Frank, where haven't I
heard all this before? Huh?
- Well...
- Coffee for you.
- Club soda for the lady.
- Thank you.
And a chocolate egg cream.
Hey, Frank, computers,
the Internet. All that is new.
- This is not an egg cream.
- Sure it is.
I know what an egg cream
tastes like. This is watery.
They probably used low-fat milk.
- It's a little bit different.
- Then it is not an egg cream!
So here it is. We take a
perfectly good beverage,
which is fine in its original
form, and we make it undrinkable.
- I'm gettin' outta here.
- Take it easy.
- No, I'm gone.
- Goin' home?
I'm outta here.
- Goodnight, Frank.
- Thanks a lot.
- Mmm. Well, my coffee's just fine.
- So's my club soda.
So you gonna stay in Homicide?
I have to go apologise to my daughter
for not coming to her piano recital.
Oh, right. Ah, thank you.
I gotta tell you, I'm glad
you're back to being a detective.
- Really?
- Mmm.
- Was I that bad at being a captain?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
You see, instead of being one of
the bosses, you bucked the bosses.
You fought for us,
did the right thing.
So you sucked as a captain
because you were
too much of an original.
Well, hooray for me!
and cold this morning, warming up
'with a few sunny breaks.'
- I thought I heard you come in.
- Hi, sweetie.
Good to have you home.
- You must be exhausted.
- How are you? How's the baby?
Your child has no sympathy
for a working mother.
He or she has been
up all night, kickboxing.
- You felt a kick?
- Mm-hm.
I don't feel anythin'.
No, of course not. Now that I'm
wide awake, the baby's asleep.
Smart child. Sleep,
what a terrific idea.
I'll get it.
Hello. Yes, he's here,
hold on just a second.
It's Lieutenant Giardello.
Yeah, Gee.
No! I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there.
- I'll be right there. Argh!
There's been another
sniper shooting. Three down.
- I thought you caught the sniper?
- So did we.
- I gotta go back to work.
- Frank!
I'll call you soon as I can.
I thought we closed the sniper
case, that he killed himself?
Two hours later
another shooting.
I guess William Mariner
had an accomplice.
Everything indicated
he worked alone.
We'll need to make a press
statement. Keep the media out.
Avis Griffin, the new
Public Information Officer.
- Work with her on coverin' your ass.
- Shouldn't be here without a vest.
Somebody get Colonel
Barnfather and Miss Griffin a Kevlar.
- Get those helicopters outta here.
- The Commissioner ordered them.
We gotta sniper. All we need
is for him to shoot one down.
They found shell
casings on the tower.
- Who's up on the roof as primary?
- Your guy, Pembleton.
That sky jockey tries that
again, I'll give him permission
to shoot the son-of-a-bitch
down. Shoot him down!
You're out for your mornin'
jog and hear gunshots?
I come runnin' down the block
and hear this crack-crack-crack.
- You saw the shots? Which direction?
- From up there.
- And you were where?
- Right here.
- Right where?
- Right here. Standing.
You know when you
hear a bug or mosquito
buzzing around your
ears? It's... like that.
The Woman falls there, the
guy's got this tray of bread, it falls.
Did you see any
of the victims hit?
With all the gunshots goin' on
around here, I'm gonna look?
I'd end up in the meat wagon.
I'm standin' round all
these people gettin' shot,
I think to myself, "If
I move, I'll get shot."
- Yeah, OK. What's your name?
- Helena Aegis.
Alex Robey.
30 calibre rifle. Looks like
an entire clip was shot off.
We're now assuming that
Mariner had an accomplice.
At the other shootings
there was a hangman game.
How come there's
no hangman game?
It takes two to play
hangman, and Mariner's dead.
Right, it takes two
to play hangman.
- Watcha got over there?
- Fibres. Maybe wood.
If it is, it could be from
the shooter's rifle stock.
This shootin' is eight
hours after Mount Vernon?
- Yeah.
- Exactly eight hours?
Yeah. Can I help
you with that vest?
- You think I'm helpless?
- I don't. No.
