Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999): Season 5, Episode 18 - Double Blind - full transcript

- He's gonna kill her!
- Try to calm down.

- Sarge.
- You have to make him stop!

Keep the pink copy.
Your father hits you?

- He beats my mother! Can't you listen?
- I'm trying to.

He hurts her!

- Has she made a complaint?
- No, she's afraid.

Listen, if the victim isn't gonna complain,
we don't have enough to file charges.

So, what do I do? Go home and
watch my father kill my mother?

What the hell is
wrong with you people?

Am I wrong? Weren't you and
Steve Crosetti jazz fusion people?

Fusion, bebop, R&B. Let
me break it down for you.



Break it down for me, please.

To understand Chick Corea, you
gotta comprehend Charlie Parker.

Comprehend!

To dig Charlie Parker, you
got to love Louis Jordan.

To love Louis Jordan, you've
got to know T-Bone Walker.

You catch all that?

Since you're an expert on black music,
where's Teddy Pendergrass in all this?

Teddy who?

Blind or no blind, if you're
gonna disrespect Theodore,

I'm gonna come across this
table, I'm gonna kick your ass.

I'd like to propose a toast.

To the second annual Steve
Crosetti Memorial Night on the Town.

- The little salami brain is still missed.
- To Steve.

To Steve. Come on, drink up. Crosetti
thought a hell of a lot of you, you know.



You was the best street
cop he ever field-trained.

And, Thormann, he also said you were
too damn smart to be Baltimore police.

- Too smart to be a police, huh?
- Yeah, that's what he said.

Well, if I was so smart,
I wouldn't be blind.

Hey, hey. Hey, Chris, you OK?

324 to KGA.

Charles Flavin?

- Flavin.
- Come on, bitch. Move.

In pursuit of two suspects in
the alley at Fairmount and Spring.

- Let's go.
- Come on, man.

- Grab the wall! Grab some wall now!
- Say what?

This is bull. I ain't
done a damn thing.

- No! Get off of him!
- Step back. Stand back!

No, Charlie! No!

No. No!

Yeah.

You know it.

Chris, let's go home.

'Male victim, multiple
gunshot wounds.'

- HarborView Towers, apartment 610.
- Murder with a view.

- Bayliss, who do you want to take with?
- I get to choose?

You get to choose.

Pembleton.

- Me?
- Is that a problem?

- No.
- Good.

I'll get Brodie to
meet you downstairs.

- Together again.
- For the first time.

- You wanna drive?
- Yeah.

So what've we got?

Franz Rader. He lives here with a
wife, Lucille, and a daughter, Billie.

- What's Billie short for?
- Wilhemina, maybe?

- So where are they?
- No sign of either of 'em.

- Anybody else around?
- Front door was open.

Neighbours heard shots. By the time
anybody took a peek, shooter'd gone.

- Yeah, slow neighbours. I hate that.
- That looks to be your weapon.

- Is that where you found it?
- Haven't touched it.

We got multiple chest wounds, an
open door and a weapon in the living room.

It's gonna be hell writing this one
up as a suicide, I'll tell you that much.

What we have are three
entrances in the upper chest,

exit wound in the back of the right
thigh, suggesting a severe angle of entry.

Downward?

Either your shooter plays
low post for an NBA franchise...

The victim was on his knees.

- That's very good, Brodie.
- Elementary, my dear Bayliss.

- You ready to rock'n'roll here?
- Pull!

No other exit wounds. I'll bet you
find your slug on the floor somewhere.

Gonna get your other
two when I open him up.

So what sort of man gets shot in his
own kitchen in the middle of the day?

Franz Rader was a chef.

I can't believe they went through
with it, moved Cal Ripken to third.

- Blasphemy.
- What?

What's next?

Blue crabs with drawn butter? The
Union Jack flying over Fort McHenry?

I guess maybe old
Cal's lost a step.

You Lewis?

No, you're looking for
the blasphemer to my right.

- What's up?
- Mack Reich.

I'm an investigator for the
State Parole Commission.

You worked a
shooting in March '93.

The defendant was a Charles Flavin.
The victim was a Christopher Thormann.

- Yeah, I know Charles Flavin.
- I just need to look at your case file.

