The Duel
[prison]
Ray: This won’t
take long. The guy will tell the parole board he wants
out. The arresting officer, that’s me, will tell them that
he’s an animal. Then they’ll put him back in for another
year.
Fraser: Well,
if it’s a foregone conclusion, why go through the
exercise?
Ray: Cause this
is a democracy.
[they sign in at a
security checkpoint]
Fraser: What’s
making you so edgy today?
Ray: What are
you talking about, edgy? That’s me. I always got
edge.
Fraser: It’s
not every day you check your cell phone instead of your
gun. [to
guard]
Thank you kindly.
[hearing
room]
Defender: While
incarcerated, my client, Mr. Carver, earned a Ph.D. in
chemistry. Oh, and a Master’s in mechanical engineering
from Northwestern University.
Ray:
[aside]
This is one sick dude.
Fraser: I’m
sure he is.
Ray: You can
tell he’s bad news just by looking at him.
Fraser: Well,
actually, Ray, I think he seems presentable.
Ray: Then how
do you know he’s bad news?
Fraser: Because
you said he was bad news.
Defender: Mr.
Carver also helped to reorganize the prison library. Now
he gets full marks at every evaluation as a well-behaved,
model prisoner. Now, if the word rehabilitation does not
apply to my client, then I think maybe we should just
remove it from the dictionary.
Ray: Charles
Carver is a vicious predator who should not be put back on
the street.
Parole board
officer: Predator? His records show only one arrest
and conviction for arson.
Ray: He’s lived
with a series of women--
Defender:
Hardly a crime.
Ray: One of
whom is missing and the other who is dead. Now, we’ve
never nailed this turkey for any of those--
Defender:
Excuse me, but Detective Vecchio is completely out of
line. My client has never been accused of, never mind
arrested, for any other crime.
Madeline
Carnes: Detective Vecchio, as the arresting officer,
has spent time with this prisoner--
Defender:
Which produced no further charges. Look, are we going to
start incarcerating people based on groundless
accusations?
Carver: I would
like a chance to show Detective Vecchio that I’ve learned
a great deal while in prison, and that he greatly
underestimates this...turkey.
[parole is
granted]
[Madeline Carnes’
apartment; she steps into the shower, washes herself &
lathers her hair... something comes down from the ceiling
& touches her; she turns...she screams]
[street; Vecchio
parks the Riv]
Fraser: Thanks
for driving me by here, Ray. Apparently, there was a
special request that someone from the Canadian consulate
pay a visit.
Ray: To a
building that hasn’t been built yet?
Fraser: That
wasn’t mentioned, no.
Ray: Who made
the request?
Fraser: I don’t
know. Perhaps it was some kind of miscommunication.
[cell phone
rings]
Ray: Vecchio...
Yeah, all right. I’m all over it.
[hangs
up] Well,
I just got a call. Building up the street.
[Madeline Carnes’
apartment]
Housekeeper:
Inside. I’ll make more tea.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly.
Ray: Hey,
Maddie, what’s going on?
Madeline:
Hey.
Ray: We got a
call at this address on a 634 point 2?
Madeline: Yeah,
in the bathroom.
[Vecchio exits]
Madeline
: Hi.
Fraser. Hi.
Excuse us.
[hollers]
Ray, what exactly is a 634 point 2?
Ray:
[voice]
Turkey in the shower?
Madeline: I
didn’t see it. It seemed like it sort of grabbed me and I
sort of freaked.
Fraser:
Understandably.
[Vecchio brings out
a turkey & puts it on the table]
Ray: All right,
Maddie. If you don’t mind, we’re going to have to ask you
a few questions. Is there anybody in your life who’s a
practical joker?
Madeline:
No.
Ray: Any
weirdoes or creeps that have a crush on you?
Madeline: The
hours that I work, it’s pretty much no guys.
Ray: Right.
Well, Benny, I guess you’re going to want to lick
it.
Fraser: Why is
that, Ray?
Ray: To see
where it came from.
Fraser: Well,
it’s obvious. It came from a supermarket. It’s a standard
frozen turkey, self-basting.
Ray: Yeah.
Looks like we’re not going to get any fingerprints off of
it.
Fraser: I think
that’s unlikely.
[Fraser puts on rubber gloves as Vecchio checks the front
door]
Ray: No obvious
signs of forced entry. You know, Maddie, I’m going to have
a team come down and take a look around, if you don’t
mind.
Madeline:
Yeah.
Fraser:
[checking inside
turkey] I
get sent to this neighborhood by an inauthentic call.
Coincidentally, you receive a call that sends you to a
nearby apartment, which coincidentally belongs to an
assistant state’s attorney, who attended a parole hearing
during which, coincidentally, you called the prisoner a
turkey.
Ray:
Carver.
Fraser:
Mmm.
Madeline: So we
can arrest him.
Ray: For what,
assault with poultry?
Fraser: Very
heavy giblets.
