Ladies Man
[sidewalk; Kowalski
kicks trash]
Ray: Empty can.
Garbage can. How hard is the equation? I mean, I don’t get
it. How hard is that? Look at this. Box. You put one box
in the other box then you take it to the dump or wherever.
How hard is that?
Fraser: You
know, I sympathize with your sentiments, Ray, so you have
to forgive me for asking, but when did you become so
interested in neatness?
Ray: This is
not about neatness, Fraser. This is about the-the nut. The
bone core of what keeps the city ticking. Little things.
You don’t chuck stuff in the street! You stop at a red
light. You go at a green light. I mean, if you cannot
agree on the little things, how are you gonna manage the
big stuff?
Fraser: It’s an
interesting question, Ray. My father used to--
Ray: Look, I’m
not looking for an answer here, Fraser. This is one of
them whatchamacallits.
Fraser:
Rhetorical questions?
Ray: Yeah. I
mean, think about those countries where-where-where they
cut their hands off for stealing. I mean, do you think
they keep stealing? No. Why? They got no hands!
Fraser: Are you
proposing we cut people’s limbs off for littering?
Voice: Let go
of the gun!
[*bang*]
Voice:
Ahhh!
Fraser : Ray!
Voice : Stop!
[a cop runs out of the
alley]
Fraser: You all
right?
Cop: Guy tried
to get my gun. He’s got a knife, a big one, like you see
in the movies. Ran down the alley.
Fraser: Cover
the corner.
Ray:
[to
Fraser]
When I was six uh, I made this mask out of a paper bag and
I lit it on fire. Almost burnt down the entire house. My
dad was gonna skin me alive.
Fraser: Did
he?
Ray: Uh, no.
But the threat was there. See that’s my point. No threat,
no danger. No danger, anarchy. How do you want to work
this?
Fraser:
[whispers]
(I think I can see an entrance at the
back of the alley through the building. Dief.)
[Kowalski pulls gun
and starts cautiously down the alley... a man punches him,
grabs him, and puts a machete to his throat]
Ray : Ahhh! Ahhhh!
Perpetrator
: Gimme your gun.
Ray: You don’t
want my gun.
Perp: Don’t
tell me what I want. I know what I want. I want what I
need. I need what I need. I need your gun.
Ray: Why don’t
you go buy a gun?
Perp: If I
could afford to buy a gun, I wouldn’t need to buy a gun.
You have any idea the cost of maintaining a single-family
dwelling in the greater Chicago area? No. You probably
live in an apartment. Me? I want to put down roots. Pay
for a new roof. A little pink insulation. So give me the
gun.
Ray: What are
you gonna do with a gun?
Perp: I’m gonna
rob the First Union Bank tomorrow just before
closing.
Ray: You think
that’s a smart idea, telling me what-–
[Perp knees Kowalski, making him fall onto a parked
car]
Fraser: Excuse
me. I don’t think you want to do this. You really want to
shoot a man?
Perp:
Sometimes.
Fraser: You
realize it’s a felony.
Perp: I don’t
care.
Ray: He doesn’t
care, Fraser.
Fraser: You’ll
go to prison.
Perp: I don’t
care!
Ray: He doesn’t
care, Fraser.
Fraser: Or, you
could be attacked by a wolf.
Perp: In
prison.
Fraser: No,
right now.
[bark
bark]
[Dief attacks; Kowalski throws perp onto the
car]
Ray: You want
this gun bullet by bullet, or do you want me to pound it
into your head?!
Car Owner:
Excuse me, what are you doing?
Ray: Come on,
tell me!!
Car Owner: This
is my car.
Ray: Come on,
tell me how much you want it!! Tell me!!
Car Owner: Is
this guy crazy?
Fraser: No,
he’s a police officer.
Ray
: How much do you want it, tell me!!
Car Owner: He’s
scratching up the paint.
Perp: You
can’t kill me.
Ray: I can’t
kill you?!
Fraser : Ray.
Ray
: You don’t think so!
Fraser: Ray!
Look at me. Look at me!
[Kowalski does]
Fraser
: You’re not gonna kill this man.
Ray:
[calmer]
Why not? That’s what I do.
Fraser: That is
not what you do.
Ray: You talk
to me in two days. I’ll guarantee you, I’ve killed
someone.
[bar]
Fraser: Ray?
There’s a selection here of dates, apricots, prunes, figs,
and two cheese sticks.
Ray: Look at
that. Look at that.
[his hands are
shaking] I
just...I’m just...I’m...pressed right up against
something. I don’t know what.
Bartender:
Breakdown?
Ray: No, it’s
just...I gotta get my, um...
Bartender:
Head.
Ray: Screwed on
right and I’m...
Fraser: As you
know, Ray, I first came to Chicago on the trail of the
killers of my father.
Ray
: And have remained.
Fraser: Indeed.
Over the course of the long hunt for the murderers, I
would often picture myself, picture the moment when I came
face to face with them. And in every scenario I would
concoct, I would exact revenge in like kind.
Bartender: Like
kind? What does that mean, like kind?