- Why?
- Flavin's up for parole.

He beat her. Lucille's
always covering up bruises.

I said, "Talk to the police."

Her daughter Billie, she wasn't
afraid. You could hear her shouting.

- Did they fight a lot?
- Yeah.

- Franz'd get back from the restaurant...
- He was a chef?

- At the Italian in the Belvedere Hotel.
- Rinaldi's?

That's it. He'd get home like
2am and decide to go ten rounds.

The whole family got into it.

- Were the police ever called?
- Not that I remember.

- And they got on the elevator?
- Right after the shots.

Lucille looked terrible. Billie said
she was taking her to the hospital.

- I've gotta get to the airport.
- Frank, let's go to the hospital.

OK, uh... don't
leave town, Captain.

What?

I was kidding.

- Don't leave town?
- I've always wanted to say that.

We were in the kitchen.

I was leaning against the table.

He hit my arm. He...

Things always got better
later. He'd be so sorry.

Our daughter came home,
she saw him with the gun.

She grabbed him, the gun
fell and she picked it up.

She made him get on his knees...

her own father.

She made him beg for his life.

My Franz.

Begging.

She shot her own father.

I screamed for her to stop...

but she kept shooting.

And... where's
your daughter now?

She must be with
her boyfriend, Neil...

- Take your time.
- Passey.

- And where does this Neil live?
- I don't know.

He works at Rinaldi's.

Franz got him the job.

I'll testify... against Billie.

Pardon?

I'll testify against
my daughter.

I'm just a fact finder, Detective. I'm
not working for or against Flavin here.

I get upset about the thought that
you could shoot a cop in this town,

blind him for life, get convicted, and
four years later you're up for parole.

- That upsets me a little bit.
- It's an unusual circumstance.

- Where's your copying machine?
- Unusual circumstance?

I'm not supposed to comment
outside the hearing process.

What can't you tell me? Flavin's found
God? Or he's got a cure for cancer?

He put a gun to the head of a police
officer and compressed the trigger.

End of story.

Knock yourself out.

We're trying to learn everything
we can before the hearing.

I'll be happy to take a statement
from you, or from Detective Crosetti.

Crosetti?

He's the other investigator in
the case, right? Is he around?

How do you expect
Thormann to carry this news?

By law, the victim is always
notified of parole deliberations.

Officer Thormann received
formal notice a week ago.

A week ago?

- You wanna talk to Chris?
- Yeah, definitely.

Get outa here.
I'll cover for you.

- Thanks a lot, Sarge.
- Take your time.

Man, I haven't been
right since I got that letter.

Eva wants to move,
leave Baltimore,

put a lot of miles between
Charlie Flavin and us.

Flavin ain't gonna make parole, and if
he does, he's not gonna mess with you.

Meldrick, man...

you can't imagine how vulnerable
you feel when your world goes black.

The sounds in an empty house,

how much there is
for the mind to imagine.

On one level, I know Flavin and his
parole don't mean anything to my life.

I know we're never gonna meet again,
but then again I think about him... out...

living his life, living
like it never happened.

And it makes me crazy.

Yeah, well, you know, you
leave the department, man,

what in the hell you gonna do?

What have I been doing?

Answering phones, playing
receptionist? That's not being a police.

So take your disability pension.
Nobody's gonna blame you for that.

But if you decide to stay...

The man shot a cop. How's
he gonna make parole?

I can't even understand
how he got a hearing so quick.

- They didn't tell you?
- Tell me what?

Two months ago, when they
had that riot at MCl-Hagerstown,

the one where a few guards
got cut up and taken hostage.

Yeah, what about it?

They say Flavin carried one of
the guards out of the exercise yard,

fought to bring
him to the infirmary,

and then went back to help negotiate
the release of the other hostages.

Charlie Flavin?

Yeah.

Can you believe it?

The son of a bitch
is some kind of hero.

Hey.

Oh, hey.

What, are you going to a
dinner party or something?

No. No.

Are you?

No. I ordered a pizza at BOP's next
door, and I remembered that I'd run dry.

Huh.

- You like pepperoni?
- Excuse me?

Pepperoni. I ordered a pepperoni
pizza. I'm gonna go back to the boat.

What, is that
invitation to dinner?