[he pulls out a
packet from turkey and opens it]
Ray: Toy
bus.
Fraser: Line
28.
Ray: That’s the
Kenwood bus. Maddie? Don’t be alone today.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly.
[Riv]
Ray: It started
with a young woman named Katie Banks. We found her body
under a bridge. She’d been living with Carver. She bought
him a car, a stereo, and a computer with her family money.
And then he shacked up with a woman 15 years older. She
ended up dead, but after putting Carver in her will.
Fraser: What
was the cause of death?
Ray:
Accidental. At least that’s all we could show. This guy is
cruel, gets inside their heads.
Fraser: So you
think it’s possible that he drove her to kill herself,
then made it look like an accident?
Ray: It’s
possible. Then within weeks he found Helen Harris. Now,
Miss Harris was willing to talk to us about the physical
and psychological abuse, but she disappeared. And then we
got lucky. A building burned down that he had an interest
in. When I scoured the scene, I found the heel of a shoe
that matched one that I found at his townhouse.
Fraser: So he
slipped up?
Ray: The only
time. Now, we couldn’t get him for what he did to those
women, but we were able to put him away for a few years.
He was furious, screaming it was a bum rap. It made him
nuts that he got caught. Here’s our bus.
[Vecchio parks the Riv & they run for the bus; it
pulls away, but stops for
them]
Fraser: Thank
you. Kenwood?
Driver: You got
it.
Fraser:
Good.
[man (Carver)
watches through binoculars]
Carver : Nice move.
[he flips a switch on a dual-switch remote; the brake line
on the bus
snaps]
Driver: What
the--
[he flips second
switch and the bus accelerates]
Driver:
Hey!!
Ray: No
brakes?
Driver: No! The
accelerator. It’s stuck. Everybody, hang on!
[bus plows through an intersection, narrowly missing
several
cars]
Fraser: All
right. Ray, do you know this area?
Ray:
Yeah.
Fraser: Okay.
We need to find somewhere nice and soft to land in.
Ray: In the
middle of the city?
Fraser: Think
goose down or shaving cream.
Ray: Shaving
cream? You think someone’s going to have a pile of shaving
cream--
Fraser : No, Ray--
Ray
: --piled up somewhere in the middle of a city?
Fraser: No,
Ray, we’re brainstorming.
[to
driver] Do
you have a city map?
Driver: There.
[points]
Fraser:
Right.
[passengers are terrified]
Fraser
: I’ve got it, here. E-4.
Ray: Okay,
we’re going to be coming up into some serious traffic and
then a dead end.
Fraser: Yeah, I
see it. Grandin Road. Okay,
think, uh... Quiche!
Ray:
Sawdust.
Fraser: Water.
Lake Michigan.
Driver: Hold
on!
[bus dodges traffic,
makes a hard left]
Fraser: Well
done, sir.
Driver: Thank
you. Now what are we going to do when we get to the
lake?
Fraser: Keep
going.
[bus plows straight
through the guard rail, over the sand beach, and into
lake; Vecchio jumps out the rear door and begins assisting
passengers]
Ray: Okay, take
your time. Easy. Watch the water. Easy. That’s it.
Laurie?
Laurie:
Ray!
Ray: How are
you?
Laurie: I’m all
right, I’m all right.
[Fraser now assisting passengers
off]
Ray: Hey,
Benny. I’d like you to meet my first partner, Laurie
Zaylor.
Laurie:
Hi.
Ray: Jeez, I
haven’t seen you since you quit the force.
Laurie: Yeah,
well, I’ve pretty much stayed away from all the old
places. The point was a calmer lifestyle, less
excitement.
Ray
: Mmm.
Fraser: Do you
ride this bus every day?
Laurie: Every
day.
Fraser: At the
same time?
Laurie:
Yeah.
[cell phone
rings]
Ray:
Vecchio.
Carver: How did
you do, Detective? Did you figure it out by yourself, or
did you get help?
Ray: You’ve
blown it this time.
Carver: Blown
it? No, Detective. Blowing it is for next time.
[apartment building
hallway]
Fraser: Well,
I’m not saying I won’t accompany you, Ray. I mean,
obviously, I am accompanying you. I’m just suggesting that
you act with restraint, not out of pure emotion.
Ray: If I was
acting out of pure emotion, I would just kill the guy. So
anything you see short of that is a model of
restraint.
Fraser: I’ll
remember that.
[knock
knock
knock; door opens]
Carver:
Detective Vecchio. Well--
Ray:
[pushes
Carver]
Violating your parole within hours of being let out? How
smart is that?! Endangering the lives of 30 individuals
and then calling up to take credit for it?
[push]
How smart is that?! And since you have
to register with a parole officer and we’re going to know
where you are every minute of every day? How smart is
that?
Fraser: Ray?
[indicates teenage
girl in room]
Ray: What’s he
done to you?
