NYPD Blue (1993–2005): Season 3, Episode 15 - Head Case - full transcript

Simone and Sipowicz get another murder case where a mild mannered professor is found decapitated in his apartment. Meanwhile, Martinez is helping out a former porno actress who is getting ...

What do we got?
D. O. A. Somebody
chopped his head off.

The guy's
in his boxer shorts
propped up in a chair.

His head's facedown
in his own lap.

The doorman says
the tenant's a male
in his mid 40s, which fits,

but I didn't let him look
at the D. O. A.'s head.

I was afraid to disturb
the body before you got here.
There's no other body?

No.
Hey.
Hey.

‐ What do we got?
‐ One D. O. A.

Forty‐year‐old white guy.
Head cut off.

This cop over here,
she looks like she's ready
to change careers.

[ Sniffles ]
Why don't you come on
and run this for us.



In there?

Yeah.
That'd be good.

[ Police Radio Chatter ]

Watch where you step.

Uh, an anonymous female
calls the precinct,

says someone might be hurt
in this apartment.

Me and my partner come over,
knock, tried the door
when there was no answer.

It's unlocked.
When we come in,
that's what we see.

‐ Who covered him up?
‐ My partner.

All right.
Let's see what we got here.

You don't often encounter
this method of suicide.

What's the name
of that kid's story,
Ichabod Crane?

The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow.

The Headless Horseman.



I thought that was
about Notre Dame.

[ Chuckles ]

Officer McGuire,
you could do us a favor.
You could send the doorman up.

She'll be okay.

Hmm.
Let's see his mug.

Oh‐‐
[ Clears Throat ]

He don't look much happier
in that photograph.

Hope he didn't wanna
get buried wearing a hat.

It's Mr. Reese.
That's definite.

Yeah. Gotta contact
his mother.

You figure the fatal weapon
for some type of kitchen knife?

You know, when I first came up,
Mr. Pelacanos, you said you had
some information for me.

‐ Oh, if you want,
you can call me Gus.
‐ What's your information, Gus?

Firstly, his length
of residency‐‐

Mr. Reese lived in the building
two years, nine months.

Keep to himself type person,
but very nice and polite.

The man was a professor
at N. Y. U. University.
I'm not sure what subject,

but you could tell looking
at him that he was an educated
and intelligent man.

Is this background information
on Mr. Reese, or is there
something related to the crime?

Not passing judgment‐‐
Occasionally I would
see Mr. Reese...

‐ in company with various guys,
late teens, early 20s.
‐ Students?

These weren't
collegiate types, no.
They were mostly Spanish.

Light‐skinned blacks.
So forget college, huh?

Oh, these were street‐type
individuals, Detective. Or what
you would call a hustler type.

You figure Mr. Reese
was having sex
with these guys?

Not passing judgment,
I would work up
that investigative angle, yeah.

When was the last time
you saw him with one
of these guys?

Three, four weeks back,
Mr. Reese was in the company
of a Spanish kid...

whose name is on the tip
of my tongue‐‐

I'm looking at
him right now in my mind‐‐
which Mr. Reese introduced me.

Nobody last night?
Last few days?

‐ No, sir.
‐ All right, thanks.

You intend on working up
that investigative angle?

Yeah, right.
We're gonna look into
that possibility.

Happy to provide it.
And that kid's name
is gonna come to me.

[ Camera Clicking ]
You got my card there, right?

So, you remember,
you give me a call.
Right. Right.

‐ Good‐lookin' kid.
‐ Mm‐hmm.

Yeah, New York City
Gay Defense League.

Uh‐huh.
I'll make sure he‐‐

Sir, he will get the message.
I can't say when he'll return
the call.

All right.
You're welcome.

‐ I'm sorry.
‐ That's okay. Can I speak
to a detective, please?

Excuse me. You're
Vanessa Del Rio.

Right. I've been getting
harassing phone calls at home.

I knew it was you.
I said to myself,
"Hey, wait a minute.

That's a celebrity there."
Where should
I know you from?

She's sort of
a famous performer in the field
of adult entertainment, Donna.

‐ Films.
‐ Interesting.

I got this buddy,
Miss Del Rio, to this day,
he's still nuts about you.

That's cool.
Uh, who do I speak to about
these harassing phone calls?

Well, I'm your man.
I'm‐I'm a detective.

I'm Detective Martinez.
How you doin'?

Not too great 'cause
of these friggin' calls
I'm getting at home.

Yeah. All right. Well, why
don't we go in the coffee room.
We'll talk about it.

Lieutenant,

you got several calls from
the head of the New York City
Gay Defense League.

About Simone's homicide?
Uh, he wouldn't say,

but he was very persistent
that you call him back.

Hey, boss, I think we found
the murder weapon‐‐
butcher knife in a towel.

‐ Thrown down the garbage chute.
‐ Any direction on a perp?

Well, the doorman said
that the D. O. A. used to
bring home male hustlers.