Sure. You want to come over?

No, I don't think
so, but thanks.

Why not?

The last time I went to your boat,
you were in the midst of this cleaning fit.

I walked there
with my broken foot,

and you were in a complete mood,
practically suicidal or something.

Why'd you say that?

Why'd I say what?

Whatever.

Hey, wait a second.
Mike, what's the problem?

Well, I was just having a bit of
a rough time that night, that's all.

- All right.
- So you want to come over or not?

You know, pepperoni, it's
sort of been done, hasn't it?

- OK, uh... how about anchovies?
- Olives.

Olives? On pizza?

- I guess it goes with the wine.
- $31.70, please.

- All right. Anchovies and olives.
- OK.

You ever been to Rinaldi's?

On my pay, no. The Burger King
near here, that's the closest I've come.

- How about you?
- I took Mary there for our anniversary.

I miss Mary. I miss Livie. I miss
all of us, uh... being together.

Mary was miserable. She probably
should have split long before she did.

I mean, if you're that unhappy,
why stay and suffer, hmm?

You're saying that Lucille Rader
should have left her husband? Hmm?

Well, I don't know how anyone could
stay with someone who harms them.

- One time would be enough for me.
- Come on, Frank. That's pretty simple.

No one can know how they would
react unless they'd been through it.

Things happen to people, and
people just respond in different ways.

Well, the answer
is pretty simple.

As brutal as her marriage was, Lucille
Rader stayed because she wanted to.

Life with her husband had more
to offer to her than life without.

- So she's at fault?
- No, no, no. No, but she had a choice.

- She's complicit on some level.
- She is the one who was being hit.

- The one living with the fear.
- Fear?

Franz Rader's two hours dead, and
she offers to testify against her daughter?

- She doesn't know what she's saying.
- It sounded pretty damn clear to me.

- This woman is a victim.
- Of course she's a victim.

The daughter's a victim.
They're just not our victim.

Our victim's got three
holes in his pericardial sac.

I've known Franz 20 years. This is
the one thing we couldn't discuss.

I tried to talk to Lucille.

- What did she say?
- That they were working on it.

What do you do?

He was an immigrant. He was raised in
East Germany, had a horrible childhood.

We're less interested in Mr Rader's
childhood than we are in Neil Passey.

- He's a busboy. He'll be in the back.
- Can we talk to him?

- What do you mean, he left?
- He got a call around 5, an emergency.

I let him go.

Who knows where Neil
Passey went this evening?

Who knows where he lives?

- Well, you got his address in your files?
- Should be.

You gonna be all right?

Yes.

Thanks.

- What's your name?
- Bonnie Tiles.

You worked under Mister Rader?

- What was he like?
- He was wonderful.

He never yelled, ever.
He never got mad.

Always patient if
you made a mistake.

He made everyone feel relaxed.

It's like whenever he walked in
here, he suddenly got so cheerful.

- What was he like away from work?
- Away, I...

I really don't know.

What about Neil Passey?

He started working
here a few weeks ago.

Did you know he was
dating Mr Rader's daughter?

He was?

Do you know where
Neil Passey is right now?

Sorry.

OK.

Just asking. Thanks.

Franz was torn between staying here
and leaving to form his own restaurant.

Lucille pressured him constantly,
as she should, I suppose.

- She had ambitions for him. It's natural.
- Right. The address?

- Here it is.
- Thanks.

He tried to stop. Once, he
didn't touch her for over a year.

But Franz, he was an
unhappy man his whole life.

He never really got past...

I mean, you just can't go back
into his childhood and fix it, can you?

The pizza's gone and the
wine's gone, so I'm outa here.

- Well, you don't have to go.
- Oh, yeah, I do.

- Where'd I put my bag, Kellerman?
- Julianna.

Yeah?

The last time that you came to my
boat, when I was in my cleaning fit,

right?

You said that I was
practically suicidal.

Yeah.

Well, I almost did kill myself.

- I... I don't know what to say.
- You don't have to say anything.

I just wanted to tell you.

Well, I hope I haven't
totally scared you off.

- No.
- Good.

So will you stay?

You know, it works a lot
better if you push the button.

Something on your mind?

- Chris Thormann.
- He's a friend of yours?