Shannon: He’s
tutoring me in chemistry.
Carver: Pure
torture for some.
Fraser: It’s
Avogadro’s number, Ray. It’s standard in any high school
chemistry class.
Carver: I don’t
believe I’ve had the pleasure.
Fraser:
Constable Benton Fraser, Royal Canadian--
Carver:
--Canadian Mounted Police. Yes, I know. I love the
Mounties.
Fraser: Well,
thank you.
Ray: Don’t be
thanking him.
Fraser:
Sorry.
Carver: There
must be some logical explanation for why you’re going
around on duty with a Chicago policeman.
Fraser:
Curious, possibly. But logical? No.
Carver: A
refreshing openness. A quality local law enforcement is
sorely lacking. I was arrested and convicted for a crime I
didn’t commit.
Fraser: There
was physical evidence--
Carver: False
evidence. Could I have been as stupid as they
suggest?
Fraser: You
know, Mr. Carver, even the brightest light bulbs burn
out.
Carver: Indeed.
But is it not possible that your friend here crossed the
line and framed an innocent man?
Ray: That’s
enough, Carver.
Carver: I hope
so. Unless the Chicago Police Department has a problem
with the teaching of high school science, Shannon and I
have a great deal of material to get through.
[Vecchio pushes him into a
chair]
Ray: Save it
for someone who cares.
[27th
precinct]
Welsh: So we’re
raiding chemistry classes now, huh, Vecchio? Trying to
combat this vicious epidemic of people trying to improve
their minds in the city of Chicago?
Ray: That
wasn’t the purpose, sir.
Welsh: Well,
good. So there was a reason for you to upset this
law-abiding, north side student.
Ray: This guy’s
dirty, Lieutenant. He’s out of control. He’s gonna hurt
somebody.
Welsh: I think
it is time to check around, see who is out of
control.
Ray: All right.
Fine. Let’s put a watch on him.
Welsh: All
right. I’ll put a team on it. But. You got to nail him for
something a little more serious than giving too much
homework.
[stakeout; Huey and
another cop keep watch on Carver’s place]
[Riv; cell phone
rings]
Fraser:
Detective Vecchio’s mobile office.
Carver:
[voice]
He available?
Ray:
[taking phone]
Yeah.
Carver: A full
bore Carver stakeout. I’m impressed, Detective.
Ray: Don’t
be.
Carver: This
will make for a very solid Carver alibi, now, won’t
it?
Ray: It depends
on what you’re planning.
Carver: You’re
in your car, aren’t you, Detective? I’m surprised you’d
let your timing get out of adjustment like that.
Ray: Make your
move, pal. Let’s get this over with tonight.
Carver: “Good
night socks, good night clocks, good night room, and good
night moon.”
[Vecchio’s bedroom,
morning; phone rings, waking him up]
Ray:
Yeah.
Carver: When
you drive your car this morning, you’ll find the timing
improved. Oh, and a couple of those belts and hoses were
shot, so it just made sense to replace them. Basic stuff.
Simple maintenance. You should keep on top of this,
Detective.
[Vecchio hangs up,
then checks the Riv; phone rings as he goes
inside]
Ray:
What.
Carver: You
aren’t even going to say thank you? Did you notice also
the car had been detailed?
Ray: You can
kiss your parole goodbye, Carver.
Carver: Is it
against the law to do something nice for someone? Do you
want the old hoses put back, and the timing made bad
again? Do you like dirt on a car?
[27th
precinct; interrogation room]
Madeline:
Constable Fraser, Frank Greco is visiting us from the
States Attorney’s Office. He specializes in police
officer-related misconduct. So he’d like to ask you a
couple of questions about Detective Vecchio.
Fraser:
Detective Vecchio is a fine officer. I have never worked
with better. [to
Madeline] You know how committed he is.
Greco: We all
know how committed he is. That’s what I need to learn more
about.
Fraser: Is that
a problem?
Greco: He seems
to be taking the Carver case very personally.
Fraser: Well,
Carver has made it very personal.
Greco: What’s
your assessment of Detective Vecchio’s current frame of
mind?
Fraser: I’m
sorry, I, um... Detective Vecchio is my colleague and my
friend.
Greco:
Yes?
Fraser: As a
consequence, I really can’t participate in this.
Greco: That’s
your election.
Fraser: Yes, I
know. And I elect not to participate. Thank you.
[bullpen]
Fraser: Have
you seen Detective Vecchio?
Huey: Nope.
Haven’t seen him, but feel free to have a seat at his
desk, Benton.
Fraser: Thank
you.
[Fraser notices that
on Vecchio’s desk a toy boat floats in a paper cup filled
with water; he picks it up]
Ray: What is it
with you guys? You let that bozo slip right by you.
[sees toy in
Fraser’s
hand]
What’s that?
Fraser: It was
on your desk.
Ray: Put it
down.
