Mojo Rising
[GTO]
Ray: Fraser,
what are you doing?
Fraser: Well,
I’m driving. [very
slowly]
[Fraser gives a cheery wave to the guy cursing him from
passing
car]
Ray: This is
not driving, this is walking in a vehicle.
Fraser: I’m
going the posted limit.
Ray: That is my
point. Nobody goes the posted limit. You keep this up,
we’ll get smacked from behind and then I’ll have to
explain to my father why the car got wrecked while the
Mountie was driving it after he dragged it here from
Arizona like a dozen eggs.
Fraser: You
must say hello to your father for me, by the way.
Ray:
[sigh]
Look, you can do that yourself. He’s
staying out at this trailer park out in Skokie. Although
he doesn’t know if he can hack the winter.
Fraser: And
how’s your mother?
Ray: She can
hack the winter. She comes in everyday to iron my
shirts.
Fraser: Oh,
what a thoughtful gesture.
Ray: You
kidding, crispy shirts? Look like I work in a bank?
Fraser: That’s
a bad thing, I take it?
Ray: Yeah. I
mean it clashes with my uh...
Fraser
: Persona? Aura? Style?
Ray: Exactly.
And style counts, Fraser. Like what you’re doing right
now? This is anti-style.
Fraser: You
just asked me to be careful.
Ray: Careful,
not stationary. Stop the car, let me show you how to do
it.
Fraser: I’ve
ridden with you many times, Ray.
Ray: Ridden,
yes. Studied, no. Learned, no. Stop the car.
Fraser: As you
wish.
[GTO stops at a light: Fraser & Kowalski trade places
(without getting
out)]
Ray: Okay. Good
driving is like a vocation. Part brains, part magic, part
guts, part ESP. Watch the shoulder.
[crack]
Fraser
: What’s that?
Ray: Clothing
adjustment.
Fraser : I see.
Ray : You gotta be able to sense things.
Fraser : Mm-hmm.
Ray : Like the lights.
Drivers : [yelling] Hey! Move it!
Ray
: Okay. I’m sensing...Three. Two. One. Go!
[peels rubber as
light changes]
Fraser: Ray,
you have just violated at least a half a dozen traffic
laws.
[Kowalski grins smugly; Fraser glances down an alley: two guys hold guns on a third]
Fraser
: Ray, stop.
Ray: What? I
just got going.
Fraser:
Criminals.
Ray:
Criminals?
[Fraser bails out of the car, rolls, and runs toward the action]
[alley]
Agent Goodfellow : INS officers. Stop! INS!
[Kowalski turns car around, heading down
alley]
Gerome
Laferette:
[hides behind
Fraser]
Stop them! They’re trying to kill me!
Fraser
: Gentlemen. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to
stop.
[Kowalski jumps from
car, leaving the door open, and runs toward the group,
pointing his gun]
Ray: Chicago
PD! Stop right there!
Goodfellow:
Show me your badge.
Ray: Show me
yours.
Goodfellow: You
first.
Ray:
You!
Goodfellow:
[shows
ID]
Immigration/Naturalization. Stop that man!
[Gerome is stealing Kowalski’s
car]
Ray: Hey! My
car!
[27th precinct;
bullpen]
Ray: They’re
shooting up the streets. How are we supposed to know it’s
not gang-related?
Goodfellow:
Gangs? Aaron look ganged up to you? You got gangs of
fat-ass forty-year-old white guys running around out there
I don’t know about?
Ray: Okay.
Mob... something. How the hell are we supposed to
know?
Goodfellow:
Maybe because I’m shoving a badge in your face. Maybe
because I’m running full-out chasing a felon and yelling
“INS” at the top of my lungs. Maybe because I could have
capped you.
Ray: I could
have capped you,
pal!
Welsh:
Gentlemen, gentlemen, please. This is not a
schoolyard.
Fraser: Sir, if
I may. We seem to be missing a couple of salient points
here.
Ray: Yeah. One,
a car got stolen. B, my car.