We've got three tentative IDs -
Susan Darowz, the guy with
the bread is Neal Ferdette,
and the third guy, he's an
Arabber, his name is William Wixson.
- Any addresses?
- Uh-huh. She works where she fell.
The breadman's from Towson,
Arabber's from Sandtown.
- Notify the next of kin.
- Something I always look forward to.
- Maybe we'll get lucky.
- How's that?
Maybe the two guys
won't have no families.
I am so damn tired.
My eyes are so far back in my head
I'm seeing things from years away.
Pembleton, Bayliss. Over to
the Mariner house, talk to the wife.
Find out if Mariner had
any angry compadres.
- On our way.
- I'm waitin' for lab results, Gee.
- I'll get Russert to cover that.
- Captain Russert?
Barnfather demoted her.
- I heard rumours.
- We don't have time for rumours.
Please get going.
- Hey. Got your message. Saw it on TV.
- The crap's flying again.
The Colonel told me not to come
back until he made a decision
on where to assign me.
- I need you here. OK?
- He'll have my head, and yours.
- I'll take care of Barnfather.
- How?
- I'll ignore him.
- That's not gonna take care of him.
My grandfather, who
was Italian, used to say,
"Never stand in the
way of your enemies
"when they're trying
to destroy themselves."
We've got access requests from
The New York Times, Washington Post,
and someone asked us
for a hotel recommendation.
We're the Chamber of Commerce?
NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN
are sending their first teams,
they wanna know where
to set up their satellite.
Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings,
Dan Rather, Bernie Shaw,
have all requested
media access passes.
You're Public
Relations, you handle it.
I'm beat to hell, a
shower would be nice.
Mariner and somebody
slaughter nine people,
then Mariner blows his brains out
while I stand guessing hangman letters.
Now somebody shoots three
people, and you wanna take a shower!
Saving Mariner's life
wasn't your responsibility.
- I was the primary. I let him die!
- You did your job!
Nine names in red go to black.
So Mariner smoked himself.
- So what?
- Wait a minute. What are you sayin'?
You're always tellin' me that
everybody belongs to God.
Nine innocent victims. If I
were God, I'd have a hard time
holding Mariner and innocent
people in the same light.
I don't have energy enough to
care. Today we got three new victims.
Well, hate to tell you
this, today is still yesterday.
Did I tell you I was tired?
Come 4 o'clock, if we don't get this
guy, it won't matter what you tell me.
Let's go talk to the Merry
Widow, Mrs Mariner.
Maybe she's got
something to say.
We've had three more
victims this morning.
I got the wakeup call
from WBAL this morning,
they wanna know which
of Bill's friends did this.
Which one of them would have?
I don't know. Maybe
Bill wasn't guilty.
You're the cop
who killed my Dad.
- No... What's your son's name?
- What does that matter to you?
- Your husband had a best friend?
- Someone who'd want to avenge him?
No, someone who might have
assisted him in these killings.
If Bill shot those people, he
shot any chance my children
will be able to do anything.
They'll always be the children of
some maniac who killed nine people,
and will they do the same?
Anyone at your husband's office
who... Maybe they went out for beers?
I have to find a funeral home,
someone to get Bill's
body outta the morgue.
Everyone's calling him a maniac,
I've gotta find someone that's
gonna bury this maniac for his children.
I've been thinking who to
invite, what kinda service.
Any ideas? Know anyone
who'd want to come and bury Bill?
- Who would?
- You wanna come to his funeral?
You were the last
one he talked to.
Excuse me!
Do you have any children?
Are there any suspects?
I was just joggin'. I
run six miles a day.
- You saw something?
- Not a good idea to talk to reporters.
- I'll be back in a minute.
- Thank you.
- You guys witnesses too?
- Family of the victims.
- We'll go upstairs.
- Don't talk to the press.
I'm always making
a spectacle of myself.
Anything that you say jeopardises
my ongoin' investigation.
- Told you that at the crime scene.
- I'll go home.
- Need a lift?
- No, I got my car.
I'll get this gentleman
to walk you to your car.
If anything else comes
to me about this morning...
- Yeah, give me a call.
- Right.
Anything from Pembleton?