Fraser: That
means I would see myself killing the killers. But the
impulse to murder, no matter how justified, was dulled by
time and reality.
Ray: What if
it’s out of your hands? Then what?
Fraser: It’s
never out of your hands. It’s your decision.
Ray: Not in
this case.
Bartender: I
don’t follow.
[Kowalski shows a
newspaper]
Ray : Beth Botrelle gets a needle stuck in her arm in two days. I was the arresting officer. I took the call.
[flashback]
Ray : [voice] My first big case. Door was open. I was a rookie. No backup.
[Officer Kowalski explores a darkened house, shining around a flashlight (stopping a moment to check out his hair in a mirror)]
Ray : [voice] It was dark. Quiet. Then I saw him lying there, in blood.
[he bumps a body & pulls gun, then realizes the guy’s dead... he shudders; he kneels, in the puddle of blood]
Ray : [voice] There was a piece of paper near the body. I picked it up.
[he goes to open up the folded, bloody paper]
Ray : [voice] Then I heard a noise.
[he very nervously goes to investigate]
Officer Kowalski : [to himself] Okay. Okay. You’re good. [pushes open the bathroom door with his gun]
Ray : [voice] It was the shower. There was all this steam and...there she was.
[woman is taking a shower, fully clothed]
[flashback ends]
[bar]
Ray
: See, I’m the first link in a long chain. I’m the first
link in a long chain that leads to somebody getting
killed, okay? Let me tell you something. There’s a-there’s
a big difference between, uh, you know, the--
Bartender: The
abstract.
Ray: The
abstract and-and-and...the abstract--
Bartender: And
reality.
Ray: Hey, do
you mind?! Reality.
[bartender exits]
Ray
: It’s like this, Fraser. When it comes right down to it,
the question is, could you pull the switch? Look, I had
this, um...this dog once, this crazy little mutt and,
um...and he got hit by this car, and it didn’t kill him,
but he’s laying there on the ground, lot of pain, and he’s
looking up at me, wanting me to, you know, help him. I
couldn’t look at him. I could not look at him. I put him
in the car and I drove him to the vet. I drove him to the
vet and I got the vet to give him the needle.
[pause]
Just...I know
what I got to do.
Fraser: What’s
that?
Ray: Look her
in the eye. I gotta...look her right in the eye.
[prison; reporters
& protesters flank the walkway]
Reporter: Beth
Botrelle’s lawyer, Carolyn Sherman, is a daily visitor to
the prison. Clemency from the governor is now Beth
Botrelle’s last, and only,
hope.
[inside prison]
Carolyn
Sherman
: [to
Fraser]
Against my better counsel, Beth has consented to see
you.
Prisoner 1:
[behind bars]
Ooh, I love a
man in uniform.
Carolyn: I
can’t prevent this, but I can impose one condition.
Prisoner 2:
[behind
bars] I
bet you got ways of making me talk.
Carolyn:
Anything said between you remains between you.
Agreed?
Fraser
: Understood.
Prisoner 3:
[steps into their
path] Oh!
Are you really a Mountie?
Fraser: Yes,
ma’am, I am.
Prisoner 3:
Ohhh!
Prisoner 4:
[shoving Prisoner 3
aside]
Never mind her. I want to taste your Musical Ride.
[Kowalski raises
his eyebrows]
Fraser: I see.
Thank you. [steps
around #4 and goes to
#3] Excuse
me, ma’am. Are you all right?
Prisoner 3:
Yes, yes. Can you really sing?
Fraser: Well I
can, yes.
Prisoner 3: Oh!
Please?
Fraser: Oh, all
right.
[sings]
K-K-K-Katie/
My beautiful Katie/ You’re the only g-g-g-girl that I
adore...
[prisoner reaches
through the bars, grabs Kowalski, and pulls him roughly
towards her]
Prisoner 5:
Sweetheart!
Ray: Uh,
Fraser?
Fraser:
[unconcerned]
Just about finished, Ray.
[sings]
When the m-m-m-moon shines/ Over the cow
shed/ I’ll be waiting by the k-k-k-kitchen
door.
Guard : That’s enough. Get back to the range.
[Fraser & Kowalski continue
on]
Prisoner 3: My
name’s not Katie!
[visitor’s
room]
Carolyn: Beth,
this is Constable Fraser of the RCMP.
Beth Botrelle:
The British wore coats like that during the War of
Independence. Minutemen picked them off like it was a
turkey shoot. No wonder you lost an empire.
Carolyn: And
this is Detective--
Beth: Yeah. I
know him. Couldn’t forget
him.
Carolyn: Beth,
are you sure you want to do this?
Beth: Yeah
sure, I’ll talk to him. Alone.
Carolyn: Beth,
I’m not sure--
Beth: Alone,
alone, alone.
Carolyn: Very
well.
[Fraser &
Carolyn exit; Kowalski sits]
[corridor]
Carolyn
: I loathe this place.
Fraser: Mmm.
You know, in the Middle Ages they would often open a hole
in the accused person’s torso into which they would pour
molten lead as an encouragement to confession. So I
suppose if you viewed it in a favorable light you could
consider this a form of progress.