Goodfellow:
Yeah. That’s going to cost me a lot of sleep, considering
the guy you helped get away is the guy who tried to kill
me.
Fraser: Well,
since the man who stole Ray’s car and the man who tried to
kill you are one and the same, I would suggest we share a
common goal, and in a spirit of judicial cooperation,
perhaps we should consider pooling our resources and our
information.
Goodfellow:
What’s wrong with him?
Welsh: He’s
Canadian.
Goodfellow:
Look. I got lots of information on the guy we’re looking
for. What have you got?
Ray: I got the
license number.
Welsh: Very
little escapes his eye.
Ray: Frannie,
put out an APB. License number W-E-7-6-1, black 1967
double barrel carb GTO.
Francesca:
[scoffs]
What is it with you guys and cars? What, do
you all have your brains stuck behind your zippers or
something? I mean excluding you, of course, Fraser.
Fraser: Oh,
thank you.
Francesca: What
is that? What does that stand for, GTO? ‘Great
throbbing--’
Ray: No,
Frannie, it’s Grand... Grand... What is it again,
Fraser?
Fraser: Grand
Turismo Omologato.
Ray: Right,
GTO. Okay, now hit the keys please, Frannie. Thank
you.
Damien
Kowalski: Raymond!
Ray: Dad.
Damien: Look
what I found in the wrecking yard!
Ray: You got...
Ram Air IV camshaft?
Damien: Ha-ha!
Mint, too. Let’s go put it on.
[Kowalski pauses]
Damien
: What? Something happen to the car?
Ray: Are you
kidding? That car is my life! No, I just...took it in for
some, uh, detailing.
Damien:
Detailing?
Ray: Yeah,
yeah. That’s where they make it look new again.
Damien: It
already looks like new!
Ray: Yeah, but
these guys they-they make it look newer than new. They’re
good at that.
They use this little toothbrush and whatnot and I mean...
Let me drop this off and I’ll, uh...I’ll uh...
[yanks the box from
his dad’s grip and puts it on his
desk] I’ll
get you coffee for the way home. We’ll get a coffee.
Agent
Goodfellow: Gerome Laferette was a friend. At least we
thought he was.
Agent Gobrah:
There’s been a lot of Haitian immigration to the city
lately. Most of it legal. Some of it not so legal.
Goodfellow:
They live in a kind of enclave. Very insular. Very wary of
outsiders. Laferette carries some weight in the community.
He’s a priest.
Francesca: Oh,
like Father Malone?
Gobrah: More
like Papa Shango.
Francesca: What
do you mean, like Voodoo?
Fraser: It’s
Vodun actually. Or in Haiti it’s known as “Loa.” It’s a
religion that derives from African Yoruban beliefs.
Goodfellow: He
was our connection in the community.
Francesca: What
do you mean, he was like your uh, sniff?
[Fraser gives her a look]
Francesca : I mean uh, your scratch?
Fraser : [whispers] Do you perhaps mean “snitch”?
Francesca
: Yeah, that’s what I said.
Fraser: Ah. So
you did.
Goodfellow:
We’ve been closing in on some of the sweatshops. Gerome
called, wanted to meet us down in the projects. Cloak and
dagger all of a sudden. But he’s always been a square guy,
so we go. Six guys with guns waiting for us.
Fraser: And
you’re sure it was Mr. Laferette who betrayed you?
Goodfellow:
Only one knew we’d be there.
Ray: Pitter
patter, let’s get at ‘er. Let’s find that car.
Fraser:
Gentlemen.
[corridor]
Fraser
: You all right?
Ray: Uh. I lied
to my dad.
Fraser: About
the car?
Ray:
Yeah.
Fraser: I
see.
Ray: Look,
don’t tell me I should have been honest with him, Fraser,
‘cause I lied to him for his own good.
Fraser: You
lied to him for his own good?
Ray: Well,
yeah. You don’t know my parents. I mean they’re like
little kids in old bodies. They live in this weird world.