He said Mrs Mariner wasn't
forthcoming in offering information
as to who might be
involved with her husband.
They're on their way to the insurance
company where Mariner worked.
Stay on top of it.
Check with Quantico.
See how they're comin'
with that psych profile.
Brodie, go to the Mariner house.
Videotape anyone
coming in or going out.
Anyone who brings flowers or a
casserole becomes a Kodak moment.
Munch! Oh, man! Have
you seen Detective Munch?
- The ME and Firearms reports?
- I sent Shabazz to Firearms.
Shell casings were 308 calibre,
same as the rifle Mariner used.
- I'm goin' to ME's, soon as I find John.
- I got the CJIS printout.
Computer banks don't show any
recent parolees from Jessup or anywhere
with a history of killing with a rifle.
Just knives, tire irons and handguns.
- Any connection with the Mariners?
- No.
- Come with me.
- Things to do.
- I'm not askin' you out on a date.
- You're the sarge.
You're interviewin'
the victims' families?
Yeah. One's a mess, the
other one's cool as can be.
Any family member who isn't busted
up now will be hysterical in an hour.
- And the wife who is busted up?
- She'll be hysterical in an hour too.
You and Lewis, dance
the dance carefully.
We're lookin' for any
link to William Mariner.
Wait a second.
The woman was killed with a
shot that entered from what angle?
- 45 degree angle.
- Let me see the autopsy diagram.
They were all shot
from a rooftop, right?
Whoa! What are you doing?
That guy puts me in Siberia to
park again, I'll kick his teeth in.
Whoa! Easy does it, John.
- Get out of the way, you idiot.
- Slow down, what's the matter, John?
Take it easy, huh?
Are you outta your mind?
You're gonna get us
killed. Whoa! Let me drive.
- Stay in the car!
- What are you...
- Stay in the car!
- What the matter?
Not gonna get you killed. Not
worried about the sniper getting me.
One shot to my noggin,
lights out, that's fine.
But I'm not gonna be sittin' here
and watch you get shot again.
What?
You think I could ever forget you,
Stan and Beau getting shot down?
I say to Gee, "They ruined
my shoes with their blood."
I was so whacked out
from seeing your blood, I...
- I couldn't do anything.
- All right.
It's not. No more first names,
I'm Munch, you're Howard.
That's the way it's gotta be.
Mariner's co-workers
were no help.
We have to lean
on the wife more.
We could try to get an order for a
wiretap on the Mariner phone lines.
Or we could go back to the house,
get the kids away from the mother.
- Maybe they'd give up the name.
- The boy thinks you killed his father.
Come on. Hey! What's
the damn hold-up?
Some kind of nonsense
goin' on up there.
'Delta one-five.'
There's a sniper on
the roof! There he is!
Get in the car!
We have a call on some
guy on the rooftop with a rifle.
The report of a sniper
proved to be a false alarm.
Yet the fear of a report of
someone on a rooftop, is quite real.
The mother who ran to safety with
her children can testify to that fear.
Schools are being closed early,
hospitals are on emergency alert,
and homeowners are
boarding up their windows
as if a hurricane alert
had just been issued.
- Mary, we're goin' home.
- What?
- I'm safe here.
- Let's go.
- Frank, look, stop it.
- Don't make a scene.
OK, fine. Tim, leave,
and take him with you.
- I can't do that, Mary.
- You are with child, our child.
You will not endanger yourself.
I'm only in danger because you're
here, instead of catching the imbecile.
I can't have you runnin'
around downtown.
You can get scared for
me, but I can't for you?
I live through this every day.
- This is different!
- No, it isn't.
You always say to me, this is the
job. You know what, this is my job.
- I'm not leavin' until I finish it.
- Tim, get over and grab this desk.
- Give me a hand.
- Yeah, sure.
I have work on this
desk. Frank, stop it.
We're movin' this desk away from
the window, or it's goin' out the window.
And these stayed closed.
- What are the odds of bein' shot?
- I wish you would give in to me.
I am not giving in to hysteria.
- What are you doing?
- Raise your arms.
- I'll see you tonight.
- And I'll see you, OK?
OK.
OK. Shooting areas
from yesterday.