Carolyn: You
under the care of a qualified psychiatrist,
Constable?
[visitor’s
room]
Beth: So you
looking for forgiveness?
Ray:
[eyes looking at
table, hunched, hands folded on
table] Is
that what you think?
Beth: People
visit me for a limited number of reasons. You’re not
press. You’re not family. If it’s not a pardon you’re
looking for, what is it?
Ray: I’m just
here because I, um...
Beth: You’re
just here because I’m...here. Because I’m...here, because
I’m queer.
Ray: Kind of
nutty, huh?
Beth: Actually
I’d say I’m fairly well-adjusted considering.
Ray: You got a
point.
Beth: You can
rest easy, Kowalski. They took me to the death room four
times. One time the needle pricked my skin before the call
came and they had to stop. I would prefer they killed
me.
Ray: Why?
Because you killed him?
[flashback: Beth
kneels next to the body, picks up the gun]
Beth: I
loved him.
[Kowalski finally looks at her; she looks away, takes a deep breath]
Beth
: It’s not your fault, any cop could have taken that
call.
Ray: I know
that.
Beth: Well,
don’t let it wear on you. I know how hard it is. I was a
cop’s wife for ten years.
Ray: I
know.
Beth:
Yeah.
[flashback: Beth backs away from the body]
Beth : So let your conscience be clear, Officer Kowalski. I killed him.
[outside the
prison]
Fraser: Are you
all right?
Ray: I am good.
I’m good. I’m great... She’s lying, Fraser. She’s gonna
die, and she’s trying to make me feel better.
Fraser: How do
you know she’s lying?
Ray: I know
when somebody’s lying, Fraser. She is lying. She did not
kill her husband.
[bar]
Bartender:
Throw some of this down the old food tube. It boosts you
right back up.
Ray: What is
that?
Bartender: It’s
a little concoction of my own devising. I call it
“Despondency.” It’s got windflowers, it’s got a little bit
of dried cuttlefish, but the main ingredient: St. John’s
Wort.
Ray: You want
me to eat something that’s got warts in it?
Fraser: No-no,
I believe that’s wort W-O-R-T, Ray. It’s an herb renowned
for its medicinal qualities.
Bartender: You
gotta respect a guy who knows his roots.
Ray: I’d
respect you if you were to take your “Despondency” and
give yourself a colonic. We’re talking here, okay?
[bartender leaves, with drink]
Ray
: Look Fraser, it was an open-and-shut case. Number one,
her fingerprints were all over the trigger. Number two,
she had threatened to kill him in public. Number three,
she could not account for her movements on the night in
question. The whole thing was over in a week.
Fraser: What
about the piece of paper, the one you said you found near
the body?
Ray: A little
piece of paper is not going to change the outcome, Fraser.
In 48 hours, she’s dead.
Fraser: Indulge
me. Just...follow the paper trail.
Ray: Follow the
paper trail...
[flashback]
Ray
:
[voice]
Okay, I found the paper near the
body.
Fraser:
[voice]
And did you read what was on it?
Ray:
[voice]
No. I heard the shower, I shoved it in
my pocket, and I carried it with me to the bathroom.
Fraser:
[voice]
And after that?
Ray:
[voice]
Everyone else showed up. The backup.
Eventually I gave it to Detective Franklin.
Fraser:
[voice]
Who was he?
Ray:
[voice]
Primary investigator. He bagged it,
tagged it. That was it.
[Officer Kowalski
approaches Franklin]
Sam Franklin : Don’t worry about it.
[Officer Kowalski puts the paper in a bag; Franklin marks the bag, then shows it to Kowalski]
Franklin : Okay?
[bar]
Ray: I
contaminated the evidence.
Fraser:
Procedure would suggest that it had been...disturbed,
yes.
Ray: I forgot
about that. I forgot about that until right now.
[sigh]
Whole careers are wrecked over things
like that. What happens to me, I get promoted.
Fraser: Ray,
you mustn’t be so hard on yourself. You were young. It was
your first situation, there was blood on the floor, there
was a corpse. It could happen to anybody.
Ray: You ever
make a mistake like that?
Fraser: No. But
that’s not important. What is important is that we need to
know what was on that piece of paper.
Ray: A woman’s
sitting on death row cause I screwed up.
[pause]
Ray
: [to
bartender]
You got any of that “Despondency”?
Bartender: You
know I do.
Ray: ‘Kay,
bring me a jumbo. To go.
[27th
precinct; Dewey draws a ‘2’ on tacked-up paper, and all
cheer; Kowalski enters & sees]
Ray : What the hell is that?
Dewey
: Two more days and it’s wham, bam, thank you ma’am.
Ray: Take it
down.
Dewey: What’s
your problem?
Ray: Take it
down!
[Dewey looks confused]
Ray : I said, take it down!
[Kowalski lunges, rips down the sign, then goes after
Dewey; they scuffle... Huey and Welsh separate
them]
Huey: Knock it
off!
Welsh: Come on!