They talk back to the television, they buy stuff from
infomercials. I just try to protect them.
Fraser: I can
understand that.
Ray: So you
understand lying.
Fraser: No-no,
not the lying, no. but I can understand wanting to protect
your father. I’ve often wished that I could have protected
my father.
Ray : Mmm.
[alley]
Ray: This is
Voodoo-ville. We’re about as popular as the INS down
here.
Fraser: These
people have good reason to fear authority, Ray. Their
history is one of domination., first by the colonial
powers, and then a series of brutal dictators who
repressed the people with strong-arm tactics and turned
their religion against them.
[apartment building hallway; Fraser greets curious
neighbors]
Fraser: Good
day. Hello.
[Dief noses at a
door; Kowalski opens it: a Vodun ritual is in progress...
Kowalski closes the door, then knocks at apartment
309]
Ray:
[flashes
badge]
Chicago PD, we’re looking for Gerome Laferette.
Lisa Laferette:
Gerome didn’t come home last night.
Fraser: You
must be very worried about him.
Lisa: Gerome’s
gonna be all right. He’s close to the
Loa.
Ray: To the
what?
Fraser: The
gods, Ray.
Ray: Oh that’s
great. Just tell us where the gods are so we can find
him.
Lisa : The gods are everywhere.
Ray
: Look, this isn’t a joke, lady. Your husband’s in a lot
of trouble. Grand theft auto and some...stupid federal
charges.
Fraser: Assault
with a deadly weapon and attempted murder, actually.
Ray: And the
car.
Fraser: And the
car.
Ray: Look, so
if I were you, I’d start telling us everything you know
about this, because if you don’t--
Momma Lolla:
Mr. Policeman!
[they jump away from the door]
Momma
Lolla
: There’s a document called the Constitution of the United
States of America. Have you read this document?
Ray: Well, no,
my eyes are kinda bad so I--
Momma Lolla:
See anything in this document that gives you the right to
come to this lady’s house and treat her like she’s some
dirt on your boot?
Fraser: No
ma’am, we don’t.
Momma Lolla:
Well then, you should both
leave.
Ray: Look,
lady, I am a cop, and I--
Fraser: Ray.
Ray. The detective would like to apologize for his
tone.
Ray: I
would?
Fraser: Uh,
yes, you would, Ray. He meant no disrespect.
[Kowalski nods grudgingly]
Fraser : My name is Constable Benton Fraser--
Momma
Lolla
: You first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of
your daddy, and you stayed.
[chuckles]
So did your daddy.
Fraser: Very
perceptive. You would be?
Momma Lolla:
Lolla. Some call me Momma Lolla. I work with Gerome.
Fraser: At the
shipping depot?
Momma Lolla:
No, in his other work.
Fraser: His
Vodun work. Perhaps you could help us find Gerome.
Momma Lolla:
Gerome Laferette don’t need to be found by you.
Fraser: You
don’t think he’d like to return to his family?
Momma Lolla:
When he’s good and ready.
Fraser: I see.
I understand. Thank you.
[Kowalski looks trance-like at Momma Lolla]
Fraser
: Ray. Ray. Ray.
[raps Kowalski’s
head]
Thank you kindly for your time.
Ray. Okay, this
is great. So how do we find the car? How the hell do we
find this car?
Fraser: All in
good time, Ray, all in good time.
[to neighbors]
Good day,
gentlemen.
[outside warehouse
(Gutman’s Import/Export)]
Gutman: Gerome?
Oh, he’s a wonderful man. An excellent worker. Never late,
never a problem. That’s why I couldn’t understand why
he-why he didn’t show up today. I figured it must have
something to do with his religious work or
something.
Fraser: So
you’re aware of his involvement with Vodun?
Gutman: Oh
certainly. Yeah. I was born and raised in New Orleans. I’m
very familiar with
Obeah, with
Voodoo, with
Loa. I grew up
with all that stuff. It’s not a bad thing. It’s actually
quite fascinating. It’s uh...helps people to understand
certain strange situations. Keeps things settled down. At
least Gerome did. Did he...is he really in trouble? Real
trouble?