Highlandtown, Collington
Square, Mount Vernon.
This morning, the clock tower.
What's the distance between
Highlandtown and Collington Square?
Highlandtown to the
clock tower, a mile.
From the clock tower to
Mount Vernon, that's half a mile.
So all the shootings took place
in a perimeter around downtown?
The shootings are
comin' in a circular pattern.
So maybe somewhere in
Little Italy's the next shootin'.
Check with the Maths
Department at Hopkins.
See if there's some kind of
probability factor operatin' here.
This is the third
time I've called.
No, I don't remember
exactly who we talked to.
I've got interview and access to the
crime scene requests from all over.
What kind of rifle?
Capable of holding a magazine
that'll fire off 15 to 20 rounds.
You've come up with a psych
profile for Mariner's accomplice?
I know that you're
workin' on it, but I have...
I have calls from the
French, Japanese, Brits.
If Mariner's buddy stays true to
form, he starts shootin' in eight minutes.
What comes to mind is
something like an M1A carbine.
What range would
our shooter have?
Five, six city blocks. An M1A with
attachable Nikon or Leopold scope
could command a half-mile
radius from point of location.
- How many rifles like that?
- ATF faxed us these numbers.
We got maybe four
dozen local registrations.
There could be hundreds. They weren't
required to be registered before 1990.
Lovely. That's sublime.
The Governor's ready to
call out The National Guard.
That sends the message
we've lost control.
The Guard would give
citizens a sense of security.
The Guard has no experience
in leadin' a criminal investigation.
What's Russert doing here?
Math whizzes think that
probability curve has our shooter
between Little Italy
and Inner Harbor.
- Notify QRT.
- You got it, Gee.
I don't want Megan Russert
anywhere near this case.
I can't see anythin' with
you standing in my way.
Excuse me.
You know I've watched those
broadcasts from Belfast and Beirut
and I used to think, "Man, if I
could only have been there..."
This could be Jerusalem,
this could be Sarajevo.
I don't need to go there.
Gettin' it all here, Baltimore.
This is not Belfast,
this ain't Sarajevo.
- Get out of my way!
- Excuse me.
I was ordered to Little Italy.
My unit's there, and we're
back in Highlandtown?
Lewis was operatin' off
mathematical probabilities.
- We could've been here.
- You're here now. Do your damn job.
The mayor. Now
we'll get some action.
Mr Mayor!
Are you gonna appoint
a special task force?
He's this young kid,
sitting in front of me.
His head... And then all this
glass is flying everywhere.
- His head, then the glass?
- Did you hear gunshots?
- No, just the glass.
- Detective Lewis?
I... I saw it.
How you guys doin'?
Hey, Mr Robey.
What you doin' here?
I live right there.
Second floor, rowhouse.
- Hey, Frank, Tim.
- Hang on a second.
I want you to meet
somebody. This is Mr Robey.
- Mr Robey helped us out this morning.
- Really?
Oh, great. This mornin'?
- And here?
- Uh-huh.
Would you have a few minutes to
come down to headquarters with us?
- Whatever you guys need.
- Why don't you take a ride with us?
- Go with you guys?
- Yeah.
- All right.
- OK. We're right over here.
- We'll get a search warrant, OK?
- OK.
Yesterday, three incidents - Collington
Square, Highlandtown, Mount Vernon.
- Nine people down. Today...
- Clock tower, 8 AM. Three hit.
This afternoon, Highlandtown again.
Another two. The bus, shot dead.
Right. So this is
where we get confused.
- You see, we catch the one guy...
- William Mariner.
William Mariner.
'Sniper Kills Self.
Baltimore Siege Ends.'
- Excuse me?
- New York Times.
- THE New York Times?
- Early edition.
January 12, 1996.
Section B, page
twelve, column four.
Right. Right.
So this William Mariner, he
shoots himself durin' the arrest.
- You there?
- Yeah.
Did he say anythin'
before he shot himself?
Doesn't matter.
He dies and we reckon this
Red Ball is over. Right, Frank?
- Mm-hm.
- Right. So everyone can breathe easy.
'Baltimore Stunned.