N.Y.U. professor
getting hit in the heinie.

‐ I'm gonna grab a radio.
‐ There was a message
on the answering machine...

from the mother, talking about
some dangerous guy who was
staying at the apartment,

telling the D. O. A. that he
either needs to get the guy
outta there or get out himself.

You reach out to the mother?
We got her address, so
we're gonna make notification.

Gay professor
gets decapitated.
This one's gonna get hot.

‐ You got that phone number?
‐ Mm‐hmm.

Diane, could you,
uh, voucher this?

Sure. Can I get you
a cup of coffee
on your way out?

So, uh, tell me about
this harassment,
Miss Del Rio.

Some creep keeps leaving
messages on my machine,

telling me
he wants to screw me.

That one of these days
I'm gonna belong to him.
All kinds of sick stuff.

‐ Any idea who it might be?
‐ Every time
I pick up the phone...

and say, "Who the hell is this?"
he just hangs up.

And how often
does he call?

I've got about 15 messages
on tape in the last two months.

And you don't recognize
the voice?

No. So last week
I filed a complaint
with the Annoying Calls‐‐

The Annoyance Calls Bureau.
Yeah, so they're
trapping my calls.

They know who it is.
They won't tell me.
They say I need a detective...

to contact them
for phone calls.
I can help you with that.

You know, I've got a 1‐900
fantasy voice mail line,

$3.99 a minute,
this jerk can say
whatever the hell he wants.

But, see, that's Vanessa,
this is Anna Maria.

I know the difference.
Anna Maria, huh?

Anna Maria what?
Sanchez.

Sanchez.
That's a pretty name.

Hmm.

Thank you very much.

[ Doorbell Rings ]

Margaret Reese?
Yes?

New York Police.
I'm Detective Sipowicz.

‐ This is Detective Simone.
‐ What is it?

We're very sorry,
but there's been an accident
involving your son, Daniel.

I'm sorry,
but your son's dead.

[ Simone ]
We're very sorry
for your loss, ma'am.

What sort of accident?
Did he wreck the car?

[ Sighs ]
Your son was the victim
of a homicide, Mrs. Reese.

This would never have happened
if he'd stayed here.

You mean if he would have
stayed here last night?

No, if he hadn't moved away
and left me alone.

I knew there were people
who would take advantage of him.

Are you thinking
of someone in particular...

who would have
harmed your son?
No.

‐ Did you call Daniel
last night, ma'am?
‐ Yes.

'Cause there was a message
on his answering machine from
a woman who sounded like you,

who mentioned
someone being there
in the apartment with him.

And that you feel like
this other person
oughta leave.

Last week, Daniel told me
that he was letting
a fella stay there...

for a day or two,
who was down on his luck.

Daniel is like that,
you see.

Yesterday I called.
This was a full week later.

I'm not an intrusive
or a butting‐in type of mother.

And this man
answered the phone.
He was still there.

When I asked him how much longer
he planned to stay,
he became abusive.

He‐‐ He was cursing me.
Excuse me. About what time
was this yesterday?

In the morning.
After that, I called Daniel
at the university...

and asked him when
that person was getting out.

Daniel said that he planned
on trying to make him leave
last night.

This person,
do you know his name?

Daniel said it was
a former student of his.
He never mentioned a name.

Former student.
Did you ever meet him?
See what he looks like?

No.
From the conversation
where he was cursing you,

what do you remember
about his voice?

Did he have
a foreign accent?

Did he sound black?
White?
I couldn't tell.

Mrs. Reese, did you call
the 15th Precinct
this morning...

to check for trouble
in your son's apartment?

No. I was waiting
for him to call me back.

‐ Do you have Daniel's car?
‐ I'm sorry?

The Oldsmobile.
It's registered in his name,
but we paid for it together.

Do you know where it is?
I'd like to have it.

Uh, we could find out
and let you know.

‐ I wonder if it's been stolen.
‐ If you could give us
the license plate,

it might turn out helpful
in finding who did this.

I'll write it down for you.

How was Daniel murdered?

[ Sighs, Clears Throat ]
Believe me,

being a parent,
I hate to have to tell you
something like this,

but you'll need to know
for identification purposes.

Your son was stabbed very badly
in the region of the neck.

The knife went pretty much
right through.

Are you telling me
his head was cut off?
That he was decapitated?

Mrs. Reese, we are‐‐

We are terribly sorry,
but it is better
if you hear it now.

Yes, it's good to know
in dealing with
the funeral arrangements.

Hey, Detective,
I remember the kid.
This is Joey Suarez.

You guys wanna talk to me
about Professor Reese?

Uh, yeah. I'll tell you what.
Why don't you get started
with Detective Sipowicz.

‐ I got a couple
of phone calls to make.
‐ Come on. You want some coffee?

Yeah. All right.

Gus, I said if you
thought of a name, call us.

Oh, I saved you a step.
This kid, he moves furniture.