It’s not the Middle Ages here. You want to celebrate this
thing, you do it in private.
Reporter on TV : And the countdown continues towards Friday’s execution of convicted cop-killer Beth Botrelle.
Robert Bedford on TV : No one gets any pleasure from what’s going to happen here. But people should let the state get on with the business of dispensing justice that is the will of the people.
Welsh
: What is this, a paid political advertisement? Turn it
off.
[Dewey stands on a
chair and turns off the TV]
Dewey
: Am I missing something here? She killed one of us. She
killed a cop. She’s getting what she deserves, all right?
The big sleep. End of story.
Huey: Are you
trying to become a colorful personality?
Dewey: Screw
you, Jack. [hops
down]
[Welsh, holding a small appliance, addresses Fraser]
Welsh
: Botrelle was a good cop, Constable. Kill a cop...eight
years or not, people are going to remember.
Franklin: Not
easy is it?
Ray: Inspector
Sam Franklin.
Franklin: Good
to see you, Ray.
Ray: Good to
see you.
Franklin: Come
on, walk me down the hall.
Ray: What the
hell you doing down here at the twenty-seven?
Franklin: I was
just passing out new regulations for petty cash
accountability. I was in the area, so I thought I’d pop my
head in, see how you were holding up.
Ray: Truth? Not
so good.
Franklin: Well,
I know it’s hard. Maybe you should take a few days, get
out of town ‘til this is over.
Ray: I don’t
want you to think I’m off my nut. I’m not so sure she did
it, Sam.
Franklin: Come
on, Ray, you know she did.
Ray: No. I do
not. I mean--
Franklin: Come
on, I know what you’re going through. Jake Botrelle and I
worked together. He was a hell of a guy. I thought I’d be
the first one to lead the cheer when this killer was
taking a walk. Come on. All we can now do is feel
sad.
Ray: What
happened to that piece of paper?
Franklin: What
paper?
Ray: That piece
of paper that I gave you?
Franklin: It
was bagged, tagged, like everything else. Listen, Ray, you
and I, we did a hell of a job. That’s all you gotta think
about. If you keep thinking about this other stuff it’s
gonna make you crazy. You gotta let it go.
Ray:
Right.
Franklin: Come
on. Take care of yourself. You need to talk to someone,
call me.
[records building]
Records
Monitor: I had land acquisitions right next to the
aboriginal spirit walks.
[giggle]
Can you believe it?
Fraser:
[chuckling]
No, I can’t.
Monitor: Oh,
you have to come to the art institute. I’m giving a
lecture on the geopolitics of post-colonial Burmese puppet
theatre.
Fraser: Oh, you
scamp!
Monitor: Yeah.
I’ll just get the evidence log. I’ll be right back.
Fraser: Thank
you.
[chuckling]
Ray: Friend of
yours?
Fraser: Yes.
Uh, I mean, well, we share some common interests. Inuit
throat-singing for an example. As a matter of fact--
Ray: Yeah-yeah,
hold the story. There’s the man.
[Kowalski indicates
photo: Ronald Reagan & two men]
Fraser
: You know, we used to watch his movies at the cinema in
Dawson Creek. Few were more surprised than we when he
actually became president.
Ray: Not
Reagan! The guy
beside him. That’s uh, Jake Botrelle, everyone’s favorite
cop.
Fraser: Who’s
this? [points to
third man]
Ray: That’s our
fearless State’s Attorney Robert Bedford. Known to his
intimates as ‘Ordinary Bob.’ Made it big after the
Botrelle case. Keeps it up, he’s gonna make
governor.
Monitor: Here
it is. [brings in a
book] You
know we really must go for bark tea sometime.
Fraser: Oh,
that’s an inspired idea!
Monitor:
Oh.
Ray: Hang on,
where’s the evidence?
Monitor: It’s
not here. After five years they move it across town into
storage. Which is stupid, but it’s government.
[she & Fraser chuckle]
Monitor
: I could call ahead and get you a time.
Fraser: I’d
appreciate that. And I am looking forward to that bark
tea.
Monitor: Yes!
Okay. [exits slowly,
chuckling]
[Fraser waves, then begins looking through log, still
chuckling]
Ray: Look for
evidence bag 26.
Fraser:
[still
chuckling]
26.
[Kowalski gives him a look; Fraser gets serious]
Fraser : One pair of sunglasses. There’s no reference to a piece of paper.
[he slams book; Kowalski jerks his hand out of the way]
Fraser : Sorry.
[evidence storage
building]
[Guard (eating a
sandwich) buzzes the gate open for two men exiting; they
pass by Kowalski & Fraser]
Fraser:
[sniff]
Hmm. Bay rum cologne.
Ray: I’m
Detective--
Guard: We’re
closed.
Ray: You don’t
look closed.
Guard: Well we
are closed. Very closed.
Ray: Since
when does evidence lockup--
Fraser: Uh,
Ray. Thank you kindly, sir.
[they pretend to leave, but duck into the ladies’ room
instead]
Guard:
[answers
phone]
Security....Right. Right away.