Crosetti was his Sector OIC, broke him
in. I guess I'm kind of filling his shoes.

- So how's he doin'?
- He was doin' pretty cool up until lately.

The mope who shot him is up for parole.
I have to take Chris to the hearing.

Now, the guy's already a wreck.
I mean, what's he gonna do if...

What am I supposed to say to him
if they cut this son of a bitch loose?

- The guy's not gonna make parole.
- Yeah? I wish I could believe that.

- You'll find the right words for Chris.
- I wish I could believe that.

I for one have heard your
words when things had to get said.

You're pretty good at it.

Yeah, well, Mikey. Some people
are easier to sweet-talk than others.

- Go help your friend.
- Yeah.

Jeez!

- Hey, rise and shine.
- Ugh. What, it's my turn again?

Yeah. One hour on and one
hour off. That's what we agreed on.

Oh... oh, boy.

Oh...

- Anything?
- No.

No light, no movement.

To hell with this. Let's turn
this over to the Fugitive Squad.

- She's not Hannibal Lecter.
- She's the shooter, it's a murder.

So we wait.

- Murder?
- Yeah. What else would you call it?

Manslaughter, five
years, suspended.

Three in the chest,
on his knees?

No, she executed the guy.
Second degree and ten years.

The girl grew up in a boxing
ring. She was lucky to be alive.

That's more than
the father can say.

Two hours ago, you were all teary-eyed
about what a victim the wife was.

- The wife was hit.
- What hurts more?

Getting hit by your father or
watching your mother get hit by him?

This is close to a
justifiable homicide.

As far as we know, he never
threatened the daughter.

So, Billie Rader has no
right to shoot her father down.

- This guy's a bastard.
- Yeah, he was.

- He got what he deserved.
- He did.

Manslaughter, five
years, suspended.

It doesn't work that way.

- It doesn't?
- No.

No, you can't just go through this world
givin' every bastard what he deserves.

You can't do that.

- OK.
- I admit it. I'm sick to my stomach.

You're not gonna be
up there alone, partner.

- Eva, the speech?
- I got it.

They'll only take direct testimony
from the victim and the parole candidate,

but I stuck a letter in your file and so
did Gee, Howard and a dozen others.

Oh, yeah? Who else?

Harris from the Commissioner's
Office, Barnfather,

Ed Danvers from
the State's Attorney,

Mayor Kurt L Schmoke
of the City of Baltimore,

Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder.

Brother Ray, I knew
he'd come through.

OK, thanks. Thanks.

Rinaldi said that Neil Passey
didn't show up for work.

- Neither did Tiles.
- Tiles?

The woman doing all the crying in the
kitchen. Come on, take a ride with me.

- Hey, Bayliss.
- Yeah?

Got a present for you. Two spent 38s
from the mortal remains of Franz Rader,

one suitable for comparison.

When did the ME's
Office start to do carry-out?

- I was a little off on the trajectory.
- It was not downward?

Downward for two, and
one caught him straight on.

Uh-huh. So, uh... he was on his
knees when she shot him twice,

and flat on his back when
she delivered the parting shot.

Yes.

That's nice. That's very nice.

Still sound like a
manslaughter to you, Frank?

They just went inside.

How'd they look? They
looked tough, right?

Yeah, they looked... fierce.

Eva? How'd they look?

- I don't know, Chris, like regular people.
- But fierce.

Eva, I have to
teach you how to lie.

- Hello. You feeling better, Miss Tiles?
- What do you mean?

You called in sick today.

You need some help in there?

- Whoa!
- Billie! Billie!

- Step up against the wall! Turn around!
- No, no, no!

- I shot her father!
- No, he didn't. He didn't do anything!

- I shot the son of a bitch!
- Back off, Miss Tiles!

- She's lying, OK? I shot him!
- Don't be stupid! They know I did it!

- I'm sure my mother already told 'em!
- That's right. We know.

- You have the right to remain silent.
- I wanted to turn myself in last night!

- Don't say anything till you get a lawyer.
- I shot him and I'd shoot him again!

- You should talk to a lawyer.
- What does it matter?

Well, believe me, you
should talk to a lawyer.

- Officer Thormann?
- Yes?