[Fraser does;
Vecchio pulls something out of the drawer and smashes the
toy]
Ray: No more
games.
[Madeline & Greco witness this outburst; Fraser picks
up a piece of the smashed toy]
Fraser: Ray, do
you know anyone with a boat called the
‘Bookem’?
Ray: Yeah. Will
Kelly. He was here before Welsh. Retired to fish up on the
river. He was my first supervisor... Huey, call the
sheriff up there. Let’s go!
[Riv]
Ray: Will Kelly
was... He was the best. Everybody looked up to him. He was
like... I don’t know, imagine, your dad.
Fraser: I
understand.
Ray: For some
reason, he thought I could do this job, that I could be
really good at it. It was because of him I made detective
when I did.
Fraser: I’ve
heard his name mentioned.
Ray: They still
quote him today. “A good cop is never wet and never
hungry. Interrogation is a contact sport. And all suspects
are guilty of something.”
Carver:
[listening]
Let me write that down.
[Kelly’s
trailer]
Sheriff:
Detective Vecchio? Vince Corey.
Ray: Yeah, how
you doing? Benton Fraser.
Sheriff: Hey,
that’s a smart color for hunting season. I wish I could
get everybody else to take the same precautions.
Fraser: Thank
you.
Ray: Where’s
Kelly?
Sheriff: Look,
I have walked all around this area, everything seems to be
in order.
Fraser: Where’s
the boat? It’s a rough day to be on the water.
Sheriff: Sure
is.
[they find charred
debris at the shoreline]
Ray: Kelly’s
boat! Call for help!
Fraser: If the
current brought this in, then...Upstream.
[Dief barks; Kelly
is lying face down on the shore]
Ray:
Will!
[Kelly’s
trailer]
Sheriff: You
got here at the right time, Constable.
Fraser: Thank
you.
Sheriff: It’s a
good thing you brought this fellow along, Ray. He knew
right where to look.
Fraser: I’m
sure Detective Vecchio would have made the same
determination.
Kelly: The
engine just blew. Must have been a spark in the fuel
system, or...
Ray: Or a
bomb.
Kelly: A
bomb?
Ray: Yeah. You
remember Charles Carver? We took him down when you were my
supervisor?
Kelly: Yeah, we
sent him up for--
Ray: Arson. But
we could have had him on those other charges, too. Fraud,
possibly homicide.
Kelly: Well, I
certainly remember you felt that way, Ray.
Ray: Well, he’s
out on parole. He’s going after anybody who had anything
to do with this case. Seems he wants the world to think he
was framed.
Kelly: You had
him, didn’t you, Ray?
[Vecchio house;
doorbell rings]
Francesca:
Hello?
Carver:
Francesca Vecchio?
[he’s holding a
large floral arrangement]
Francesca: Oh,
they’re beautiful!
Carver: From
Ray.
Francesca: Ray
remembered my birthday? You gotta be kidding!
Carver: Is
there somewhere you’d like me to put these?
Francesca: Uh,
sure. [leads him
into house]
Carver:
Here?
Francesca: No.
Let me just grab a trivet.
[Carver observes
baby sitting in stroller]
Francesca: God,
they’re fabulous!
Carver: Well he
must know how lucky he is to have such a pretty
girl.
Francesca: Ah,
no. Ray-Ray’s my brother.
Carver: Then
the flowers from your husband can’t be far behind.
Francesca: I’m
not married.
Carver: So the
little one’s...
Francesca: My
sister’s. I don’t have kids.
Carver:
Ahh. What a darling face. You
take her out for a breath of air?
Francesca:
Yeah, well, her mom’s gonna take her down to see the clown
by the lake if it doesn’t get too cold.
Carver: Well,
let’s hope the weather holds. Bye now.
Francesca:
[waves baby’s
arm] Say
bye. Bye.
[Kelly’s trailer; as
they leave, Fraser sees ribbon on mailbox]
Fraser: Ray,
stop.
[Fraser finds a toy
baby stroller]
Ray: You gotta
be kidding me. There’s gotta be a hundred thousand of
those in Chicago.
[cell phone
rings]
Ray:
Vecchio.
Francesca: Ray.
What got into you? That was so incredibly sweet.
Ray: What are
you talking about?
Francesca: The
flowers you sent.
Ray: Frannie,
get everybody in! Ma, Maria, the kids. We’re on our
way.
Francesca:
Well, Maria’s out with the baby.
Ray:
[to
Fraser]
It’s not people related to the bust that he’s after. It’s
people related to me.
[park; clown
entertains dozens of kids; Vecchio and Fraser arrive and
search each stroller]
Fraser : Excuse me.
Man : Can I help you?
Fraser : Pardon me.
Woman : Get away from there!
Fraser : Excuse me.
[Dief noses a particular stroller; Fraser grabs it, running headlong for the water]
Voices : Hey! What are you doing?! Hey!! Bring that carriage back!