Relieved As Sniper Dies'.
- New York Times again?
- Washington Post.
Front page. With a picture of a woman
sprinting away from Collington Square,
one shoe off, mouth
wide open, screaming. Ah!
This the picture there?
Baltimore Sun, Boston
Globe, Chicago Tribune.
Now all these
clippings, we found them.
They came out of your john, Alex.
You one of those toilet intellectuals?
You need something to
read to keep you regular?
Why don't you... Why don't you tell
us what happened at the clock tower?
- I already told the other guys.
- Well, tell us again. In detail.
Start with what you
were doing there.
- I was running.
- Anywhere in particular?
- Was someone chasin' you?
- No. Jogging. My usual route.
Runnin' past the market,
and I hear gunshots.
- Then what did you see?
- Blood.
- Did you see anything unusual?
- What do you mean?
You haven't told us anything we
couldn't read on your wallpaper.
See anything that
might lead to a shooter?
- Like what?
- Any drawings on the pavement?
Drawings? What drawings?
- Do you remember seeing any?
- No!
How about the bus crime
scene? Any artwork there?
Like graffiti. Is that
what you mean?
Do you recognise this, Alex?
- It's chalk.
- Chalk.
- It's 12 pieces.
- Mm-hm.
All right? Of school
certified Da Vinci chalk. OK?
- Mm-hm.
- All right. See that?
Multiple colours, as you
can see. Yellow, such.
Now, William Mariner used
to use this kind of chalk.
In fact, this box
here belonged to him.
Used it for what?
Let me get this straight.
- You don't know William Mariner?
- I don't know him.
Two shootings,
one on your block,
and you just happen to be joggin'
by one of the scenes of the incidents?
- So?
- So that strikes me as unlikely.
That's odd enough,
coincidence enough.
That makes me think that
maybe, maybe you're the target.
You're the target.
Maybe you're the target.
Frank. Yes.
- That's it.
- Yes.
The sniper shot the other
people instead. It was an accident.
- Me? The target.
- Yeah.
You must have done
somethin' to piss this guy off.
Why would someone
wanna shoot me?
We isolate motive, we better
our chances of catching him.
- What comes to mind, Tim.
- Money?
- Always a popular motive.
- You owe anyone, Robey?
You got life insurance?
Got a policy there, Alex?
Maybe some family members
who wanna cash in on it?
- Don't have life insurance.
- Oh.
- Don't have a family.
- What about women? An affair?
- An affair?
- Yeah.
An affair would be the answer.
You sleep with some other guy's wife.
That's gonna send
him over the edge.
I can look at these shootings, I can
picture them as crimes of passion.
- Absolutely.
- Uh-huh.
- I don't have a girlfriend.
- No girlfriend?
- Nobody you're dating? Even casually?
- Look, I'm not the damn target!
Those dead delivery guys,
they were the target. OK?
'You guys are supposed to
figure out who pulled the trigger.
'This is about the shooter.
He's the important one here.
- 'Ain't he? '
- 'OK, Robey.'
- Get outta here.
- Huh?
- What?
- You're free to go.
No more questions?
- No! Go home.
- I can come back.
Didn't you hear? Leave!
You are of no help to us!
I can wait outside... in
case you change your mind.
- No, thank you.
- I'm helpin' you catch the sniper.
- You're a waste of time!
- What?
- A loser. Worst of all, a bore.
- I am not.
Perhaps the most borin'
man to set foot in this room!
We get all kinds in here. People
who kill for all kinds of reasons.
- Lust!
- Revenge.
- Drugs.
- Power.
- Plain old hate.
- People kill their husbands, wives.
- Mothers, fathers...
- Sons, daughters...
- Lovers. Teachers...
- Neighbours. Strangers.
- They kill in all kinds of ways.
- Shootings.
- Stabbing. Drowning.
- Hanging. Burning.
They sit across
from us at this table.
- Some of 'em are stupid!
- Uh-huh.
Some of 'em are
crazy, some are mean.
- That's right.
- But none of them are boring.
- I need some coffee.
- Yep.
I gotta get some air.
Can I have some coffee too?
- He doesn't know Mariner.