Ray: Big
time.
Gutman: Jeez, I
don’t know what I’m gonna do without him.
Fraser: You
have no idea where he might be?
Gutman: For all
I know he could be in Haiti.
[spots
someone]
Eduardo, what you doing here?! Why are you back so
soon?
Eduardo: I feel
better working.
Gutman: Oh man!
[drapes arm over
his
shoulder]
Are you sure?
Eduardo: Yes,
sir.
Gutman: If
there’s anything I can do for you, you let me know, you
understand?
Eduardo : Thank you, Mr. Gutman.
Gutman
: Okay, you take care now.
[Eduardo
exits] His
wife died six days ago. Back to work already. Having a
hard time, particularly with Gerome not around.
Ray: Why is
that?
Gutman: Well.
[clears
throat]
When-when one has a loss, one seeks the comfort of a
priest. Gerome’s a good man. You sure he did something
bad?
[Kowalski
nods]
Fraser: Thank
you kindly for your time.
Gutman: All
right. No problem, gentleman.
[exits]
Ray: Some help.
I mean, how in the hell is that gonna to help...me find my
car? [turns to find
himself alone; Fraser catches up with Eduardo]
[alley behind a
warehouse]
Ray: You sure
this is it?
Fraser: Eduardo
would have no reason to lie. And Momma Lolla was
practicing for the Nine-Night ritual for his wife. If Mr.
Laferette is as important as everyone says he is, it’ll be
his duty to attend.
Ray: Still, it
doesn’t look like a church.
Fraser: Well, a
church isn’t simply a building, Ray. It’s a state of
mind.
[they enter the building; they follow the drumming &
chanting, finding a ritual in
progress]
Ray:
[flashing
badge]
Excuse me folks, Chicago PD. Gerome Laferette, you are
under arrest.
Momma Lolla:
Leave him! And leave this church!
[Gerome throws powder into the fire and disappears... he runs, but is trapped in a corridor by the Duck Boys]
Fraser : I’m afraid you’ll have to come with us, Mr. Laferette.
[27th
precinct; Kowalski’s desk]
Ray: Look, you
want to tell me where my car is?
Gerome: I don’t
remember.
Ray: Not good
enough!
Gerome: I was
frightened! I got off at Lakeshore. Somewhere near the
projects. I think maybe I left it on...Latimer or
Western.
Ray: Latimer?
You left my car on Latimer?! Unguarded? They eat cars up
on Latimer! Stick him in the lockup until the Feds get
here.
[exits]
[Dief grumbles to
Gerome]
Gerome:
[smiling]
A wolf.
Fraser: A
half-wolf actually.
Gerome: The
interesting half. The wild half that speaks to me.
[Dief grumbles
again]
Fraser: He does
seem to respond to you.
Gerome: An
understanding of wild things is important in my
work.
Fraser: I
assume you’re not speaking of your work at the shipping
depot.
Gerome: No. My
real work.
Fraser: Vodun.
Interesting use of the flash powder at the ceremony today.
Perhaps a bit obvious.
Gerome: There’s
showmanship in any religion.
Fraser: True
enough.
[drumming
sounds]
Welsh: What the
hell is that noise?
[dancers and Momma Lolla enter & circulate, singing & drumming, engaging the bystanders, and tossing small pellets around the room]
Welsh
: What is she doing?
Gerome: She’s
placing a curse on your station.
Welsh: In here,
who would notice?
[action pauses...
everyone is in a trance; Gerome snaps his fingers... the
trance ends – the dancers are gone, and everyone seem
confused]
Welsh:
[to
cop] Go
with Constable Fraser and put this man in a holding cell.
I’ll tell the Feds we got their man.
[exits]
Francesca
: [blowing pellets
off her
desk] Hey
you guys, do you think this curse thing really affects me?
I mean, I’m just a civilian aid and all.
Huey: She
cursed everyone who works here. And you work here,
so...