[Fraser tosses it into the lake, to the extreme dismay of
onlookers, just before it
explodes]
[Vecchio house; the
Vecchios are loaded into the station wagon]
Ray: All
right. Good. The phone works. Now listen, don’t call me,
all right? Ma, don’t call me. I’ll check in with you every
hour, all right? All right? Be careful.
Francesca:
Bye.
[the Vecchios pull
away]
Ray: You should
be with them.
Francesca: I
can’t leave work, Ray.
Ray: Well, you
can’t stay here, either.
[Fraser’s apartment
building; Fraser walks down hallway...stops...sniffs; as
he approaches his apartment the music gets louder. Music:
‘Piano Concerto No. 1 Allegro Non
Troppo’ by
Tchaikovsky]
Francesca:
Welcome home, Benton. I hope you like lasagna.
[Fraser looks around: Frannie has...*moved in*]
Francesca
: So, how was your day?
Fraser: Fine,
thank you.
Francesca: Why
don’t you come over here and wash up. Go ahead.
[diner; Vecchio
watches Carver; Vecchio goes to bite into his burger, and
finds a toy fire truck inside]
[Fraser’s apartment;
candlelit dinner]
Francesca: You
know, it’s going to take me a while to get it just how you
like it.
Fraser: It’s
delicious.
Francesca: You
haven’t tried it yet.
Fraser: Oh.
[takes
bite]
Mmm.
Francesca:
Really?
Fraser:
Mmm.
Francesca:
Cause you know, I just think it’s very important that we
be honest with each other right from the start.
Fraser: It’s
perfect.
Francesca: Oh,
good. You know, you’re always honest, I know that. But
you’re always polite too, so sometimes I can’t know if
you’re being honest or, you know, you’re being polite-- If
I babble too much you have to tell me.
Fraser: No, no,
no. No, I mean, yes. I mean, yes, I will-- But no-- Keep
talking.
Francesca:
Okay. [closes cell
phone] So,
um, what are we gonna talk about tonight?
Fraser:
Anything you’d like.
Francesca: When
I’m with my friends, my girlfriends, we’d talk about, you
know, skin care products and things like that, but,
uh--
Fraser: That
sounds interesting.
Francesca: No.
I read enough magazines to know that, you know, with each
guy you talk about what he’s interested in.
Fraser: I
see.
Francesca: So,
um, how about that Iditarod, huh?
Fraser: Which
Iditarod?
[basement; electrical panel sparks and
smokes]
[Riv]
Ray:
[phone to
ear] Come
on, Frannie, pick up. Fraser, why don’t you have a
phone?
[Fraser’s
apartment]
Francesca: This
is so nice. So different from home. I mean, we’re halfway
through dinner and you haven’t even yelled once yet.
Fraser: Well,
no.
Francesca: I
could really get used to this politeness stuff. You know,
sometimes I think it would actually be better if married
people treated each other like strangers.
Fraser: Well,
that may be. But it doesn’t follow, therefore, that
strangers would be better off if they treated each other
as if they were married.
Francesca:
[sigh]
I love it when you’re logical.
Fraser: You’re
pretty much going to like anything I say, aren’t
you?
Francesca:
Anything.
[electrical box
sparks; lights flicker in the hallway]
Francesca: You
know, Fraze, since skin care products are an area that I’m
familiar with, I did manage to get rid of that harsh
Mountie-issue soap you were using.
Fraser: I
didn’t realize it was harsh.
Francesca: Oh,
yeah. In our climate, that really dries out your
skin.
Fraser:
Really?
Francesca:
Yeah. I mean, you have to end up buying like two different
kinds of moisturizers to compensate for the dryness and
the pollution in the air, and then you--
Fraser: I smell
something burning.
Francesca: Oh
my God, the Pears Helene!
Fraser: No,
it’s not that.
[lights
flicker]
Downstairs.
Man: The
elevator’s stuck!
Fraser: I’ll
have you out in a second.
[Fraser extinguishes
the electrical fire, then throws two switches; Vecchio
arrives]
Ray: I called
it in.
Francesca: Hey.
[holds up a pair of
small sneakers]
Ray: You’re
leaving town.
[27th
precinct, bullpen; Welsh conferring with woman]
Ray: Excuse me,
Lieutenant.
Welsh:
[to
woman]
Thank you.
Ray: Okay.
[holds up plastic
evidence
bags] We
found these and this, a sophisticated incendiary
device.
Welsh: Vecchio,
it was a fire. Let arson handle it.
[Welsh’s
office]
Welsh: What did
you find?
Elaine:
Everything you asked for.
Welsh:
And?
Elaine: Well,
when you read these old Carver files, it really seems that
the prosecution’s case was pretty thin.
[Madeline’s
apartment]
Madeline: There
was no record of any previous criminal activity. It was a
very tenuous motive.
Fraser: And
yet, the jury found him guilty.
