NYPD Blue (1993–2005): Season 4, Episode 14 - A Remington Original - full transcript

Simone and Sipowicz investigate the murder of a woman whose body was found naked in the trunk of a car in a junk yard which leads them to a pervert with a penchant for lookalike porn ...

Hey.
What do we got?

A female D. O. A. in the trunk
of an abandoned car.

Mid‐20s.
Who called it in?

‐ This guy, William Keho.
‐ We're gonna need
to talk to him.

All right.

Hey.

Keho, the detectives are
gonna need to talk to you.
Yeah, no problem.

[ Sighs ]

‐ No tracks, decently healthy.
‐ We got ligature marks
over here.

‐ What the hell is that
on her chest there?
‐ It looks like candle wax.

‐ She's got burns
all over her body.
‐ [ Officer ] Detectives?



Can I stop here?
I don't want to see it again.

‐ Yeah, that's fine.
M. E.'s been notified?
‐ On his way.

I'm Detective Simone.
This is Detective Sipowicz.

‐ Bill Keho.
I live here. I own the lot.
‐ You find the body?

Uh, the Moose found it.
I just opened the trunk.

‐ That's your dog, the Moose?
‐ Mm‐hmm.

‐ How long's the car
been on the lot?
‐ No more than a couple of days.

I was gonna take it in today.
I take 'em in every Tuesday
to get crushed.

‐You ever take a look inside
that trunk there?
‐I took the spare out yesterday.

There was nothing
in the trunk then.

Did you see anyone strange
around here since the time
you opened the trunk?

Yes, I did. The Moose
got his paws...

on a scummer last night
that I think is involved.

‐ What happened, Mr. Keho?
‐ 4:00 this morning,



the Moose is in a brawl,
and I figure,

uh, he's kicking
another dog's ass.

And then I hear him crying.
You know, yelling for me.

So I run out, and I see him
lying on the ground,

and some son of a bitch
is peeling off the lot,

his tires spitting mud
all over him.

The person in that
car that peeled off...

could have definitely put
the body in this car's trunk.

And that's what the Moose
was agitating over.

Any kind of look at the car?

Uh, white Ford Taurus.
And I got a license number.

I think the son of a bitch
must've kicked him.

The vet says he has
definite sore ribs.

‐ Did you get a look
at the driver?
‐ No. It was pretty dark.

The Moose got a better look.

Well, since the Moose
took a beating, we'll hold off
on his interview for later.

‐ I'll get that plate number.
‐ Why don't you do that, sir?

There's man's best friend,
and there's man
spending too much time...

with man's best friend.
[ Chuckling ]

Hey, Greg.
Hiya, James. Think Gina will
get a kick out of these?

I was looking for the ones
with Garfield.

To tell you the truth, Greg,
I think she was
kind of hoping,

with her coming back to work,
to keep it kind of low profile.

Ah.

I mean,
maybe she'd enjoy these.

You know, you pointed out.
I'm sure, uh, low‐key
would be her preference.

Yeah.
I'll‐‐ I'll pop these
with something.

‐ Hi, guys.
‐ Hey, Jill.

‐For Gina, huh?
‐Yeah. My, uh, further thoughts,

uh, I‐I think they're
a little much.

Good morning.
Morning, Lieu.

Morning, boss.
[ Balloon Pops ]

They just took this downstairs.
D. O. A. in a vacant lot,
Stanton and Forsyth.

James, let me see if I can
find some rubber boots for us.

We're gonna be walking
through everything
up to bubonic plague.

Mornin'.
Hi, Bobby. Hi, Andy.

Hey. Gina's back today?
Mm‐hmm.

For what it's worth, uh,
her scar's pretty noticeable.

‐ Jill, is that a six
or a four there?
‐ I have no idea.

‐ Good morning.
‐ [ Martinez ]
Hey, Gina.

Welcome back, Gina.
Thanks very much.

Glad you're back.
Half my messages I've been
getting look like hieroglyphics.

‐ Hope everything's
gonna work out.
‐ We all missed you here, Gina.

Everything's gonna work out
just fine.

‐See, that's another hurdle.
‐At least nobody dove for cover.

Ah, don't be silly.
Look at all the presents.
A token of people's feelings.

‐ Greg even had some
balloons waitin' for you.
‐ Really?

[ Martinez ]
I told him you didn't want
to make a big deal out of it.

Welcome back, Gina.

We're assuming the D. O. A.'s
Antoinette Todd, 22.

Her boyfriend reported her
missing three days ago,

the same time he reported
his car stolen.

This boyfriend's car
is what the junkyard owner
sees last night...

before he finds the girl's body
in another car that's abandoned.