Dewey
:
[scoffs]
Right.
Huey: Listen,
I’ve heard of people just giving up and dying after
they’ve been cursed.
Dewey: Yeah,
but that’s a mind-over-matter thing, all right? There’s
nothing real to that.
Huey: Hey!
You’re killed by a gun, you’re killed by your mind, you’re
still dead.
Francesca: Is
that true?
Dewey: No. Your
mind kills you, it’s just psychosomatic.
Francesca:
Okay, so you’re not really dead.
Dewey: Right.
You just think you are... I think.
[alley; Kowalski
runs to a stripped GTO]
Ray: No! Not my
car, come on! Come on.
[checks the license plate – RCW 139]
Ray : [sighs] Thank you.
[a cloaked figure with mask & sword rises behind him... he senses it, draws gun and swings around... swings in other direction, then again... nothing is there]
Ray : I’m good. Whoo.
[27th
precinct; holding cell]
Fraser: It’s
not very comfortable, I’m afraid.
Gerome: I have
been in far less comfortable places, Constable. As have
you.
Fraser: As have
I. May I ask you a question? Did Vodun have anything to do
with the attempt on the lives of Agents Goodfellow and
Aaron Gobrah?
Gerome: I have
been a houngan
since I was 25. It is very early to become a priest in my
country. From my earliest days I have been taught to
revere all life and to do no harm. Does that answer your
question?
Fraser: Then
you didn’t try to kill them?
Gerome: Does it
matter?
Fraser: Gerome,
you have a wife and a daughter. Don’t you want to return
to them?
Gerome: You saw
my daughter!
Fraser: No. I
saw her photograph in your apartment.
Gerome: There’s
nothing more I can say.
Ray
: You got a lot more you can say. Like where’s my car and
how come I’m being followed by uh, skeletons?
Gerome: I don’t
know what you are talking about.
Ray: Well then
you can sit right there until you figure it out. How does
that sit with you?
Gerome: It’s
fine. I won’t be in here long.
[break room; Huey is
eating, Dewey enters]
Dewey: I’m
getting a coffee, Jack, want one?
Huey: Mmm.
Black, no cream.
[Dewey puts money in
machine... nothing happens; Dewey squats down, looks in
the dispenser and gets face full of hot coffee... chain
reaction: Dewey jumps back, hits table & rolls over,
kicking a tray; Huey jumps back as the airborne tray hits
his own, sending his lunch flying at Frannie, who steps
aside, and the spaghetti hits Welsh squarely in the chest;
Frannie pauses... and then
runs]
[bullpen]
Francesca
: Fraze! It’s working!
Fraser: What’s
working?
Francesca: The
curse! Look!
[Welsh passes by, wiping at his stained
shirt]
Fraser: Look
Francesca, there’ve been lunchroom incidents before. Uh, I
don’t think a curse is the obvious--
Francesca:
Fraser! I can feel it! Right here.
[puts his hand over
her heart]
Can you feel it?
Fraser: Uh, I
feel something.
Francesca: It’s
like a dark hole burning its way through my heart.
[Kowalski enters,
watching them with amusement]
Fraser:
Francesca, it’s best not get worked up about this. You
see, our minds have the capacity to trans--
Francesca
: No! It’s a curse! We have to do something.
Ray: Yeah, like
lock you up in one of them rooms with the rubber
furniture.
Goodfellow:
Vecchio. Constable Fraser. Where is he?
[wolf
howls]
Francesca: Oh
my God, it’s a werewolf!
[exits]
Fraser: No,
it’s not a werewolf, it’s Diefenbaker. My companion is
half-wolf.
Goodfellow:
What’s his problem?
Fraser: Well,
I’m not sure. Although he did eat some lard at the
consulate kitchen. Usually though, that just leads to
flatulence.
Ray:
Flatulence?
Fraser:
Farting, Ray.
[holding cell; Gerome lies on the floor]
Fraser : Oh, dear.
[morgue; a young
woman in white smock straightens sheet over
Gerome]
Goodfellow: All
right, what can you tell me?