And I saw him unloading
his truck over on Houston.

What'd you tell
this kid?

Just how Mr. Reese
got his head cut off last night.

Did you describe any details
of the crime scene?

Hey, I absolutely tell you,
Detective, from his reaction,

this Joey definitely
was not involved.

All right, I'll talk to him.
I want you to sit on this bench
right here, Gus.

‐You want me to wait
until he's done?
‐I want you to sit on the bench.

‐ Hi, Vanessa. Come on in.
‐ Excuse me.

Yeah.

Good to see you again.

Do you know
a Richard Hart?

Rick Hart?
Is that who's doing this?

That's my information.
He's this guy I see at
all my personal appearances.

Just a little average guy
that says how much
he likes my work.

I've seen him
in Philly, Baltimore,
all over the place.

A lot of people follow you
from town to town?

Some of them travel
in their business. I thought
he was just a big fan.

This Rick Hart,
he never behaved strangely
at one of your appearances?

He never seemed threatening?
He's not
a threatening‐looking guy.

I could probably take him
in a fight. He's not a convicted
rapist or anything, is he?

I checked.
He's got no criminal record.

But you never know when one
of these guys might decide
to do more than talk about it.

If I went ahead
with the complaint,
is this gonna mean...

a long, drawn‐out
court proceeding?
It's gonna take some time.

‐But maybe it's worth
you following through.
‐What if you just talked to him?

Could you figure out if he
was dangerous or something?

I got his address.
I could talk to him.

Maybe I could act like
an intermediate step.

Oh, you know,
you'd really be a doll
if you could do that.

Especially if I could avoid
a big deal in court.

All right, sure.
We'll go talk to this guy.

Listen, Vanessa.
Um, you remember that buddy
I told you about of mine?

He's definitely gonna flip out
over you being here.

Your buddy's gonna
be excited, huh?

Vanessa Del Rio?
He's been talking about you
since high school.

And what's
your buddy's name?
Manny.

Manny? Little Manny?
Is that what you call it?
How cute.

Hey, wait a minute.
This is a real friend of mine.

I believe you.

This place you met
Professor Reese
on Canal Street?

S.O.S., right,
on Canal.

‐ That's not a gay club.
‐ No, it's all types.
But, I mean, even so,

I noticed this guy
looking all out of place.

How's that?
Well, for one,
he don't ever be dancing.

This is how he would do.
He would go
into the bathroom.

Check you out.
Say, "Do you wanna
smoke a joint?"

Boom. Cool. Sure.

So, he gives you one.
You fire it up.
This guy smoked dope?

No, he wouldn't be smoking.
That's just like an icebreaker.

Then he'd say there's
more of that at his place.

So then what would happen
at his place?
Yeah, you get high.

"Conversate"
till he makes his move.

Then either you do
or you don't, whatever.

Maybe you just smoke up
some more of his pot
and then leave.

[ Sniffles ]
He was in this club a lot?
Maybe once a week.

But I told him this myself.
I said, "What you're doing, man,

this is laying yourself open
for all kinds of things."

I was talking mainly
about burglary, because
he had some nice stuff.

But, uh, going up to
somebody in a bathroom‐‐

and it ain't even
a gay club really‐‐
that's taking a risk.

‐ What did Mr. Reese
say to that?
‐ Nothing.

He's just a real lonely guy.
It's a shame really.
Mm‐hmm.

You talked to him at all
since you hung out with him
three weeks ago?

‐He knew I wasn't with that sex.
‐You just smoke up
all of his pot and then leave.

‐It was some good pot too.
‐Just for the record, Joey,
what were you doing last night?

Damn. This is what I get
for coming down here
to help you all?

‐ We have to ask.
‐ I was with my girlfriend.

Why don't you write down
the name and address.

So, I'm a suspect?
While you got
the pen there, Joey,

write down the names
of some of the other guys
that went to that dance club...

that might have taken
Mr. Reese up on his hospitality
like you did.

Who may or may not
have been gracious enough
to make him feel loved.

‐ I got no way of knowing
about no other guy.
‐ Come on, Joey.

The only reason I came here
is I feel sorry for the guy.

I'm being straight up
with you.

Does your girlfriend know
you go home with men
you meet in public toilets?

Yeah, I told her about it.
I took her some of the dope.

All right. Calm down, Joey.
Look, I think you're being
straight with us.

But whatever
decent impulse it was
that brought you down here,

you need to follow through
on that and put some names
down on that pad, huh?

See, we have to talk to
as many people as we can that
have spent time with Mr. Reese.

That great dope
he gave you, Joey,
you owe him that much.

When he was 16,
my buddy Manny said
he snuck into a topless bar.

Yeah?
Saw Vanessa Del Rio dancing
up on the stage.

Said he stayed excited
for three weeks.
Aw, man.

I'll tell you.
I wish I was in the house...
[ Beeps ]

when she was making
a complaint.