‐ You verified the plate?
‐ Mm‐hmm. We figure
the D. O. A....

got taken from the boyfriend's
car in the junkyard...

and then put into
another car in the trunk.

‐ What's the boyfriend's
background?
‐ B.C.I. shows him clean.

‐ We got him coming in.
‐ Any report from the M. E.?

Strangled, raped, sodomized
and suffered multiple burns.

Gotta like the boyfriend
for openers.

Look at this mud.
I can't believe I lost my boots.

What do we got, Donny?
D. O. A.'s Sig Johnson.

Lived in a downstairs apartment.
The wife found him
on the way to work.

That's her on the left.

‐ He wasn't robbed.
‐ Look at this, Greg.

His head's all flattened,
like he got hit with a wall.

Yeah.

Who's that with the wife?
Neighbor.

[ Crying ]

Mrs. Johnson,
I'm Detective Martinez.
This is Detective Medavoy.

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

I'm Carol Buono.
I live on four.

If you feel up to it,
we'd like to ask you
a few questions.

I will if Carol can stay.
She's being a real friend.

When did you see
your husband last?

Um, he went out about 9:00
to the Emperor's Lounge.

He did go there for drinking,
but last night,

he was going about business,
and he was really upset.

‐ Do you know who
he had business with?
‐ [ Carol ] Stympy Powell.

Oh, he's a terrible little man.
He lives at the bars.

He sold us an air conditioner,
discount.

And I think he found it
in the trash,
wrapped it up new.

I think Sig bought it
when he'd been drinkin'.

He was trying to get
our money back.

Do you have an address
on this Stympy Powell?

Yeah.
I wrote it on the fridge.

I'll just be one minute.

Okay.

Actually, Mrs. Buono,
did you hear...

any kind of argument
in the lot last night?

There's‐‐ There's always arguing
all over the building.

I mean, every apartment erupts
one time or another.

‐ That applies
to your apartment also?
‐ Oh, no.

There's‐‐ There's no fighting
in our apartment.
But the others‐‐

Maybe it was the weather.

‐ I want to go help Hilda.
‐ All right.

Well, it was raining buses
last night.

Heat makes people fight,
not cold and rain.

They say that's, uh, why
the northern‐dwelling nations...

get so much accomplished.

‐ I'm looking
for Detective Simone.
‐ I'm Simone.

Tim Dolan.
My girlfriend's missing,
my car was stolen.

‐ Come on in, Tim.
‐ Do you know anything
about Antoinette?

Have you found my car?
We can talk in here.

Why don't you have a seat?

We need to ask you
where you were last night, Tim.

‐ In my apartment.
‐ All night?

Yeah. I'm scared out of
my mind here.

Did you find something
about Antoinette?

Tim, a girl has been found dead
who matches
Antoinette's description.

‐ Oh, my God.
‐ Yeah, this girl was strangled.

The girl was left in a junkyard
by somebody driving your car.

My car was stolen.
I reported that.

Let's just make sure
this is Antoinette.

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

You want something to drink?
[ Crying ]

When was the last time
you saw Antoinette?

Uh, Saturday morning.

She took my car to work.
Look,

I put all this in
my missing persons report.

Did you hear from her
at all after that?

Yeah. She called from the bar.
She, uh‐‐

She said she'd be home on time‐‐
that she wasn't closing.

Did Antoinette say anything
to you recently about, uh,

people that may have been
bothering her at the bar?

Anyone she might have
had an argument with?

She told me there was a guy
that was bothering her a little.

She said he was creepy, but...

she didn't think
he meant any harm.

Anything at all about
what he looked like?

She said he was, um, scraggly
and had Coke‐bottle glasses,

like an
R. Crumb cartoon guy.

Oh, my God. I just‐‐
I can't believe she's dead.

Did you kill her, Tim?
Wha‐‐ What?

No.
[ Crying ]

How about taking it easy, huh?
I recently got
my guts kicked in.

Hazardous occupation,
huh, Stympy?
Selling bogus goods?

What does that mean?
When do I get a clue
what I'm doing here?

James, run this for the boss.
I'm gonna stow Stympy.

This guy's name is Stympy
Powell. D. O. A.'s wife says
he's a skell con man.

Scammed the D. O. A.
on an air conditioner.

We're gonna talk to him,
see if one thing led to another.

E.S.U. come up with
a murder weapon?
Nah, they're still lookin'.

How's Gina seem
to be acclimating?

She seems
to be doing all right.
All right. Thanks.

‐ Boyfriend's story check out?
‐ Yeah, the guy
who owned that gin mill...

said that he remembered a guy
like the boyfriend described...

that was hanging around
the D. O. A. when she tended bar.

Couldn't put a name on the guy,
or was he in last night,

but he definitely remembered
the pop‐bottle glasses.