Madeline: Well,
it all came down to that missing heel from Carver’s shoe
that Ray found at the scene. I mean, that and the
intensity of Ray’s testimony.
Fraser: And Ray
found the heel after the arson investigators had been over
the scene?
Madeline: Yes.
But we were able to explain that, because the
investigators had been called away. I mean, they hadn’t
really completed their investigation. So it was possible
that they could have missed it.
Fraser: You
don’t sound entirely convinced.
Madeline: He’s
your friend.
Fraser:
Yes.
Madeline: You
work with him?
Fraser:
Yes.
Madeline: Well,
did you ever see him knock down a door without a warrant,
rough up a suspect a little too much?
Fraser: Are you
suggesting he stepped over the line?
Madeline: I
don’t know, Benton. I just remember that he was so worked
up over this case. At the time it just seemed like a
situation with someone going the extra mile, you know,
real crackerjack police work.
[27th
precinct]
Elaine: Hey,
Angie!
Angie: Hi,
Elaine.
Elaine: Are you
here to see Ray?
Angie:
No.
[restaurant]
Laurie: Is this
place all right? I wasn’t sure when you said you wanted to
talk.
Fraser: No, it
seems perfectly fine.
Laurie: Good.
You know, we could have a drink. It doesn’t have to be
just business.
Fraser: No, no,
um... Uh, yes. I mean, uh... Well, actually, the fact of
the matter is, I do have some questions I’d like to ask
you.
Laurie: About
Ray.
Fraser: Yes,
about Ray. You were Ray’s partner when you left the force,
weren’t you?
Laurie: I was
sick of police work. The lousy hours, bad food, the
scuzzy people that you
meet.
Fraser: Such as
Charles Carver?
Laurie: Yeah,
he was one of the
scuzziest.
Fraser: And you
left shortly after the Carver case, didn’t you? Now, was
that because of Carver or was it because of Ray?
Laurie: Ray was
pretty intense back then. That put a lot of people off,
but I liked him. He really cared.
Fraser: You
cared as well, obviously. You were partners. You went back
to the crime scene and found the heel that matched
Carver’s shoe.
Laurie:
Actually, I didn’t. We had put in an 18-hour day. We were
off the clock and Kelly sent me home to crash. Ray went
back to have one last look around.
Fraser: So Ray
was all alone when he found the heel?
[Laurie
nods]
[Riv]
Ray: Carver
didn’t just study chemistry in stir. Condition of parole,
we have access to his living quarters. The guys found
that.
Fraser:
Clippings of the cases you worked on. A page from your
high school yearbook. “Most Likely To Wind Up Behind
Bars.” Oh, that’s not you, that’s
Vincenzo.
Ray: Yeah. He’s
got a book on me, but that still doesn’t explain why he’s
always one step ahead of us. He seems to know just what
we’re thinking and where we’re going.
Fraser: And yet
we haven’t revealed anything to him.
[they look around
suspiciously; Vecchio pulls over to the side of the road
and reaches under the dashboard; he finds a listening
device, and smashes it]
Ray: The night
he took my car.
[cell phone
rings]
Ray:
Vecchio.
Carver: I would
have thought you would have figured out there was a bug in
your car before this.
Ray:
[to
Fraser]
Carver.
Carver: Don’t
get off your game, Detective. You’ll make this too easy.
And that won’t be any fun at all.
Fraser: Ask him
how the heel on his shoe came loose.
Ray:
How--
Carver: The
heel on my shoe wasn’t loose.
Ray: He says it
wasn’t loose.
Fraser: He
heard the question.
Ray: There’s
another bug.
[Kelly’s
trailer]
Huey:
Lieutenant Kelly?
Kelly : Mmm. [nods]
Huey
: Detective Huey. Elaine Besbriss.
Elaine: Hi.
We’d like to ask you a few questions.
Kelly: Come on
inside.
[Riv; Vecchio &
Fraser thoroughly search the car]
Fraser: It has
to have been close enough to the passenger compartment so
he could have heard us.
Ray: Without
being drowned out by the engine noise.
[Vecchio pulls out a
small red car from underneath the dashboard]
Fraser: What’s
this, another toy?
Ray: No, not
just a toy. It’s a 1971 Buick Riviera. It’s my car.
Fraser: It’s
not your car, Ray. Your car’s green.
Ray: Yeah, well
maybe he couldn’t find a green one. It’s still obvious.
He’s saying I’m going to have an accident.
Fraser: Well,
possibly. But look at the way this has been crushed,
flattened almost, as though someone had stepped on
it.
Ray:
Right.
Fraser: Well
very few accidents cause this, where a vehicle is
flattened from the top. I mean, a lot of accidents you
could cause, but to cause this would be extremely
difficult.
Ray: So what
are you saying, he’s not threatening an accident?
Fraser: I don’t
know.
[Vecchio sits down in the car]
Ray
: You know, Benny... Puzzles and riddles, I was never very
good at any of this stuff.