So, how's she looking now?
You know, she's no kid.

But she looks all right.
Yeah?

Who is it?
Police.

Police?
Yeah, police.
Open up.

You Rick Hart?
What's this about?

Come here.

I'm Detective Martinez.
This is Detective Medavoy.

We've been receiving complaints
about harassing phone calls...

‐getting made from this address.
‐Harassing phone calls?

‐ That's what I said.
You got a hearing problem?
‐ You live here with anybody?

No.
So, you're the one who's
making the calls then?

I don't know what
you're talking about.
You know what I'm talking about.

You've been making
sexually‐explicit, threatening
phone calls to Vanessa Del Rio.

And we're here to figure out
if you're too warped to keep
yourself from stopping.

'Cause if you can't control
yourself, we could lock
your ass up right now.

You have no right
coming here
making these accusations.

Mr. Hart, we know
your history of following
Miss Del Rio around.

And we have a record
of the calls you've made.

You've lived here
a long time, right, Mr. Hart?
Seven years.

You've been employed
at Rowe Plant Interiors
14 years now?

Have you been
investigating me?

You got a pretty set lifestyle.
Imagine getting that disrupted,

or if your employer finding out
you were making these anonymous,
harassing phone calls.

Suppose someone anonymously
sent your employer those tapes.

Please don't do that.
I'll stop calling her.

You gonna stop calling
Miss Del Rio?

You should probably
stay away from her
personal appearances too.

I never would hurt her
in real life. Please
make her understand that.

I'm sure she'll be fascinated
finding that out.

I'm so ashamed
for having these thoughts.

Maybe you should get
some help with that.

Point is, Mr. Hart,
you're on our list.

You have a sex file with us
that's active and open.

I understand.
I promise not to
do it anymore.

Tell her I'm sorry.
And I think she's still
the best actress in her field.

Yeah, that Joey gave up
four names. I'm gonna
run 'em through B.C.I.

We, uh, probably oughta
have Diane make sure
his story's right.

What, being with
the girlfriend last night?
Gimme her name.

Yeah, this is
Detective Sipowicz,
15th Squad.

I'm on a short clock,
so I'll stay on
while you pull these up.

Yeah, J‐O‐L‐L‐Y.
Like ha, ha, ha.

Hey, Andy Jr.
How's it going?

I'm fine.
Your dad didn't mention
you'd be passing this way.

‐ It's a surprise visit.
‐ Andy.

Uh, hold on a second.
You all right?

‐ Hey, Pop.
‐ [ Simone ] I got this.

‐ What's the name?
‐ Uh, here. The second guy
here, LaGrande.

You got it?
Yeah.

‐ LaGrande?
‐ Hey.

You look good.
Thanks for
the Christmas present.

Yeah. Well, Sylvia
picked that out. They got it
to ya at the base, huh?

How's she coming
with her pregnancy and all?

Well, she's due May 17.
Gonna be a boy.
Gonna have a brother.

That's great.
Yeah. So, what are you
doing here? You on leave?

‐ I wanted to talk
to you about that.
‐ What?

Excuse me, Andy.
The registrar's office at N. Y. U.
wants to know how far back...

‐ you wanna go with the list
with Daniel Reese students.
‐ When he started teaching.

I don't mean to interrupt.
Hi, Andy.

Hi.
Adrianne Lesniak.
I met you at your dad's wedding.

Sure.
Good to see you again.

So, uh, what's up?
Things okay
with the air force?

Uh, well, I wanna talk
to you about that.

Well, is it okay
or not? What?

We'll talk about it
when we have time to sit down.

Excuse me, Detective.
Margaret Reese on line two.

‐ Uh‐‐
‐ [ No Audible Dialogue ]

[ Sighs ]
I gotta take this call, Andy.

This woman's son
was a homicide last night.

I'm gonna go see Mom.
I just drove cross‐country.
I haven't even seen her yet.

Yeah, listen,
I wanna find out
what's going on here,

so why don't you have supper
with Sylvia and me tonight.

Sure. Good.
7:00, like the other time?

Yeah, yeah, good.
Uh, but you're not in
any trouble or anything, right?

I can't tell you about it
in, like, two minutes, Dad.

‐ We'll talk about it
at dinner.
‐ All right.

[ Simone ]
Okay, the third name's Tim.
About 20.

Hello, Mrs. Reese.
[ Clears Throat ]

No, no progress
with the car.

Uh, wait a minute.
What wallet?
What are you talking about?

At your house?
Thanks.

D.O.A.'s mother says
a uniformed cop turned in...

the kid's wallet
about 15 minutes ago.

Listen, Mrs. Reese.
We didn't know that your son's
wallet had been found,

and we need to
talk to the officer
that brought it to you.

You think that's it?

Litvac?
L‐I‐T‐V‐A‐C.

Yeah, all right.
Thank you very much.

Yeah, definitely,
any sign of the car.