All right.
You got a conversation
in the coffee room.

‐What, with the boyfriend again?
‐No, we put him upstairs.

A crackhead kid's in there.

Uniform collared him
using your D. O. A.'s credit card
to buy a video camera.

Jeremy Munk.
Kirkendall ran him
through B.C.I.

Two for possession,
one for public lewdness.

Detective, that Henry person
from your apartment building
in Brooklyn...

called and says he's
on his way over here.
He say what about?

‐ I asked, but he's always
so excitable.
‐ Okay, Gina. Thanks.

Probably wants you to refinance
the building and buy him
lottery tickets.

I got him painting a
fourth‐floor apartment. I got
this old lady on rent control.

She pays 134 a month.
So that building's
a big winning proposition.

I'd like to give it
to Donald Trump.

Thanks, Josh.

Stand up.
[ Whistles ]

‐ Whoa, I'm blind.
‐ Sit down.

Look, I can explain
using that credit card.

‐ I found it, and‐‐
‐ Figured you'd buy
a video camera.

Well, I was gonna turn around
and sell it, get some money
for some grub.

It's been a while
since my last meal.

You know Antoinette Todd?
I never heard of her.

I found that credit card
on the street.

Lost my job recently,
and I got evicted.

‐ It's rough.
‐ You ever been
to the Starlight Lounge?

‐ I don't believe so.
‐ So, if we show this picture...

around that bar,
nobody's gonna know you?

Uh, I've never been there.
You a pervert, Jeremy?

Get outta here.
Says you took a collar here
for dicky waving.

I got drunk
and pissed in a park.

Look, I don't know
about this girl.
I found this card.

Do you want me
to tell you how?
Absolutely.

Well, I, uh‐‐ I sleep
in this window ledge
in this building on 9th.

And, uh, early this morning,
this guy come out of
the building across the street,

and he's holding
a brown paper bag
and this green flannel.

He's acting like a freak.
You know, looking around
to see is he being watched.

So, he goes down the street
to this trash can,

dumps the bag and a shirt
and goes back to his building,
still lookin' around.

So, I, uh‐‐
I checked the trash can...

and found a wallet
inside the brown bag,

and I‐‐ I took the card.

Look, I know I shouldn't
have used it, but‐‐

Look, I'm in this cycle right
now smokin' and gettin' clean,

and then workin'
and gettin' fired
and gettin' evicted.

Man, I just needed
some bread.

You remember what
this guy looked like,
the one who dumped the bag?

‐ Sure. Yeah.
‐ You're gonna point out his
building and identify him.

And then maybe we can arrange
something about this other‐‐

‐ If you're not lying.
‐ I wouldn't.

Oh, yeah, show us that sign.
Now we're reassured.

Come on.
We're going now?

Yep.
Here we go, Jeremy.

Simone.

Two minutes, huh?
I like your optimism.

All right, come on.

How's it going, Henry?
How's it going?

Paintin' this woman's place
could cost me my sanity.

Two hundred for the job.
There's no renegotiating.

Add a zero,
it still wouldn't be enough.

This woman's like
a fanatic kibitzer.

Plus, now you open a beachhead,
she's got a "to do" list
the length of my arm.

Well, tell her you were
only hired for the paint job.

Yeah, then I'll just run outside
and throw up into
a 50‐mile‐an‐hour wind.

Look, Henry, I'm workin' here.
She's got me fetching her mail,
bringing her tea.

It's as bad
as with my mother.
Lay down the law to her.

You gotta do that as landlord.
"These are the things
that Henry does,

and these he's in no way
obliged to do."

Make a list, Henry,
what you'll go for
and what you won't, okay?

Well, then we need
to sit down with her,

and we need to settle it.
I'll try to
get over there tonight.

What happened to that phone
girl? Looks like someone
took a chisel to her face.

Attempted rape.
The guy cut her.

Don't be stupid walking out.

Thanks for the yellow flag.
I'd intended to point and laugh.

[ Sighs ]
Andy, you ready?

Yeah. Come on.

This guy's impressed they got
a fish named after him.

Yeah, huh?
Yeah, it's a monkfish.
Munk's my last name.

Small world.
Here you go.

Stympy, favor us
with the details...

the disagreement you had
with Sig Johnson...

over the air conditioner
you sold him.

That unit was not faulty
in my possession.

Hey, I'm not accountable
once it's left my control.

Okay. Okay,
what we need to know now...

is what happened
when you and Sig Johnson
last saw each other.

Sig Johnson left the bar
following kickin' my ass,
unjustly.

‐ What did you do after that?
‐ I dragged myself out of there.

To where?
I saw a friend.

You need
to get specific, Stympy,
so we can check your story.