- Never met him.
Doesn't know about
the chalk drawings.
- Who is he then?
- Mr Robey fits our psych profile.
White male, early thirties.
A loner with no prior record.
Lives in the neighbourhood,
hanging round asking questions.
He knows what
Mariner did yesterday.
He watches the city explode,
and he wants in on the action.
We don't have any hard
evidence to connect him to Mariner.
- There is no connection to Mariner.
- He's a copycat.
A copycat.
A copycat.
We can hold this guy, Robey,
48 hours on probable cause.
Go home, get a shower,
get yourselves some sleep.
Give me ten minutes for
these to kick in, I'll nail his ass.
I'll be back in a second.
Haven't gone to the
bathroom in two days.
The press has got the information
we have someone in custody.
We're interviewing witnesses.
That's the song I gave them,
but they're not dancing to it.
Barnfather and his Public
Information rummy, where are they?
- Breakfast.
- Oh.
- Frank.
- I'm not asleep.
Get somethin' to eat.
The coffee and the caffeine tablets
just need time. I don't need food.
Er... Hey, Al? Listen, do you
mind if I go in and babysit Robey?
No, he's mine.
He's not gonna go
anywhere for five minutes.
Go ahead.
All right?
- Mr Robey?
- Yeah.
- You busy?
- Nah.
Everybody who comes in here starts
to scratch their initials on that table.
- Can I see?
- I wasn't really doin' anythin'.
So there's really
not much to see.
You know you have time,
you start scratchin' your initials.
- You know, huh?
- Mmm.
- I'm Captain um... Detective Russert.
- Alex.
- Hey. You tired?
- Nah.
Can I, er, get you a coffee?
Those two detectives that I'm helpin'
out, they're bringin' me some coffee.
- You helpin' out too?
- Me? Er, no.
No. I'm, er... I'm not
involved in this case.
Well, er, yesterday
I was a captain...
and then I got busted
down to detective.
- So I'm nobody.
- You got what?
I got demoted.
Yeah. Yesterday, I had my own personal
assistant chasing after coffee for me.
Now I gotta stand in
line like everybody else,
hopin' the pot's not empty
when I get to the front, you know?
How's that happen?
Someone decided.
Now I'm out.
'Nobody.
You know, I think
you ought to go.'
But those two detectives,
they're gonna get...
- You want somethin'?
- They went to breakfast.
They've forgotten all about you.
I ain't hungry anyway.
I'm not a breakfast person.
- Frank? You bring Mr Robey coffee?
- So tell me again.
How is it you happen
to be at the shootings?
- How do you take your coffee?
- Straight, black.
- One black coffee.
- Excuse me?
- Bring Mr Robey a coffee, please.
- I get his coffee? This is my interview.
Mr Robey and I were
having a conversation.
I was just telling him
about my demotion.
She says she's a nobody.
She's not a nobody.
Just because somebody
makes a decision about her.
- That doesn't make her a nobody.
- You understand?
A black coffee?
- What do you want?
- Me? Nothing. I'm fine.
You should have something.
Whoa! What do you want?
Nothin'. I'm fine.
If you were gonna get it for
yourself, what would you get?
Tea.
I wanna tea and a coffee.
How do you take your tea?
One sugar.
A black coffee,
a tea, one sugar.
You think you can remember that?
- Havin' a nice day?
- So far.
Good.
Black coffee, tea with sugar,
black tea, coffee with sugar.
I'm bringin' a side of sugar.
- He's got a temper.
- Yeah, well, he is who he is.
- Thanks.
- For what?
- For asking for me.
- No problem.
I appreciate it though.
He's gonna get me coffee,
he can't get you somethin'?
I can't get anyone to pay
attention to what I say anymore.
Doesn't mean it
has to stay that way.
Oh, yes it does.
Then you just have to
make 'em pay attention.
You do somethin'.
That guy doing the shootings
today, he's doing somethin'.
Yeah, but I can't go round killing
innocent people, like he does.
Everyone's paying
attention though, huh?
I dunno. All the network news
people are gettin' tired of him fast.
- They're losin' interest.
- They're wrong. This guy's dangerous.