[grabs clipboard
& exits]
[Kowalski & Fraser exit ladies’ room (Kowalski closing
up his cell phone); Kowalski goes to desk, moving the
guard’s sandwich while locating the buzzer; he buzzes
Fraser through, then joins him... guard returns to desk
and regards sandwich,
suspicious]
[storage area, top of a very large
shelf]
Ray: So what
you’re saying is, basically, nothing is in the right
bag.
Fraser: Yeah,
but there does seem to be a pattern. The contents of every
fifth bag has been switched. One’s with 6, two for seven,
and so on up ‘til 20 then the pattern repeats itself. So I
think the piece of paper should be in the bag 111 marked
‘eyebrow pencil.’
Ray: Eyebrow
pencil. Eyebrow pencil.
[digs in a
box] I saw
that. I saw that.
[Fraser hears something; Kowalski locates bag]
Ray
: How’d you do that?
Fraser: Someone
just entered the building.
[two men run around,
searching]
Guy1: Yeah,
this way!
Guy2
: Down here!
Ray: This
doesn’t look like the same piece of paper.
Fraser:
[putting lid on
box]
There’s two men. Heading this way. Carrying
weapons.
[Kowalski pockets paper & follows Fraser onto the top
shelf... they jump from top shelf to top shelf as men
search... Fraser & Kowalski jump off last shelf, land
on empty boxes, then rush out the back
door]
Guy1:
[frustrated]
Come on, come on! Ah! It’s locked!
[27th
precinct, Welsh’s office; Fraser waits outside, trying to
peek in]
Robert
Bedford
: Detective Kowalski, Lieutenant Welsh tells me that
you’ve more than lived up to your promise as a rookie. As
a matter of fact he tells me you’re one of his finest
officers. Which dismays me, it dismays me because I can’t
have anyone from the CPD making public statements that,
uh, inflame the situation. You know what I mean?
Ray: Not
sure.
Bedford: Am I
not getting through to you, Detective?
Ray: I’m really
not sure, sir.
Bedford: All
right. Let’s cut the nail. Carolyn Sherman is one of the
finest defense attorneys in the state. You have been
talking to her. You have been talking to her client. You
have been requesting evidence from the Botrelle case. See,
in my eyes, this is not a good thing.
Ray: It’s not
official, sir.
Bedford: I hope
it’s not personal. You have a job to do, I expect you to
do it.
Ray: I just
want to do what’s right...sir.
Bedford: I’m
suggesting you’re not. Now this woman was sentenced by the
people to be put to death with cause. That’s our mandate.
Personally speaking, she deserves it. Now the longer we
drag this thing out, the more negative PR we attract to
one of the greatest cities in America.
Ray: So we
should kill her to avoid any bad press...sir?
Bedford: You’re
a smart ass, huh? I’m gonna make this very simple,
Kowalski. Drop the Botrelle case. That’s a direct order
from the State’s Attorney.
[Kowalski scratches his ear; as Bedford turns away, Kowalski rotates the finger & makes like a gun]
Bedford
: Lieutenant. It would be a good thing if you, uh, learned
to control your men.
[exits, looks Fraser
over]
What do you do?
Fraser: Uh,
well, sir, I first came to Chicago on the trail of the
killers of my father and--
[Bedford walks off;
Fraser goes inside]
Welsh:
Detective, I have never met anyone with as great a
capacity to piss off people as you.
Ray: Just
people I don’t like, sir.
Fraser: Well,
no actually, Ray, even people you do like. I mean, if you
think about Sandor who you beat about the head--
Ray: Fraser!
Lieutenant, don’t shut me down on this. I’m close.
Welsh: All
right. Look, you got sick days coming. Take a couple. Go
home. What you do on your own time is your business. All
right? Oh, Detective? Find something.
[Fraser &
Kowalski point at
Welsh]
[bullpen]
Ray: Now
what?
Fraser: We need
to find out everything we can about Jake Botrelle. If his
wife didn’t kill him, somebody else did. They must have
had a reason.
Ray: Crime
scene videotapes. Were they in any of the boxes?
Fraser: I
didn’t see them, I’m sure we won’t get a second look, but
I do have another source.
Ray: Good. Oh!
First things first. Let’s pull the
files.
[front
desk]
Desk Sergeant:
Yeah, I knew Jake. Everybody loved Jake. Especially the
ladies. You wanna know why?
Fraser : Why?
Desk
Sergeant
: Sincerity. He had it down.
[piling files in
Fraser’s
arms] You
couldn’t tell he didn’t mean a single word he was saying,
or as soon as you were out of his sight you were out of
his mind. You’re lucky. Anybody was in charge around here,
we’d have gotten rid of those a long time ago.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly.
[Kowalski’s
desk]
Fraser: This is
Detective Botrelle’s day-timer, and there’s several
entries with a single reference: ‘Mermaid.’ Is that
standard police nomenclature?
Ray: I don’t
know no clature from my elbow, but, uh, ‘Mermaid’? That is
not standard cop talk.
Fraser: Here’s
a monthly payment reminder to Callahan’s. Does that mean
anything to you?