Mm‐hmm.
[ Hangs Up Phone ]

[ Sighs ]
Some idiot cop recovers
this guy's wallet,

and he drives it out
to the mother in Queens?

Donna, would you
do me a favor?

Would you call
chief of personnel? I'm looking
for a uniform named Litvac.

Sure, Detective.

‐ How's Andy Jr. doing?
He's looking good.
‐ Yeah, yeah, he looks okay.

But, I mean, I ask him
how's things in the service,
he says he'll tell me at dinner.

‐I don't like the sound of that.
‐You know if he's having
any problems over there?

Well, either the answer is
things in the service are good,
or any other answer.

I mean,
it means the opposite.

Anyway, Andy, look. We got
the rap sheet on these four guys
that Joey gave you.

Of course, you know,
you could be a choirboy.

Some officer decides
he doesn't like you,
you're just a sittin' duck.

One of these assholes
decides you rub him
the wrong way‐‐

Just don't get
ahead of yourself, okay?

Yeah.

Diane's not around,
so I'm gonna check
Joey's alibi here.

If this kid's in trouble
with drugs or booze,
I'm gonna kick his ass.

Unless one of these
sons of bitches
is persecuting him.

Then I'm gonna find out
his name, his address,
I'm gonna kick his ass.

Hi. Yeah, is this
Joey DeCosta?

Yeah, this is Detective Simone
from the 15th Squad.

Just wondering if I could
take a minute to ask you
what you were doing last night.

You know, I'll tell you.
If they take an irrational
dislike to you,

‐ it don't matter what you do.
‐ Andy.

[ Clears Throat ]

[ Scoffs ]
Young kid like this
nowadays.

I'm telling you,
it's not easy.
[ Sighs ]

Yeah, me.

Boss, you gave us
a 10‐2?

Yeah, Officer Litvac?
Detective Simone, Sipowicz,
15th Squad.

‐ How's it goin'?
‐ Hey.

Yeah, we wanted to talk
to you about this wallet
you drove out to Bayside.

It belonged to a Daniel Reese.
I found it on the floor
of the backseat of my R&P.

Took it out to the address
on the driver's license
on my meal period.

Yeah. Well, they say it belongs
to that D. O. A. that got his head
sliced off last night.

No kiddin'.
That was that guy?
When you took it out there,

Mrs. Reese didn't mention
anything about it belonging
to her murdered son?

She said it was his wallet
and thanks for bringing it.

Then she asked about the status
of the stolen car.

I told her I didn't know
anything about that.

She didn't mention
no homicide at all.

The cops in that sector car
made one collar
around 2:00 a. m.

Male black.

[ Clears Throat ]

"Disorderly
and public lewdness."

"Subject was observed
behaving erratically, waving
and yelling in traffic.

"Subject was not
wearing underwear,

and his pants were hanging down,
revealing his genitals."

Our guy took his underwear off
at the D. O. A.'s apartment.

Sarge, this collar,
Rodney Wellstone,
where is he in the system?

Lodged at Central Booking.

Made one phone call
when they brought him in‐‐
Sheila Bell, 718 area code.

Yeah, that's here
in the arrest report.

We're gonna want this guy
transported to our house
before he gets arraigned.

Maybe we should reach out
to this Sheila Bell
before they bring him in.

Use the phone
in the squad room.

[ Clears Throat ]
Thanks.

My brother brought it here
last night.

He knocked on my door
around 11:00.

This is your brother Rodney?
He said he needed
a place to stay.

But Rodney has serious
mental problems, and I didn't
wanna let him in.

You're afraid of him?

I just stopped feeling
comfortable around him.

His behavior
could be so strange.
The things he said.

I hated turning him away.
It stinks in here.

What'd he do
when you didn't let him in?
[ Simone Coughs ]

He asked could he leave his car.
Would I watch it for him?

He said a friend of his
gave it to him.
Is it stolen?

Is that why he was arrested?

Uh, Miss Bell,
the owner of this car,
he was murdered last night.

Oh, God.

I knew. I knew
this was gonna be bad.

Did‐‐ Did Rodney mention
this Mr. Reese at all,

this guy he was saying
was his friend?

He said he was his teacher
when Rodney was in college.

Frankly, I didn't wanna
get into it that much.

So he left me the keys,
and then around 2:30 he called.

Said he was in jail
and could I come
and get him out.

I didn't pick up.

I let the machine get it
because I knew it was him,
and I‐‐

I just can't deal with it.

Did you call the precinct
this morning, tell them to go
look in Mr. Reese's apartment?

I knew Rodney was in trouble
over this car.

So this morning I went outside
and got the registration,
the owner's address.

I found out
which precinct it was in.

I called so they could
check that address,
if things were all right.

It's good you did that.

And now this man's dead,
and Rodney probably killed him.

Yeah.

My brother was intelligent.

He was funny.

I don't know who this is
walking around in his body.

The thing upsets me,
him possibly using drugs.