Why? You know,
I'm the one...

should be putting the complaint
out on Sig instead of
it's the other way around.

Sig Johnson's
not making no complaints,
'cause he's presently dead.

Oh, not me.
I didn't murder anybody.

Alternative‐‐
You left the bar, Sig
finds you again in the street,

keeps beating on you,
you killed Sig
defending yourself.

‐ You want to try it that way?
‐ I couldn't have done it.

I left that bar by myself,
and then I went
and I saw my girlfriend.

‐ What's your girlfriend's name?
‐ You don't want to talk to her.

‐ She's a whore, she lies‐‐
‐ Is she your alibi,
Stympy, or not?

Yeah, I guess so,
for better or for worse.

Whatever she says,
rely on my word.
I was there with her.

Plus, the blood on my person
was from my own body.

Yeah. This sounds like it's
gonna be a rock‐solid alibi.

[ Jeremy ]
Aah, my story's gotta be
building credibility, right?

That bag was right
where I told you to look.

Shut up, Jeremy.
Check the blood out on this.

See? That's
the green flannel shirt
I was telling you about.

Okay. Okay, there's the guy.
The big nerd with the glasses.

Now, this is the guy
that you saw dump
this shirt and the wallet?

Yeah, yeah.
He got a shave and a haircut.
But believe me,

with those glasses,
it's no doubt.

[ Sipowicz ]
All right. You stay put, Jeremy.
Don't even think about moving.

‐ Did I help or what?
‐ Shut up.

[ Mutters ]

How are you doing?
I'm with the police.
What do you want?

We got some questions
that we need to ask you.

We'd like to take you down
to the station house.

My name's Mel Lentz.
Uh, you sure you got
the right person?

We know we need to ask you
some questions there, Mel,

and, uh, we don't want to do
it out in the street, okay?

‐ I'm busy.
‐ Busy's not an option, Mel.

You come nice and easy,
or you come in cuffs.

Why don't we get some
transportation here for Mel?
All right. This‐‐

Hey, Bobby, get him!
Get him! Get him!

Get up against that wall.
15th Squad to Central "K."

What are you doing?
Have available
"R" and "P" respond...

to 9th Street and Avenue "B"
for transport.

Where are you going, huh?
Nice and easy's
out now, Mel.

Now you ride
in the bracelets.

‐ Thanks.
‐ Me and Mel were just
talking about his hand.

‐ Yeah? How'd that happen?
‐ I tripped, fell in some glass.

It looks like a dog bite.

So what is it I'm doing here?

We're investigating a homicide.
We think you might be able
to help us.

I don't know
about any homicide.
What do you make of this stuff?

Nothing.

You were seen throwing
that stuff in a trash can
8:00 this morning.

No.
You ever seen this girl before?

‐ No.
‐ Ever been
to the Starlight Lounge?

I couldn't swear I wasn't there,
'cause I've been
a lot of places.

I don't remember all the names.
What about the Keho Junkyard
off of Delancy and Suffolk?

‐ No.
‐ You weren't there
early this morning?

‐ I got no business
at a junkyard.
‐ Where were you this morning?

‐ Home.
‐ Who's gonna back that?

You gotta take my word.
I live alone.

We got a witness who puts you
at the Keho Junkyard
at about 4:00 this morning.

We got another person who puts
you dumping these possessions...

that belonged
to Antoinette Todd...

in the trash outside
of your apartment about 8:00.

We got yet another person who's
gonna testify that you are...

a customer
at the Starlight Lounge,
where you were known...

to harass Antoinette Todd.

That's the girl's name?
The one that's dead?

Are you trying
to toy with us?
I'm just asking a question.

The longer you play stupid here,
the less likely you're gonna
get out of this alive.

[ Chuckles ]
For doing what?

Yeah, that's the way to go, Mel.
Juries love that.

No remorse
and insult their intelligence.
That always brings on leniency.

This guy's got the world
by the balls, Andy.

[ Scoffs, Chuckles ]

‐ What was that smart‐ass noise
you just made there, Mel?
‐ Nothing.

Yeah.

You make that noise again,
I will break your nose,

and then you'll be making
that noise every time
you breathe.

Get up.

I'm coming.
I do occasional 900 work
on the telephone,

which is defended
by the First Amendment,
all right?

Nobody's hooking you up
for pross, Millie.

We're working
a homicide investigation.

‐I didn't kill nobody.
‐Tell us who you saw last night.

‐ Not a soul.
‐ You were alone all night?

Stympy Powell kill somebody?
What do you know about it?

If he's using me for an alibi,
besides a crook,
he's a dumb son of a bitch.

And so, I say no.
He did not come over last night.

What are you in a beef about?
Nothing, if you don't
mind him being a thief.