Ray: Sounds
like a bar--
Huey: Still
investigating the victim?
Fraser: Is that
not standard procedure in a homicide investigation?
Dewey: Well if
it’s an unsolved homicide, yes. But we know the murderer
on this one so what’s the point?
Ray: The point
is... Walk on. That’s all. Just walk on. Get out of here,
okay? Thank you.
Welsh:
Detective. How you feeling?
[now carrying a
toaster & feather duster]
Ray: I’m
fine.
Welsh : No-no, you don’t look too good.
Ray
: I’m fine.
Welsh: No-no,
you look sick. You should go home.
Ray: Right. I’m
sick.
[Franklin’s
apartment; knock knock knock]
Franklin: I’m
coming. [opens
door]
Ray!
Ray: Am I
interrupting anything?
Franklin: Yeah,
you bet. Look at me. Ha-ha. Come on in.
[he
does] I’ve
been offered a job, you know. Chief Investigator for
Phalanx Insurance.
Ray: Never
thought you were the type to retire.
Franklin: Well,
after the Botrelle case, I-I don’t know. Can’t say I lost
my nerve exactly but if it could happen to him...
Ray:
[puts the evidence
bag on
table]
Found it. But I don’t think that it’s the same piece of
paper. What do you think?
Franklin: How’d
you get it?
Ray: Evidence
locker.
Franklin:
[amused]
You broke in?
Ray: You think
that’s the same piece of paper?
Franklin: If it
was in the bag.
Ray: Well,
yeah, it was in the bag but--
Franklin: But
what? You don’t remember something about a piece of paper
8 years ago? Listen to yourself. You’re losing it.
Ray: Look, I
think that Bedford suppressed the evidence.
Franklin:
Bedford’s an ambitious bastard, yes, but that’s as far as
it goes. You tell me something. Why would he rig a trial
that he already had red-handed?
Ray: Look, I
don’t know, but that is not the same piece of paper I
found 8 years ago and that is not the same piece of paper
you put in evidence bag number 26.
Franklin: Well,
if you’re sure about that, we better move forward now,
huh? ‘Cause the clock’s ticking on that woman.
Ray: No, we
don’t have nothing solid yet. Jake ever talk about
Mermaid? It showed up in his notebooks a lot.
Franklin: Who
knows. He was called Jake the Make. Maybe it was one of
his women.
Ray: He had
some bad habits?
Franklin: There
were rumors about him and Bedford’s wife. I never believed
them.
[Carolyn Sherman’s
office]
Carolyn: What
exactly are you looking for, Constable?
Fraser: Well,
I’m not exactly sure, to be perfectly honest with you.
There are certain questions that we have that may be
answered by the crime scene tape.
Carolyn: And
those that aren’t?
Fraser: I was
hoping that you’d be able to help us. For instance, why
didn’t the subject of Detective Botrelle’s philandering
arise in court?
Carolyn:
Because it didn’t help our case. Every step down that road
lead to a witness who’d testify that they heard Beth
threaten to kill him in public. At some point you cut bait
and run.
Fraser: But it
might have provided another party with a motive.
Carolyn: No
physical evidence placed anyone else inside the
house.
Fraser: Do you
believe she’s guilty?
Carolyn: That’s
an irrelevant question. The only real question is, Do I
think she should die. Constable, if you’re actually onto
something, be quick about it. It’ll be a matter of
academics in less than 30
hours.
[Beth sits in her cell, silently
crying]
[27th
precinct]
[Dewey is humming
‘Are You Sleeping’
(‘
Frère
Jaques
’) as he makes a ‘1’ on a pad of paper; he stands to
display
it]
Dewey: It’s all
over but the crying!
[all cheer; Welsh
stands silently in his
doorway]
[Kowalski’s apartment; Fraser lets himself
in]
Fraser: You
there, Ray?
Ray : Mmm.
Fraser
: Carolyn Sherman gave me the crime scene videotape. I’m
not sure it’s going to be all that revealing,
[puts the tape into
VCR]
Ray: And I got
a piece of paper that’s not the real piece of paper. And I
suppose you’d like a cup of that bark tea?
Fraser: Oh yes,
I’d love some. Thank you.
Ray: Yeah,
well, I don’t have any.
[pets
Dief]
Fraser: Oh
well, another time.
[plays
tape]
Ray:
Okay.
[Kowalski takes a drink from his coffee and puts it down
in another spot, forming circle stains on
newspapers]
Fraser: Ray,
look.
Ray: What, I’m
a pig?
Fraser: No, no,
not that.
Here.
[tape rewinds and pauses: a coffee mug is sitting on fanned-out papers]
Fraser
: I think we’ll be able to prove that this piece of paper
is not the piece of paper that you found underneath the
body.
Ray: How?
[Fraser retrieves
evidence paper]
Fraser
: Here it is. See that?
[points to
half-ring]
Partial stain.
Look there, on the coffee table? Three overlapping pieces
of paper, three partial stains. Like this.
[points to
Kowalski’s
papers]
Three overlapping pieces of paper, three partial
stains.