Fraser: What
are you saying, Ray, you solve puzzles all the time.
Ray: Yeah, but
not like this. This is-this is like those problems in
school. You know, those logic problems where a train
leaves Dayton at 2pm travelling 60 miles an hour and
another train leaves Akron at 1pm travelling at 40 miles
an hour, at what time do they intersect. The only answer I
could ever come up with was I don’t care!
Fraser: It’s a
fine answer. You’re doing fine, Ray.
Ray: No, I’m
not doing fine. You know, he’s-he’s wreaking havoc, he’s
blowing up bombs, he’s lighting fires, and I’m not even
this close to stopping him.
Fraser: Ray, no
one has been hurt.
Ray: Not yet.
You know, it’s like I’m playing this weird game and I
don’t even know the rules.
Fraser: You’re
figuring them out.
Ray: Yeah. But
he’s got me completely figured out. I’m not up to this,
Benny.
[27th
precinct]
Welsh: Vecchio,
I need to see you. Alone.
[Welsh’s office]
Welsh
: You know Frank Greco from the States Attorney’s
Office.
Greco: How do
you do?
Welsh: And of
course you know our friends from Internal Affairs. Frank
investigates officer malfeasance.
Ray: I don’t
believe this.
Welsh: Ray,
this isn’t easy for me.
Greco: This
isn’t about now, Detective. This is about 8 years ago. The
original Charles Carver bust.
Ray: What about
it?
Greco: It’s
looking bad, Vecchio. The shoe with the missing heel
hadn’t been worn without the heel as it would have been if
someone were running from the scene of a crime. So the
heel was removed from the shoe when it was indoors. The
evidence was planted.
Ray: You just
discovering this now?
Greco: We’ve
been asking some questions that should have been asked
then but weren’t in the rush to judgment. And we’ve been
talking to some people that should have been talked to
then but weren’t.
Ray: Like
who?
Greco: Other
investigators. Attorneys.
Ray: My
ex-wife. [Welsh
nods]
Look, don’t you guys see what’s happening here? He’s doing
this. He’s got you focusing on the old case so that you’re
distracted and you’re slowed down. We gotta move on this
thing now!
Greco: This
time, Detective, we’re not going to be rushed into making
a mistake.
[Kelly’s
trailer]
Kelly: You see,
Constable, when you’re angling for the big one, you need
determination, and you need patience. Ray had
determination.
Fraser: And
what about patience?
Kelly: Patience
wasn’t his long suit. Look. You gotta understand. Carver
was dirty.
Fraser: Dirty
enough so a policeman would want to plant evidence? The
arson investigators had combed that scene.
Kelly: They
didn’t look under every charred timber.
Fraser: So the
heel was hidden?
Kelly: It
wasn’t that well-hidden. Ray found it. And we sent away a
very bad guy. More than that, nobody needs to know.
[27th
precinct; Welsh’s office]
Greco:
Detective Vecchio, you were still with your ex-wife at the
time of Carver’s arrest, huh?
Ray:
Yeah.
Greco: She said
she saw the heel, what turned out to be the heel of
Carver’s shoe, at your home.
Ray: She might
have.
Greco: You had
it at your home?
Ray: Look, I
had it on my possession from the time I left that crime
scene until I booked it in at the station.
Welsh: And you
stopped there right about lunchtime, right?
Ray:
Yeah.
Welsh:
Something that you were in a habit of doing?
Ray: No.
Greco: Would
you say you’ve done it often, occasionally, rarely--
Ray: I’d never
done it before. Look, me and my wife, we were having some
problems, okay? Our marriage wasn’t going too well. We had
a fight that morning, and I just stopped home around
lunchtime to smooth things over.
Greco: So is it
fair to say, Detective Vecchio, that you were emotionally
upset at the time?
[corridor]
Angie:
Hey.
Ray: Hey.
Angie: Listen,
is it going to be okay?
Ray: Well, at
this point, we don’t know.
Angie: I’m
sorry, Ray. They were asking me questions. I had to tell
‘em.
Ray: You did
right.
Angie:
[sigh]
Oh, man. Listen, I told them that I
thought you were more committed to catching bad guys than
anyone I knew on the force.
Ray: You told
them that?
Angie: Yeah, I
did. Shouldn’t I have?
Ray: Well, it’s
not that. It, uh... They think that maybe I was too
committed. They think I planted evidence.
Angie: Yeah,
the heel of the shoe.
Ray:
Yeah.
Angie: Listen,
Ray, every cop in the district wanted that squirrel off
the streets. I mean, he was creepy. He was doing weird
things. But you know, it seemed like, you know, if you
could do something that could get him off the street that
wasn’t going to hurt anyone, that that wouldn’t be a bad
thing.
Ray: What are
you saying, Ange, that I
planted that heel?
Angie: Well,
it’s kinda weird, Ray. A guy that careful leaving a heel
like that, and you’re coming home carrying it in your
pocket...