You don't know me, sir, I
am a correctional officer,

a shift lieutenant assigned
to MCl-Hagerstown.

I don't know how
to say this, but I...

You're the one he saved, right?

Yes, sir.

I thought you might be here.

Yes, sir. I just...

I mean, I can understand
how you feel about Charlie.

I know I would feel
the same way if...

But after going
through what I did,

I felt it would not be right to not
come here and show some support.

- He saved my life.
- Good. That's good.

I just... Well, it wouldn't be right
not saying something to you as well.

I understand where you're at,

and I'm sorry to have to
meet you here like this.

I'm grateful for
your life, Lieutenant.

Thank you.

- Nice guy.
- Yeah, nice guy.

He never touched me.
She wouldn't let him.

I used to think she
was defending me,

but after a while, it seemed
more like she was jealous,

like getting beat up was her
special job or privilege or something.

- How often were the beatings?
- Every week sometimes.

Or not for months. The pressure
would build up and he would blow.

- How's it going?
- Smooth. She's talking her head off.

'At work, they thought he
was some kind of angel.'

- Why is it I feel so bad?
- 'What happened yesterday? '

I came home, and he was
beating her with the back of his gun.

He'd broken her arm.
She couldn't even move it.

She was crying and he was
screaming at her to shut up,

yelling that she was
always trying to push him.

And then he held the gun to
her head, and I just went crazy.

I jumped on him and we fell on the floor,
and the gun fell and I reached for it...

- So your father attacked you?
- What do you mean?

- He came at you. What did he do?
- Frank, hey.

Jeez, Pembleton!

- Can you blame him?
- Not really.

'He was more kind of stunned.'

He was still on the
ground when I got up.

- And you shot him three times.
- That's right.

- Because you thought he might...
- Frank?

I thought the
bastard might live!

- So you were in fear of your father?
- Pembleton.

When you shot him, you were in fear
of what he might do to you, your mother.

- Outside, gentlemen. Now.
- But...

Frank Pembleton,
Public Defender?

- She could cop to manslaughter.
- That's a decision for my office...

But by the time you make it, she'll
be in so deep, there'll be no saving her.

If she is so deserving, why
hasn't she just followed your lead?

I feel for the girl too, but we just can't
put words in her mouth. Do your job.

This is what I'm paid to do, pin
murder one on a girl in this situation?

No one is pinning
anything on anybody!

Three shots to the chest,
one while he was on the floor.

- We don't know that.
- Two downward trajectories.

One that was shot straight on.
That's what Cox told both of us.

How about one shot head on,
as the father was attacking her?

The mother puts Franz Rader on
his knees when the shooting starts.

That's what she says now. But by the
trial, she'll be backing up on her story.

If the mother backs up, fine.
But she's left us with murder.

Which is what it is.

That girl had the power of life and death
over a human being and chose death.

- A human being!
- Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

A bonafide wife-beating,
gun-waving member of the tribe.

You want to call that first bullet
self-defence, fine. On the house.

Second bullet, you want to say
that that was shot in fear, no problem,

we're gonna give her
a two-bullet handicap.

But the third shot, where
he is down on the floor,

he's of no threat to anyone
at all, Frank, come on.

All the premeditation
needed for first degree murder

can come in a moment between
the second and third shots.

She thinks she wants
him dead, she fires again.

Danvers is right.

We have to play the
cards as they're dealt.

Yes, sir.

Do I have anything more
to worry about in there?

No, sir.

What?

What is it?

You're the sensitive one, right?

- Here comes Charlie Flavin.
- It's him?

- He just went past.
- How'd he look at me?

He just looked. I mean, he
didn't sell no wolf tickets or nothin'.

- I wanted him to see me.
- He did. He did see you.

He did see you.

You say your father was on
his knees when you shot him?

That's right.

Was he trying to get up?

No.

What was he doing?

He was saying...

"Please, don't shoot.

"Please, don't shoot."

He was begging me.

He...

He was just begging me.

Look, no matter what,
Chris'll find a way to carry this.

You saw him. He's wrapped up in this
thing, there's no room for anything else.

He's got no... no
present, he's got no future,

he's got no past, except for
one moment on one street corner.

We were puttin' our
lives back together,

and we're back on the corner of
Spring and Fairmount with Charlie Flavin.