You know why?
He's more dangerous than
Mariner. Nobody knows who he is.
- He's a mystery man.
- What good does that do him?
What?
If nobody knows who he
really is, he's still a nobody.
- And a cheap imitation at that.
- Cheap?
- Yeah.
- Seen how he shut the city down?
He didn't start it though.
Mariner was the guy who lit
up the city with his first shots.
This other guy,
he's not original.
This is not a nobody
they're dealing with.
Mariner was a player, he knew
all this attention would come to him.
This other guy doesn't
want the attention.
- Sure he does.
- He's a copycat, a phoney.
Don't say that. I told
you, he's dangerous.
I saw the bodies of
the people he shot.
OK.
- Tea, one sugar.
- Huh!
- That's mine black, right?
- Yup.
- Hey!
- I need it more than you.
He said he'd get me coffee.
So what happens if this guy
doesn't stand up for the shootings?
- It gives someone else an idea.
- An idea about what?
About someone else taking
credit for the shootings today.
A copycat of a copycat?
Someone who's gonna
grab the attention.
The shooter wouldn't have
as interesting a story as the guy
who said he did, but he didn't.
- That's not right.
- There's a right or wrong in this?
Every other person is in some
rush to reinvent themselves,
to get out of bein' a nobody.
But anyone would know
right off who was for real,
and who's takin' credit for
somethin' that ain't theirs.
Nobody's gonna take
credit for somethin' I did.
- Like the shootings today?
- Well...
It ain't right when somebody says
they're somebody that they're not.
So you were at both crime scenes
today because you wanna take the credit?
I deserve the credit, don't I?
Well, no one should
take away what's yours.
I'm not a copycat.
I'm an original.
I had the idea before
this Mariner guy.
He just beat me to the punch,
that's all. I should have been first.
I've had this idea for years.
You tell those newspeople that
it was me today, nobody else.
- I'm gonna read you your rights.
- I'm not a nobody.
Can I get coffee now?
I want somethin' new. Ooh.
- An egg cream. Chocolate.
- OK. Usual? Coffee and a club soda?
Mm-hm.
- Platform shoes.
- What about 'em?
They're back. Women
are wearin' them again.
Along with beads, leather
vests, bellbottom pants.
- Platform shoes?
- Check it out, Tim. See for yourself.
We ran out of new ideas
somewhere around 1978.
Since, we've been repeatin'
ourselves - same songs and clothes.
Even the same crimes.
Like Robey, no imagination.
He's just part of
the rhythm of all this.
This is 1996. Here comes
the millennium. Hmm?
But people are nervous. They're
on edge. They're jumpy. Huh?
This is supposed to be somethin'
new. But we can't look that in the face.
So what do we do? Grab
somethin' from the '50s,
little of somethin' from
another year, late '60s.
We think we're
creatin' somethin' new,
but all we're doin' is just
repeatin' the same old... nothin'.
We're all copycats. Right?
Frank, where haven't I
heard all this before? Huh?
- Well...
- Coffee for you.
- Club soda for the lady.
- Thank you.
And a chocolate egg cream.
Hey, Frank, computers,
the Internet. All that is new.
- This is not an egg cream.
- Sure it is.
I know what an egg cream
tastes like. This is watery.
They probably used low-fat milk.
- It's a little bit different.
- Then it is not an egg cream!
So here it is. We take a
perfectly good beverage,
which is fine in its original
form, and we make it undrinkable.
- I'm gettin' outta here.
- Take it easy.
- No, I'm gone.
- Goin' home?
I'm outta here.
- Goodnight, Frank.
- Thanks a lot.
- Mmm. Well, my coffee's just fine.
- So's my club soda.
So you gonna stay in Homicide?
I have to go apologise to my daughter
for not coming to her piano recital.
Oh, right. Ah, thank you.
I gotta tell you, I'm glad
you're back to being a detective.
- Really?
- Mmm.
- Was I that bad at being a captain?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
You see, instead of being one of
the bosses, you bucked the bosses.
You fought for us,
did the right thing.
So you sucked as a captain
because you were
too much of an original.
Well, hooray for me!