[Kowalski looks at
table, looks at tape, looks at table, looks at
tape]
Ray
: Right, now look at the time code. That means that that
piece of paper was in the kitchen an hour after the crime.
This is our proof. We have the proof.
Fraser: I think
we do, yes. Ray, you know, you really ought to consider
dusting. [drags his
finger over the coffee table]
Ray: I’m a
slob.
[Fraser & Dief
look up: next to the smoke detector is a tiny
‘bug’]
Fraser:
[arms to his side,
hands raised and
fluttering]
Bzzzzzzzzzz.
Ray: Okay, so
I’m a pig, I’m a slob and I have an infestation.
[Fraser points up,
repeats gesture]
Fraser : Bzzzzzzzzzz.
[Dief gets it; Kowalski
doesn’t]
Ray:
What?
Fraser : Bzzzzzzzzzz.
[all three of them look up]
Ray
: OH. [very
stilted]
Those guys from the Trib sure thought I was full of
it.
Fraser:
[stiffly]
And you are supposed to meet them within the
hour, aren’t you?
[packs evidence
paper into crime scene tape cartridge]
Ray: Yes, I am.
At the Gladstone behind the corner of Schuster and
Wayne.
Fraser: I
believe that’s Wayne and Schuster, isn’t it, Ray?
[roof: Kowalski
& Fraser watch an alley]
[a beige Yugo stops
in the road below]
Fraser : Here we go. Backing up. Turning in. This is it.
[they run down the stairs... Kowalski jumps over the roof
of the Yugo, and pulls gun – it’s the Duck
Boys]
Huey: What the
hell are you guys doing here?
Ray
: What are you doing here?
Dewey: We got a
tip that there was a drug deal going down.
Ray: Somebody’s
playing games with us.
Fraser: The
piece of paper.
[runs off]
Dewey: You want
a lift?
Fraser: Uh, not
in that car. Thank you kindly!
[Kowalski’s
apartment;
it’s been tossed]
Fraser: The
paper?
Ray:
Gone.
Fraser: That
man we passed in the hallway. I’ve smelled him before. At
the evidence lock-up.
[27th
precinct]
Ray:
[looking at
file] Here
we go. Sergeant Eddie Polito. Twenty year veteran
currently in charge of evidence and seized property. This
is the guy?
Fraser: I think
so. [reads from
computer]
In 1989-1990 Officer Polito worked undercover with Officer
Drop Robertson under the direction of Detective Jake
Botrelle on Project Neptune, the State’s Attorney’s Office
investigation into union corruption on the waterfront.
Investigation headed up by Robert Bedford.
[pause]
Neptune. Mermaid.
Ray:
Connection?
Fraser:
[shakes
head]
Other than they both have maritime associations, I have no
idea.
Dewey
: You guys investigating other cops now? You want a job in
IA? Why don’t you apply to IA.
Ray: Look, this
is personal. [gets
in Dewey’s
face] You
want to get in the middle of it, that’s fine with me. You
want to be filled in? ‘Cause I’ll fill you in.
Dewey:
[chortles]
Maybe another day.
[starts backing
away]
Tough guy...
Voice: Hey it’s
Bedford, turn it up, turn it up!
[TV sound gets louder]
Bedford on TV : Let us pray not just for Beth Botrelle but for America.
Reporter on TV : Is it true you’re running for governor?
Bedford on TV : I don’t think this is the time to be discussing that. I will say that my faith in and my love for this country has never been stronger. Thank you.
Ray
: The body’s not even cold and he’s running for
governor.
Fraser: That
may have provided us with the opening we need.
Ray: How
so?
Fraser: Well,
now that the rumor of his seeking the governorship is
confirmed, he’ll be walking on eggshells until such time
that Ms. Botrelle is dead. It’ll make him vulnerable. Now
what if we can trap him into talking about that piece of
paper on tape. That should--
[Kowalski starts up
the
stairs]
Ray, Ray, Ray? That should give us all the evidence we
need.
Ray: Well, we
can’t meet him and if we try to call him, he’s gonna have
us off the street in no time flat.
Fraser:
Exactly. So it’ll have to be someone he could trust.
Ray: I know the
guy. I’ll talk to him.
Fraser:
Okay.
Ray: Where you
going?
Fraser: To find
a Mermaid.
Ray : Here. [throws Fraser his Stetson like a Frisbee]
[prison]
Beth: Mermaid?
[sigh]
No, nothing springs to mind.
Carolyn:
Constable Fraser found the reference in your husband’s
journal.
Fraser: I
thought perhaps it might be one of his contacts.
Beth: You could
ask State’s Attorney Bedford. Jake was his chief
investigator into waterfront corruption. So he would know,
better than...He-he called Jake the night that he
died.
Fraser: Do you
happen to know what they talked about?
Beth: No. No.
He didn’t talk about his business.
Fraser: I don’t
imagine he ever mentioned a Callahan or Callahan’s?
Beth:
Callahan’s. Yeah. Jake ran up a bunch of charges on our
credit card, and I thought it was a bar. We had one of our
biggest fights about that.