Ray: You really
think I would do something like that?
Angie: I think
you wanted him off the streets. I think you were
right.
Ray: Take it
easy, Ange.
[exits]
Angie: Oh,
great.
[Fraser’s apartment;
Fraser enters to silence]
Fraser:
Dief?
[he finds clumps of
hair – deliberately placed? – then goes back into hall;
finds twine on the floor, tastes, sniffs deeply,
stands...and falls over]
[27th
precinct; Vecchio finds on his desk a box: it contains a
toy hearse, and inside that is a Mountie
figurine]
Huey: Another
one? [Vecchio shows
him the
figurine]
I’ll call the consulate.
Ray: He won’t
be there.
Huey: Then I’ll
go by his place.
Ray: He won’t
be there either.
Huey: You know
where he is?
Ray: No. I’m
supposed to figure it out.
[lines up all the
clues; he ponders the hearse, and places it on top of
crushed Riv... the light dawns]
[junkyard; tractor
puts a car into the crusher as Vecchio arrives]
Ray: Hey,
Fraser! Fraser!!
Fraser:
Mmm-mmm-mmm!
Ray : Fraser!
Fraser : Mmm-mmm-mmm!
[Dief barks]
[Vecchio climbs up stack of cars to red Riviera on top,
then climbs into the
Riv]
Ray: Hang in
there, Benny. I’ll have you untied in a second.
Fraser
: Mmm-mmm-mmm!
[removes Fraser’s
gag, sticks his arm through the seat to untie Fraser, but
his arm gets stuck]
Ray: I’m
stuck.
[Dief growls,
muzzled]
[the car is picked
up]
Fraser : You’re assessment.
Ray
: This sucks.
Fraser: That’s
valid. Listen, Ray, I’ve come to the conclusion that the
heel was planted.
Ray: Not you,
too.
Fraser: Yes.
And the arson investigators had been all over that
scene.
Ray: Yeah, but
not thoroughly.
Fraser: Still,
they would have seen it since it wasn’t entirely hidden in
the debris.
Ray: How do you
know it wasn’t entirely hidden?
Fraser: Well, I
was told. All suspects are guilty of something.
Ray:
Kelly.
Fraser: That’s
right. He was the one who sent your partner Laurie home
early. He was also the one who told you to go back for one
last look around.
Ray: I wanted
Carver so bad I didn’t even question it. I could have
nailed him clean.
Fraser: There
was no evidence, Ray.
Ray: There’s
always evidence. I was new, Benny. I hadn’t made
detective. But I can nail him now. I found Helen
Harris.
[the car is placed into the
crusher]
Fraser: The
woman Carver lived with? The one who disappeared?
Ray:
Yeah.
Fraser: I
see.
[Carver gets down
from the tractor and stands at the Riv]
Carver: You
didn’t find Helen Harris.
Ray: I found
Helen Harris living in Maryland. She’s ready to tell the
whole crummy story about how you treated her and those
other women.
Carver: She’s
lying.
Ray: I don’t
think so.
Carver: Whoever
you spoke to wasn’t Helen Harris.
Ray: Five-six,
brown hair, walks with a limp, says you’re a
reptile.
Carver: This is
a setup. It’s Kelly again, or Welsh, or... Fraser
here.
Ray: Sorry,
pal. You shouldn’t have let this one get away.
Carver: I did
not let her get away.
Ray: You should
have killed her.
Carver: I did
kill her.
Ray: You don’t
know how happy I am to hear you say that.
Carver: Okay,
well, you’ve heard it. So what?
Fraser: What if
he wasn’t the only one to hear it?
Ray: What if
Lieutenant Welsh heard it?
[Welsh and police
appear, training guns on Carver]
Fraser: What if
Assistant State’s Attorneys Carnes and Greco heard
it?
[they
appear]
Fraser: That’s
very good, Ray.
Ray: You’re not
the only one who knows how to plant a bug, Charlie. You
really didn’t expect me to play this game by your rules,
did you?
[Carver is taken
away]
Fraser: You
knew Carver wanted to hear you panic?
Ray:
Yeah.
Fraser: So you
knew the car was bugged.
Ray:
Absolutely.
Fraser: Very
clever, Ray.
Ray: Ah, thank
you, Benny.
Fraser: I just
have one question.
Ray: What’s
that?
Fraser: Well, I
have to meet the trade minister who’s coming in by train
from Waukegan tonight. Now, if the train is traveling at,
say, an average of a hundred kilometers an hour--
Ray: 62 miles
per hour.
Fraser: Point
one four. And if I’m traveling at a hundred kilometers an
hour, where would the most logical place for us to
intersect be?
Ray: Who
cares?
Fraser: It’s a
fine
answer.
[prison, Carver’s cell; guard delivers a package: it’s a toy ambulance, with something inside... a picture of Vecchio, grinning broadly]
End