Andy said he never took drugs
his whole life.

He sat across from me
in a greasy spoon,
said he never drank,

never took drugs
'cause of what he saw with me.

And now something like this
could be happening.
This could be anything at all.

He could have got transferred.
He could have met somebody.

This was specifically
in response to "How are things
in the air force?"

That's all it was.

Your guy's locked up
in two.
Does he seem nuts?

He looks like
the real deal.

His sister said
he had been psycho
three or four years ago.

She was afraid to let him
in her house.

I'm gonna have the Latent unit
check his prints
against the list,

but the N. Y. U. registrar
confirms Wellstone took a course
from Reese in 1990.

With that past relationship,
his prints in the D. O. A.'s
apartment,

that's not gonna
prove very much.

It might have been nice
if they had taken the D. O. A.'s
wallet off this guy,

instead of finding it
in the back of a sector car
the next morning.

Well, we do got him
for boosting the D. O. A.'s car.

Ah, his Legal Aid lawyer
can say him and the professor
were kissy face.

He had it with
the professor's permission,

and everything bad happened
after Rodney took a hike.

This guy says he's gonna
give a statement, but he's
only gonna do it once,

and then he's gonna stay silent
for four years and seven months.

[ Fancy ]
Hmm.

We gotta get this guy
videotaped.

Four years
and seven months.

Detectives,
I want my son's car.

[ Sipowicz ]
Mrs. Reese, I notified
you like I promised.

I explained the car's
been vouchered as evidence.

It's in the pound now
in Whitestone, Queens.

I want it.
It belongs to me and Daniel.

Ma'am, we have to hold
the car a while.

It might help us to prove a case
against a person
who killed your son.

Well, can I see it then?
I need to see it.

I don't mean to be impolite,
Mrs. Reese,

but what good
is seeing the car gonna do?

Detective, please,
can I just be allowed
to see it?

I own that car jointly
with Daniel.

Can somebody drive her
out to the pound?

‐ Yeah, yeah, all right.
‐ Thank you.

Um, let's get a D. A.
and a video technician
over here.

You need to go
have a conversation.

Yeah, right.
I'll take care of that.

[ Exhales, Clears Throat ]

All right, let's understand
each other, Rodney.

You say you're only
gonna do this once, and we're
trying to accommodate that.

Put you on record right away.
But this is to give a statement
about killing Professor Reese.

I don't wanna hear you talk
about a presidential election,

or start singing
"Three Coins in the Fountain."

Nothing like that.
Professor Daniel Reese.

Is that machine turned on?

I am District Attorney
Leo Cohen.

It is 4:27,
February 27.

Also present in the room‐‐

Detective Robert Simone,
shield number 3118.

Detective Andy Sipowicz,
shield number 990.

[ Cohen ]
Also present Rodney Wellstone
and technician Lewis Moscovitz.

Mr. Wellstone,
is that your signature
on this form...

indicating you understand
your right to counsel?

Yes.
I'm ready to speak.

Now, Rodney, were you
at Daniel Reese's
apartment last night?

Yes, I was.

[ Simone ]
What were you doing there?

I had gotten evicted
from my apartment.

I had lost my job.
I wasn't working.

I was sleeping in my car
because I had no place to sleep.

But the police in Brooklyn,
they towed my car away,

so I went to a shelter.

How long was this
before you met Daniel Reese?

So, I went to a shelter.
But I don't like staying
in the shelters,

because of how people live,
so I came to Manhattan
to hang out.

I was hanging out
by a gas station. I wanted
to be a service attendant.

I'm not a bad guy.
But what happened,
physically, I had died.

I died
and I was resurrected...

by omnipotent pyrotechnics‐‐
the Holy Spirit,

which is
the most powerful force
in the universe.

Let's not get into
the universal forces
too much, Rodney, okay?

Tell us how you wound up
at Mr. Reese's apartment.

Professor Reese drove
into the gas station,
and he recognized me.

‐ Where from?
‐ I took a philosophy class
with him.

[ Simone ]
When was that?
Mm, 1990?

Okay, so he recognized you.
What happened after that?

I asked him if I could have $20
because I didn't have any money
and I hadn't eaten.

‐ He give it to you?
‐ No. He took me to a deli and
bought me something to eat.

He had a cup of coffee
for himself.

We chatted.
He's got a big heart.

I know, because
I reached in through his neck
and felt it down there.

So he bought you some food
from the deli. Then he took
you back to his apartment?

I told him
about getting evicted,
the whole sad story,

but he said he didn't have
a place for me to stay.

He gave me $10,
and he walked out.

He didn't take you
to his apartment?

‐ How'd you end up there?
‐ I knew Professor Reese
wanted to help me.

I knew he didn't just wanna
walk away like that.

So I looked up his address
in the phone book.

[ Simone ]
So you found
his apartment building?

Yes. And I hung around
until I saw him again,

and I said,
"Professor Reese, please,

I just need
a roof over my head
for a couple of days."