Fraser: It
wasn’t a bar?
Beth: No, no.
It was a storage place.
[sigh]
It was the only time he was ever telling
the truth. Is this of any use?
Fraser: I hope
so.
Beth: Yeah, me
too. I, um...I lied the other day to Officer Kowalski. I
didn’t kill my husband.
Fraser: He
knows.
[GTO]
Franklin: You
ask me to save a woman who killed a cop?
Ray: She didn’t
do it, Sam. I know it.
Franklin: Come
on, Ray. What do you got?
Ray: We think
Jake Botrelle was having an affair with Bedford’s wife.
That piece of paper I found at uh, the scene had something
to do with it. He knew that this case would make his
career, so he destroyed the piece of evidence that could
disqualify him from the case and kill his family image at
the same time.
Franklin: No.
Bob wouldn’t do that.
Ray: Sam, come
on. Power. Ambition. People do crazy things. Besides,
she’s guilty anyway, right?
Franklin: So
what do you want me to do?
Ray: Set up a
meeting.
[Callahan’s]
Custodian:
Hasn’t been opened in years. You sure this okay?
Huey: Oh,
absolutely.
Dewey: It
really is strange that the warrant department ran out of
forms like that,
huh? It’s
unlike them.
[Custodian unlocks a
storage unit & exits]
Huey:
Botrelle’s.
Dewey
: Probably his love letters.
Huey:
[opens
briefcase]
Ooh. Love that writing paper!
[briefcase is full of money]
Dewey
: Whoa!
Fraser:
[leafs through a
notebook]
There.
Dewey:
What?
Fraser: I found
a Mermaid.
[evidence storage building]
[Bedford walks alone down aisle; Kowalski & Franklin
hide]
Ray:
[whispers]
(What’d you tell him?)
Franklin: (I
just said we had to talk. I hope you’re right about this,
Kowalski.)
Ray: (Yeah.
You, me and, uh, Beth Botrelle.)
[checks
watch]
[Beth walks to death chamber]
Franklin
: Move.[holds gun on
Kowalski & pushes him into the open]
Bedford: What’s
going on here?
Franklin:
Sorry, Bob. You would have made a good governor. You know,
mostly you always got what you wanted. But not this time.
It’s my turn.
[Polito and man
appear behind Bedford, pointing their guns]
Polito: Far
enough.
[Beth is ushered into chamber]
Bedford
: Sam? What the hell is going on here? I don’t
understand.
Franklin: It’s
not that complicated. Why don’t you give it a try?
Fraser:
[voice]
Why don’t I take a stab at it.
[walks into
view]
[Beth on gurney; IV is brought in]
Fraser : [voice] Beth Botrelle did not kill her husband. He committed suicide.
[death room curtains open for witnesses]
Fraser : A suicide that was prompted by a telephone call from State’s Attorney Bedford, in which Jake Botrelle learned he was about to be indicted in a kickback scheme.
[the needle is prepared: 11:58pm]
Fraser
: The piece of paper found under his body was a suicide
note. A note that also implicated his partner in the
crime, Inspector Sam Franklin.
Ray: You really
like these dramatic revelations don’t you, Fraser?
Fraser: Not
really, Ray. Actually, all that exposition makes me feel a
little thirsty.
Ray: Mmm.
Franklin: This
scheme was going to be my payoff. And no one’s gonna take
it away from me.
Fraser: Are you
willing to kill all of us for it?
[Beth watches the
clock]
Franklin: I was
willing to let a woman die for it. So why not the three of
you?
Fraser: Only
three? Look again.
[the corridors fill with (heavily-armed) police
officers]
[death chamber phone
rings at
12:00]
[Botrelle
house]
Beth: You were
frightened.
Ray: Yeah. Uh,
no. I wasn’t, uh...frightened, and then I bumped him, and
then I pulled my gun out, and I... ‘Cause I didn’t know. I
didn’t...
Beth: And he
was here. He was... He was lying here.
Ray: Yeah. Look
we don’t have to--
Beth: No,
please. You just keep going, please.
Ray: I kneeled
down and I picked up the piece of paper and I, um...
Beth: You
didn’t read it. You didn’t read it, did you?
Ray: No. No.
‘Cause I heard, um...
Beth: Heard the
water running.
[they move to the bathroom]
Beth
: So the water drew you here.
Ray: Yeah, but
the, uh, the door wasn’t closed all the way.
[opens it
slightly]
Beth: So you
opened it.
Ray: I pushed
it open, yeah.
Beth: And where
was I?
Ray: There.
[indicates the
shower]
[she goes to the
hall]
Beth : And the water was running.
[he
follows]
Ray: I’m
sorry.
Beth: No.
Ray: I am. I’m
so sorry.
Beth: No.
[crying]
Thank you, Officer Kowalski.
[she kisses him; they
hug]
[Kowalski exits the house & walks straight to his car,
where Fraser & Dief are waiting; he gets into the car,
then Fraser & Dief get in; Kowalski breaks down
crying, and Fraser rubs his back
consolingly]
End