If he stole from you, Millie,
then file charges on Stympy
and we'll collar him.

Him being at your place
last night, that's separate.

And we need to know
if he was.
Tell it straight, Millie,

or you're a collar for impeding
a homicide investigation.

The little rat came over.

He was beat up, soaked through.
What time?

A little after 9:00.
Was it, like, 9:05
or as late as 10:00?

It was not past 9:15.

I would be more exact,
but I couldn't get to a clock...

before he split
with half of my compact discs.

Did Stympy seem nervous,
agitated?

He was Stympy, so, yeah,
both those things.

All right.
That's all I know, all right?

If anything I said helps him,
then I would like to press
separate charges for the CDs.

Greg, James.

Sit still a minute, will ya?
[ Groans, Scoffs ]

He'll be what's left
after nuclear war.

That hooker
had that Stympy Powell
with her last night.

‐ But he still could've had time
to do the murder.
‐ You need to re‐canvass.

E.S.U. found a typewriter
near where the body was.
The bottom of the typewriter...

was near caved in,
and there was blood
where the rain didn't get to.

They're bringing the typewriter
up to the squad.

‐ Okay, we'll get
right over there.
‐ Okay.

Typewriter for a murder weapon.
That's fresh.

Millie,
one of the late‐tour detectives
is gonna take your report.

Then we can put Stympy
in the system for boosting
your CDs off you.

Nah, don't collar
the little creep.

No, huh?
No.

Put somebody in the cell
deserves the free food.

Hey, Millie.
What?

Does Stympy have a typewriter
that you know about?

Yeah. Yeah, he writes
back and forth
with all the presidents.

He's got a fax machine too.
What's his name?

Clinton faxes him
for advice daily.

‐ [ Laughing ]
‐ Let's go.

We got one witness
that puts the guy where
the D. O. A was tending bar.

Another witness saw him
dump the girl's effects
on the street.

‐This is the homeless crackhead?
‐Mm‐hmm.

This guy had a bite
on his hand that I would put
money on came from the dog...

that was guarding the junkyard
where the D. O. A. was dumped.

‐ The grand jury won't indict.
‐ [ Scoffs ]

He harasses this girl
at her place of work
for two weeks.

This guy, Lentz, coincidentally
ends up with this girl's wallet,

but the grand jury
still won't indict?

It's all this evidentiary
nonsense about directly
connecting him to the crime.

We got enough for
a warrant on his place?

‐ I could dress it up enough
to get you a warrant.
‐ How come with you, Cohen,

it comes out like the principal
doing us a favor?

'Cause the school's
the Constitution, Sipowicz,
and you're the class dunce.

[ Knocks ]

Hey, Greg,
a man downstairs says
he saw that neighbor woman,

Mrs. Buono,
was nice to the D. O. A.'s wife.

He says he saw Mrs. Buono
out on the stoop
at 4:00 this morning.

We ought to ask her
about that.

Yeah, well,
she's not inside. Uh‐‐

Note says,
"Frank, I'm with Hilda."
This is her apartment.

‐ What's going on?
‐ Are you Frank Buono?

Yeah.
I'm Detective Martinez.

‐ This is Detective Medavoy.
‐ Something happen to my wife?

Your wife's fine.
She's downstairs.

We'd like to
ask you some questions
if you got a minute.

Okay. I, uh‐‐

I'd like to get down
with my wife and Mrs. Johnson,
bein' her husband died.

‐ Absolutely.
‐ What time did you leave
the building this morning?

‐ Uh, 5:30.
‐ Did you see anything unusual?

‐ No.
‐ Were you and your wife home
all night last night?

‐ Either of you go out at all?
‐ We were home since 7:00.

‐And you were here
right through till the morning?
‐Yeah.

Is there any possibility
that your wife went out
early this morning...

while you were still sleeping?

‐ I sleep bad. I'd have heard.
‐ One of your neighbors said...

he saw your wife outside
on the stoop at 4:00
when he went to work.

‐ Who said that?
‐ He figured she'd been
out walking...

since she was knocking
the mud off her shoes.

‐I‐I don't know what to say
about this.
‐Frank, would you mind coming...

down to the station house
with us?

We can clear up
these discrepancies.
I wanna talk to my wife.

My partner'll ride with you
down to the station house.

‐ I'll bring your wife
myself, okay?
‐ That sound like a plan?

Yeah. Yeah, sure. Okay.

He's mostly quiet.
Sometimes you get noises late.

What type of noises?
Sex noises...
involved in sex.

You ever get a look
at any of the women
he brings over here?

Never one.
But this unit's got
a backyard entrance.

I guess that's where
he brings 'em in.

Um, that's to the backyard.
We'll check it out.

Could you just stand over here
to the side until we finish?