And he said,
"All right."

[ Simone ]
He said all right
that you could stay with him?

I was goin' hungry.
I had died.

I knew he wanted to help me.
He just insisted I had to
wash my clothes.

So I agreed to that.
That seemed reasonable.

What day was this, Rodney?
Was it the first day
you were there?

Mm, what's today?
Friday?

‐ Today's Tuesday.
‐ I don't recall exactly.

It was several days ago.
[ Sniffles ]

Several.
Do you smell me?

Well, let's not worry
about that right now, Rodney.

‐ Are you reacting
to the way I smell?
‐ Let's not talk about that.

Okay, so last night,
what happened?

Last night
I wanted to murder him,
so I murdered him.

Why did you wanna murder him?

Oh, man, he wanted me
to kill him anyway...
for the fun of it.

'Cause you know what?
He's freaky like that.

‐ What do you mean?
‐ He's a fag‐faggoty‐faggot.

I could tell
what was on his mind,
and I didn't like it.

Did he make a pass at you?
I knew what was
on his mind.

I saw all those damn
Pump magazines
in his bedroom.

That's why
he got all insistent
about me having to leave.

Plus, his mother was saying
to kick me out.

I talked to that bitch
on the phone, and I took
offense to what she was saying,

because I am God Almighty.

Professor Reese said
that apartment was mine.

He said all the money
he had was mine.
His car was mine.

When was this?

When he was begging
for his life.

This is just before
you killed him.

He offered me all that.
Now he wants to
throw me out?

I took off my shirt.
I took off my pants.

I said, "Hey, I'm not
going no place."

And I took a knife from
the kitchen, and I made him
go in there with me.

And then I took him
back out in the living room
and sit in his chair,

like Mr. Big Bad Moojoo Man,
and I told him, I said,
"Take your clothes off.

I know what you want."

And he took them off,
and for a while
he didn't say a word.

Because he knew,
after he had insulted me
like that,

he knew that wasn't right.

And then
he started beggin'.

‐ Then I stabbed him.
‐ Where'd you stab him?

In the belly.

And he went‐‐
[ Gasps ]

And then I put him
out of his misery.

I‐I took his head off
from his body.

Just like
I'll do to you.

You wanna stab me?

I'll murder every person
in this building.

I don't want that to happen,
but we're gonna have to ask you
a few more questions.

Do you think these handcuffs
can hold me?

Rodney, what'd you do
after you cut off
Daniel Reese's head?

I won't speak of anything
subsequent to that.

Except washed myself
sacramentally.

I'm about to commence
my four years and seven months
of silence.

Before you do that,
just tell us why you did
what you did...

to Professor Reese.

It was the most fitting
punishment I could think of.

I am the Holy Spirit.
I give you consciousness
of self.

I control your heartbeat
through omnipotent pyrotechnics.

And you're not faking this,
are you, Rodney?

I was a student
in New York University...

when I was first sanctified
by omnipotent pyrotechnics.

I sometimes resented
my sanctification,

because I was a student
and a family member,

and I had hopes to study
philosophy abroad.

But finally I came
to accept my calling
and how I must live...

in the same way Jesus Christ and
his system had doubts about his
life, but finally accepted it.

And even he,
who had been my teacher,
I cut his faggot head off!

Now I begin my silence.

Oh, Detective Martinez,
this came for you.

‐ Oh, yeah?
‐ From your favorite actress.

[ Chuckles ]

What do you got?

Wow.
Hey, look at that.
Huh?

"To Detective Martinez,
for your little buddy, Manny.
Love, Vanessa Del Rio."

Huh?
Yeah, cute, huh?

You gonna frame that,
Detective?

‐ Hey, look, she kissed it too.
‐ Yeah.

How come she put
"little buddy" in quotes?

What's the picture?
[ Stammers ]

James made quite an impression
on that porno star.
She's just joking around.

She's supposed to be sexy?

I don't find her
at all sexy.

To each his own, I guess.
You gonna keep that?

Yeah, yeah, that's for
him and his buddy to look at
on lonely nights.

Hey, Greg, you're not helping
the situation much, you know.

And the woman wondered why
she has perverts calling
her up at home?

I mean, she makes a living
showing her body to sick,
pathetic guys,

and then she's surprised
when some "warpo" wants to
take her up on it?

Hey, it's not just
sick, pathetic guys
that watch those movies.

Right, James?
You don't look
at that stuff, do you?

‐ No.
‐ Hey, what's up, James?

‐ Yo, Manny, my man.
‐ How you doin', man?

How's it going?
That's my buddy, Manny.
How you doing?

The world's biggest
Vanessa Del Rio fan.
Ah.

Hey, was she here
for real, or is James
messing with my mind?

[ Medavoy ]
Oh, no, she was here,
in the flesh.

Damn, man!
You should have called me
when she was here, man.

I would have gotten
off of work.
I told her about you, Manny.