Chris loved being a cop.

I hated it, but he loved every
minute of it. He still does.

Even after all of this, he still wishes
he could be out there in a radio car.

And the thing is, it's
not gonna happen.

He's just gotta let go, and
not just of Charlie Flavin.

- He's gotta let go of the... jazz.
- The jazz?

Yeah, you know, the jazz that
you guys all feel, being cops.

Mrs Rader wants to talk to us.

Mrs Rader. No surprise there.

Now, for the record, we shall hear
from the victim of the extant offence,

Officer Thormann of the
Baltimore Police Department.

Should I start? Hmm?

I prepared a written statement

that, for obvious reasons,
my wife was gonna read.

It talked about who Charlie
Flavin was, who I was

and what happened the night I tried
to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.

But after sitting out there
half the day thinking on it,

I decided... I don't
want to go into all that.

I think... I mean, put it this way,
you've got all the files in front of you.

So...

why tell that story
all over again?

Anyhow...

the point is, you seem to
think that Charlie Flavin...

is a different man today
than he was four years ago.

I don't know, maybe he is.

All I can tell you is that
Chris Thormann is different,

that I am no longer the same.

I mean, if the question is whether
Charlie Flavin is ready for a new future,

then my answer
is that I don't know.

But me, uh...

I'm not there yet.

I'm still working on a future, and I
don't know how long it's gonna take.

It might take a year,

it might take 20.

It might take a lifetime.

But I'm gonna get there...

and when I do...

I promise to let y'all know.

And then maybe...

we can talk about
Charlie Flavin.

Thank you for your time.

- So you're saying Franz attacked Billie?
- He did.

And she fired the
shots in self-defence?

In self-defence, yes.

He wasn't on his knees, beggin'?

No. He was coming after Billie.

He was gonna hurt her. She
shot him to protect herself.

That poor woman. Daughter murders
her husband, now she's got nothin' left.

Yeah, I'd lie for Billie, too.

- What is it with you?
- What do you mean?

You got sympathy for Lucille
Rader. None for her daughter?

Well, Lucille Rader
didn't kill anyone, Frank.

Right. I see.

What, you... you see what?

Lucille took it.

Lucille suffered. She didn't
cry out or rebel or fight back.

She took every beating
as if it were her due.

Billie, on the other hand,
she took on the power,

and, for one moment
at least, she won.

Listen to me. Please,
please, listen to me.

The daughter fought and
the mother didn't. So what?

When it finally comes down, they're
the same. They're different, but the same.

They were abused. No matter
what they did or did not do,

the sin is not their own.

- Yeah, but...
- The sin is not your own.

- How about a pizza?
- Again with the pizza.

Such a creature of habit. Why don't
we have dinner at my house? I'll cook.

- You'll cook?
- I'll cook.

But I hear you're
a terrible cook.

- Hey-hey-hey, Chris.
- Hey. I been huntin' you.

- You got some news for me?
- Got the call an hour ago.

Charlie Flavin's parole...

was denied.

I don't know what you
said in there, but it worked.

Hey, buddy, Charlie Flavin,
remember him? Down for another nickel.

- That's great. Congratulations.
- Let me buy you a drink.

I got a cab waiting, I got
some place I want to be.

I'll take care of it. There you
go, buddy. Keep the change.

- So, where? I'm your chauffeur.
- I'll tell you on the way.

Ten-hut!

Hard hat on deck!

- How you been, Chris?
- I'm good, LT.

- How's my old shift?
- Still out there battling.

- I just felt like coming down.
- Any time, Chris.

You got any words of wisdom
for us before we roll out?

Words of wisdom? I don't know.

Back in the days when we used to carry
six-shooters, they used to say fire five,

and save one for ourselves
in case we got captured.

In your case you'd need two. One
to the head ain't gonna put you down.

You all just get out there and
show 'em who owns the Eastern.

OK. Shift dismissed!
Let's go to work.

God, I'm always gonna miss it.

I know that.

And one of these days,
he's gonna make parole.

I know that too.

It's time to go.

Uncle George?

Do you know me?

Do you?

Do you know

who I am?

Timothy.

Tell me something, George...

where do I put my hate?