Let's get Crime Scene in here,
have 'em process the bed.

See what they
come up with.

As neat as this guy is though,
I figure he'd wash the sheets...

if he did her here.

Andy.

He is neat.
The titles are alphabetically.

Look here.
Here's his reading material.

Oh, a special section.

Lucky top three.

Bobby, Andy, we came up with
some kind of black bag
on the trash cans.

Other side of the fence.
Looks like a body bag.

D.O.A.'s a blonde? 'Cause
there's blonde hairs in the bag.

Yeah, she's blonde.
Why don't you get
Crime Scene in here?

Yeah.

‐ So that's this guy's act?
‐ Mm‐hmm.

Unless he's some kind of student
on female buttocks.

Detective Kirkendall,
15th Squad.

We need Crime Scene to respond
to 848 9th Street. Yeah.

The place was wiped clean.
The body bag...

that they found
on the trash cans‐‐
that was a casket cover.

So we got the lab
working on some blonde hairs
that were caught in the zipper.

It's gonna take
a couple weeks for D. N. A.

Suppose the hairs come out
the D. O. A.'s?

Body bag's not on his premises.
Any way to put it with Lentz?

Okay, what about
the porno tapes?

Well, this guy Lentz,
he had some shrine
to his top three stars.

One of them‐‐ I guess
you could make the case‐‐
resembles the D. O. A.

‐ Any chance it is the D. O. A.?
‐ It's like a resemblance.

You'd never mistake
'em for each other.

Maybe he saw her as
a close enough second.

‐ Well‐‐
‐ [ Door Opens ]

Have a seat.

Thanks.
Sure.

You know, I'm very worried
about my husband.

I think you got basis
for worry, Mrs. Buono.

Someone in your family, I think,
is in a difficult position.

And please believe me,
we want to get this resolved...

without hurtin' people
more than we have to.

Being honest with me,

you think I should have
an attorney present?

That depends on what you feel
needs concealing, Carol.

I don't want
to conceal anything...

or cause more hurt.

I just don't know
what to do.
Yeah.

[ Gasps ]
Oh!
[ Sobbing ]

Oh, God.

What can you tell me
about this typewriter?

Oh, God, forgive us.

God, forgive us.

You want God's forgiveness
for you and who else?

Hmm?
I can't say. I can't.

When will my wife arrive?

I'm not exactly sure
about that, Frank.

I'm reluctant to have
a conversation until I see her.

‐ I can understand that.
‐ Thanks.

‐ Do you know where my wife is?
‐ Frank, this typewriter
smashed in Sig Johnson's head.

My partner and I
got a big concern about
your wife being outside...

in the middle of the night,
the area where
this typewriter was found.

She's outside
without explanation,
4:00 a. m.,

seen by a witness
cleaning mud from her shoes.

What we're gonna pursue
is that mud...

from the lot where your
neighbor's body was found.

She didn't do anything,
so will you leave her alone?

We can't do that
until we get an explanation.

Frank, the reason we're looking
to you for help is, uh,

how would your wife have
the strength to kill Sig?

You know, how he died.
And yet, she was outside
and somehow involved.

Promise me she won't go to jail
if I tell you what happened?

Tell us the truth,
and we'll see
what we can do to help.

She just moved the typewriter.
That's it.

Your wife took the typewriter
from the lot around
4:00 this morning...

and threw it
in the Dumpster?

‐ That's her whole involvement.
‐ Frank, why'd she move
the typewriter?

I'm who threw it.

I killed Sig.
Oh, my God!

[ Crying ]

Why'd you do it, Frank?
She types.

She types to help expenses,
but only if it don't cut in,
you know?

Briefs for a law firm.
But if it don't cut in.

Come home last night,
9:30, no dinner.

There's no dinner all week.

Just tick‐tick‐tick
from her typing.

Don't even know I come home.
I lost my temper.
I lost control.

I wanted dinner.
And look up at least
when I come in.

So you threw your wife's
typewriter out the window?

We don't got a window.

I‐‐

I went and threw it
off the roof.
[ Sobbing ]

The dark‐‐
I never even knew I hit Sig.

She didn't know he was hurt
until she snuck out
to bring it back in,

hoping it wasn't busted too bad.

She finally called
and told me this afternoon.

She's been with Hilda all day.
Conscience tearing her up.

I'm such an asshole.

[ Sobbing ]

We're gonna tell you how
things are, Mel, then you'll
decide the future direction.

‐ I didn't do anything.
‐ First, we put a moratorium
on the "I didn't do nothing,"

'cause that pisses
my partner off,
and all of us know it's crap.

That casket casing that you put
Antoinette's body in, Mel?

Some of her hair got caught when
you zippered her up in that.