How'd she look?
How'd she look?

Yeah.
Check this out.

What you got for me?

Oh.
Oh, Vanessa baby!

Look at you.
Look at you!

[ Kisses ]
Oh, she still looks good.

Damn, I wish
I was here, man!

It's yours, baby.
Vanessa the "undressa."

The Latin from Manhattan.
Come on, boys, there's
room at the end, man.

Isn't it pathetic?
Hey, Adrianne,
this is a large nation.

[ Cohen Exhales ]
That's the first one
of those I've done.

Is that so?
I mean, doesn't it
get to you after a while?

Listening to that sickness,
not being able to respond.

No, I always found myself
cheery and peppy afterwards.

Detective! Our car is ruined.
You're gonna have to
do something.

Mrs. Reese,
try and calm down.
No, no, no, no.

I went down to that impound lot.
Now, I own that car jointly
with my son.

And now somebody's
rancid body odor
is in it.

Daniel would never
have tolerated that.

I have got to get in there
and wash that smell out.

Now, if you people refuse
to do it, then I'm just simply
going to have to do it myself.

We just can't allow that
right now, ma'am.
I want that car disinfected.

I taught my son
cleanliness.
Mrs. Reese‐‐

Don't touch me!

Just tell me what
you are going to do
about Daniel's car.

That's the smell.

That's the murderer.
I smell him.

‐ I'm God Almighty.
‐ Arrest that man.

‐ He's under arrest, Mrs. Reese.
‐ I'm God Almighty.

You shut up and be silent.
Do what you said.

Oh, my God.

My son is‐‐

My son is dead.
Oh!

[ Sobbing ]

This is the second refill, Andy.
Don't eat any more of these.

[ Doorbell Rings ]

And let him get to this
his own way. Don't turn this
into an interrogation.

All right. I'm only saying
if it's drugs or alcohol,
I want you to leave the room.

Hey, Pop.
Hey, Andy.
Come on in.

Hi, Sylvia.
Hi, Andy.

Gee, you look beautiful.

Well, got two and a half
more months to go.

‐ Yeah, Dad was saying.
‐ So, what's going on?

‐ Would you like
something to drink?
‐ A Coke, please.

Is that what you're drinking
these days‐‐ Coke?

I mean, don't have something
different for my sake.

Yeah, a‐a Coke's good.

Uh, come on in here.
Sit down. Here.

[ Clears Throat ]

[ Clears Throat ]
All right. So, uh‐‐

So, what's going on, huh?
Your being so secretive,

I figured you must have
killed somebody.

I wasn't being secretive, Pop.
I, uh‐‐ [ Clears Throat ]

But there's a couple things,
and I wanted to talk it all
through with you.

I just wish you'd have
let me know when we could have
done something, huh?

I mean, if somebody took
an irrational dislike.

The first thing is‐‐ ahem‐‐
I'm leaving the air force, Dad.

See, there it is.
That's what I knew was comin'.

I tore my rotator cuff.
But it's not that bad. Um‐‐

They‐‐ They can't
fix it with surgery.

Anyways, I'm discharged.

Your rotator cuff?

No disciplinary aspect?

No, uh‐uh, no.
I got good evaluations
and so forth.

He tore his rotator cuff.

Andy, I'm sorry. Uh‐‐

Hey, it's not that bad,
but I had to leave the service.

And there's
no disciplinary aspect.

They give him all,
uh, great evaluations.

Have you given any thought
to what you might do now?

Well, the thing is,
even before I joined,

I took the test
for the department
in Hackensack.

And they put me on a list.
And in January they wrote
I'd been accepted for training.

‐ Which department
we talkin' about?
‐ The police department.

I applied to be a cop.

The police department?

Yeah, and I got
in touch with them,

and they hadn't
closed enrollment yet.

‐ I start training next week.
‐ Congratulations.
That's great.

Yeah, I'm pretty pleased.
It's two months of classes.

Then two months
on‐the‐job training, and then
two more months of class.

Your rotator cuff thing there,
that's not gonna impinge that?

They said it wouldn't
disqualify me,

so long as I pass
the physical training test
at the end of six months.

And you've thought this through,
the type of life.

I think it's
a good thing to be.

I wanted to ask you,

anytime you could give me
pointers and so on,

I‐I'd be really grateful
for that.

Uh, uniform cop,
you know,

it's different
from a detective.

Well, I‐I know
that much.

But I was nine years a cop.

Uh, I still can remember
a few things.

So, it's gonna
be a boy, huh?
And being back,

you'll be able to
spend more time
with your baby brother.

Maybe change
a few diapers even.

‐ Hey, I'd be willin'.
‐ Good.

Well, I guess‐‐
Ready to eat?
[ Andy ] Sure.

[ Exhales ]
This baby is moving.

‐ Like right now?
‐ Yeah.

Do you wanna feel it?

Here.
Gimme your hand.

It's right there.

Wow.