I don't know
what you're talking about.
That's first cousin...

to "I didn't do nothing,"
and it's gonna get you struck.

There was nothing incriminating
on my property.
You wanna bet your life...

that a jury's gonna care
if it was on your property
or in the alley just off of it?

I never hurt anybody in my life.
I never even got
a speeding ticket.

Why am I gonna kill her?
That's what we
were wondering, Mel.

What hatched your sick self
from the eggshell?

Till we went to your apartment
and saw all those ladies
you got living there.

No, I don't have ladies
to my place.

What about, uh,
Christy Darling?

You don't whip your skippy
thinking about...

what you'd do to her if
you saw her out on the street?

What about Chantal Marmont?

You saw Chantal, you'd follow
her to work, wouldn't you?

‐ I don't know 'em.
‐ [ Paper Bag Rustling ]

Say you saw Candace Champagne
waiting tables at a bar, Mel.

That would get a chubby going,
wouldn't it?

I don't know
any of these people.
Candy Champagne, Mel.

This is the porn actress
that's on half your closet wall.

Looks like some stuff's
been washed off
her picture there, Mel.

What type fluid
would that be?

I don't know her,
and I'm a normal guy.

That room with the shrine
to the porn queens,
that looked real normal.

‐ There's nothing wrong
with pornography.
‐ They made a movie about that.

Right? Larry Flynt?
He's a big hero.

‐ I happen to be normal,
all right?
‐ Mm‐hmm.

‐ A normal guy
with a midget pecker.
‐ You want to compare?

Yeah, sure, Mel.
Let's whip 'em out here.

We'll all be normal together.
This guy's half a fag.

Whoa, whoa, Andy.
You're a normal guy that
doesn't deal easily with women.

Is that more fair?
I satisfy myself.

Mel satisfying himself.
That's what got washed off
all these pictures.

‐You get scared around women?
‐I just don't‐‐ I just
don't have a smooth line.

[ Simone ] And that's
frustrating, right? Words
don't come when you want 'em.

I just can't, um, you know,
say what I'm feeling.

Mel's a totally normal man‐mute
before human women.

No, he hides at home, and he
flogs his dummy to pictures
he don't have to talk to.

I try to make myself understood.
I am a normal person!

So, Mel, this girl
reminded you of Candy? The one
you talked to in the bar?

Half‐blind geek. He probably
thought it was the same broad.

‐ I try to make
myself understood.
‐ How'd you do that, Mel, huh?

You jump on the table,
pull out your johnson
and make monkey sounds?

‐ Andy.
‐ I talk to her
one person to another.

And when she told you to get
lost, you burned her with wax
and you strangled her.

‐ Yeah? I wouldn't know
anything about that.
‐ Whoa, whoa. One second, Mel.

Don't start with, "I don't know
anything about that," 'cause
then you're gonna lose me.

Okay, I tried to talk to her
repeatedly and politely.

Don't you understand, Bobby?

Mel was just trying
to make friends.
I am a normal person!

And I told her that she
resembled a friend of mine, and
I tried to talk to her normally.

And she told you
you're a half‐blind geek,

and she don't care who
she looked like, and why
didn't you leave her alone.

Then I tried to talk to her
politely in the street,
and she maced me!

‐ And she screamed at me!
‐ Provoking him in that fashion?

Screaming and trying
to protect herself,
yet people can't fathom...

why a weak‐eyed,
tiny‐dicked pervert like Mel
would go committing a murder.

Okay! All right!
I wanna say this
the way that I wanna say it...

and not the way
that he makes it sound!

It's your statement, Mel.
Your statement.

Okay, I'm gonna say this
the way that I want to!

All right. Put the facts
right down here in the context
that you want 'em seen.

That's another great right
we got here.
Yeah, go ahead.

Let him put it
however he wants it.

This country‐‐
I don't know what the hell
is happening to it.

[ Door Slams ]

So how'd it go today, Gina?
Good, Lieutenant.

‐ I feel really lucky
working here.
‐ Yeah? Good night.

‐ I'll see you tomorrow.
‐ Yeah.

‐ Hey, all done?
‐ Hey, James.

What's the matter?

I guess I'm relieved
that the first shift is over,
and everyone's being so nice.

Yeah. I got specific plans
carrying through with that
this evening.

I'll meet you outside?
Yeah. Give me a hundred‐step
head start, all right?

[ Knocking ]
Yeah?

Hey.
Hey.

I'll, um‐‐ I'll make us
spaghetti and meatballs.

I don't know how long this
building thing is gonna take.

‐ I got Henry, this old lady.
‐ I'll make the meatballs,

and I'll put the water
on low for the pasta.

Counselor go okay?

Yeah, it did.
Dougie's really trying hard.

‐ Boss pissed off I took
the lost time?
‐ No, not at all.

Your mom show up?
Oh, she still has a cold.

I think that could last
a few years.

I'm‐I'm so nervous talking
about it with you, Bobby.
It's okay.

I'm not pretending my dad
didn't do what he did,
or the family problems.

I just don't want it to be
all we talk about.

You really run your mouth.
I think you talked about it,
like, a total of five minutes.

If you had to guess about
the building, what do you think,
a couple hours?

If it's more than
a couple hours, I want you
over there with a gun.

I've never been so involved
with my cooking.

This‐‐
[ Sighs ]

This broadening out the base
of our relationship is rough.

Although the counselor says
I've also got...

these regressed infantile needs
for immediate gratification,

and I shouldn't feel bad
about my impulses to intimacy.

So it might be good for me
to bang you in
the shower right now.

Why don't we try
to stay employed?

And, uh, let me see to
this building thing.

That's one way to stay dry.

I'll see you in a while.
Mm‐hmm.

Don't let her get you defensive
or take the upper hand.

All right.
And don't be mislead
by her size.

Henry, I've dealt
with her before,
all right?

[ Buzzing ]
[ Woman ]
Who is it?

It's Bobby Simone.

‐ Evening, Mrs. Murphy.
‐ What?

Remember, we said we were gonna
come over and talk to you?

And I'd like to know about what.
Can we come in?

Concerning what subject?
See this, Simone?

This is her hand.
This is yours.

Painting is, uh,
coming along pretty good here.

Henry's doing a good job.
What walls
are you looking at?

‐ Chronic and typical,
that type of comment.
‐ What was that?

Nothing, Edie. Saying what
a pleasure you are to work for.

You can see the end
of every brushstroke.

The surface of these walls look
like a World War I battlefield.

I never said
I was Michelangelo.

‐ What did he say?
‐ Henry was saying he's doing
the best that he can.

And I would say to my students,
"A poor thing it is."

This woman needs a beating.
Now, you and I
had an agreement.

I would withdraw my grievance
with the rent control board,

only on the condition that
this place would be painted.

He's painting, Mrs. Murphy.
[ Laughs ]

‐ He's wasting paint.
‐ Bring her tea, bring her mail.

I'm like Custer
at Little Bighorn!

Breaks open my mailbox
rather than climb the flight
for my key.

‐ Someone else did that, Edith.
‐ Malarkey.

What was I after,
coupons from Payless?

I got your note about
the mailbox, and I'm definitely
gonna get to that.

Meanwhile, I was the one
that asked Henry
to look out for the postman.

Bring the mail up to you
so it wouldn't just
sit there in an open box.

Look at those brushstrokes.
They look like tire tracks.

All right. Uh, you know what?
I work a late tour on Thursday.

I'll come around
Thursday morning.
I'll finish the job myself.

[ Laughs ]
Oh, I hope it wasn't you
who did the hallways.

‐ No, ma'am.
‐ I painted these hallways,

Edith, when this was
my mother's building.

They're a decent job.
So is this here. And you're
an ungrateful biddy!

‐ Henry‐‐
‐ You're a layabout.

‐ Come on now, Mrs. Murphy.
‐ Not up to his potential.

‐ Correct himself now
or be ready for ruin.
‐ When you taught, Edith,

students vote you Most Likely
to Come Back in Our Nightmares?

Hey!

If you've come here
to say he's quit,
say so and go.

‐ I don't need a long preamble.
‐ Henry is not looking to quit,
Mrs. Murphy.

He wants an understanding
what his responsibilities are.

‐ Aim for competence!
‐ This is hopeless.

Does he want appreciations
for his work and his company?

I don't announce that
at the tolling of each hour.

He will have to look
elsewhere for that.

But you do appreciate...

what Henry's doing for you,
don't you, Mrs. Murphy?

He will have to look
elsewhere for that‐‐
saying it every hour.

I'm not looking for a Cessna
spelling "thank you"
in the sky, Edith.

‐Just try not to break my balls.
‐There's no gutter here.

Won't be tolerated
in these rooms‐‐ bringing in
the language of the street.

‐ Now I'll have to clean
the erasers.
‐ But you are willing...

to have Henry
finish this job, right,
because I'm paying him to do it?

Well, yes!

[ Scoffs, Clicks Tongue ]

I'm saying once,

I'm grateful both
the labor and the company.

‐ What did she say?
‐ What?

N‐Nothing, Edith.
I'll be happy
to finish the job.

‐ All right, then.
‐ Good,

'cause I swore that
I was painting on Thursday.

Well, my arthritis
isn't too bad.

Would you like to stay
for a pot of tea?

Sure. That'd be nice.
Good. Sit.

Her tea stinks.