Woman (Mert):
Well. He’s dead.
Goodfellow: I
know he’s dead. What about an autopsy?
Mert: Mort does
the autopsies. And he’s out of town for a couple
days.
Goodfellow
: What about a cause of death?
[Mert raises the
sheet, looks at the body, then straightens
sheet]
Mert
: Looks to me like his heart stopped beating.
Goodfellow:
*Why* did his heart stop beating?
Mert: Maybe he
was sick or something.
Gobrah: Maybe
he was sick or something?
Mert: Maybe.
Mort could probably tell you more.
[smiles]
Goodfellow:
Look. Mort’s not here. You’re here. And I need an expert
opinion.
Mert: If you’re
looking for a bunch of words like myocardardial
whatsidosis or whatever, you’re asking the wrong
person.
Goodfellow:
Don’t play games with me.
Welsh: No,
she’s not.
[Kowalski, Fraser, and Welsh enter]
Welsh : Mert happens to be an expert in her field. Although the field has nothing to do with medicine. [she smiles] We remain very proud of her as a member of our cleaning staff.
[Mert retrieves her mop & bucket, then exits]
Welsh
: You’ll get a full investigation.
Goodfellow: Who
was the last to see him?
Fraser: It was
I.
Ray: So that
pretty much rules out foul play.
Goodfellow:
Unless someone got in there after the constable.
Fraser: No,
Diefenbaker was there the entire time.
Gobrah: You
think the wolf did it?
Fraser:
Diefenbaker would not have allowed anyone to harm Mr.
Laferette. I can assure you of that.
Goodfellow: Oh
that’s great. Guy dies and we’re not supposed to worry
about it because the last person to see him has a red
suit, *and* we got a dog for a witness.
Fraser: He’s a
wolf, actually.
[Gobrah
exits]
Goodfellow:
We’ll send somebody to get the body. We’ve got medical
techs who work all night.
[exits]
Fraser & Ray & Welsh : Oooh! [they exit]
[Fraser
pauses]
Fraser:
Dief.
[Dief stays put]
Fraser : [shakes head & sighs] Have it your own way.
[Dief howls]
[corridor]
Welsh:
[sarcastically]
Oh, wonderful.
Fraser: It is
quite beautiful, isn’t it? You know, Leftenant, I think it
might be a good idea to have someone assigned to watch the
body.
Welsh: Watch
the body? What, do you think it’s gonna turn into a zombie
or something?
[sound of Momma Lolla laughing]
Fraser
: Possibly.
[solitary ritual:
Momma Lolla chants in front of a candlelit
altar]
[27th precinct, morgue; Mert enters... Gerome sits up... Mert faints]
[Welsh’s
office]
Goodfellow: Let
me see if I got this straight. Somewhere during the course
of the night, Gerome Laferette, who, for all intents and
purposes, was
dead, got up off
a gurney, then wandered the halls, unnoticed by half a
dozen or so police officers, and walked out of the
building!! That about the size of it?
Fraser & Ray
& Welsh:
[mumble]
Pretty good...That’s pretty good...That’s
close...
Gobrah: You
guys are something else! You screwed up our arrest, killed
our prisoner and now you’ve lost the body!
Fraser & Ray
& Welsh:
[mumble]
Not lost.
Ray: No, no,
Misplaced.
Welsh: It’ll
turn up, you know, bodies have a habit of doing
that.
Ray: Yeah,
unless of course they’ve been zombified, in which case
they walk the earth with a strange demeanor,
looking-–
Welsh
: Detective.
Goodfellow: I
wish I could share your confidence, Lieutenant. But I
think Agent Gobrah and I will handle it from here.
Welsh: I can’t
let you do that.
Goodfellow: Oh,
you can’t?
Welsh: Huh-uh.
It’s personal.
Gobrah : Personal.
Ray
: Very personal. For all three of us.
Welsh: Yeah, I
have to think of the reputation of this station.
Fraser: And I
have to locate the whereabouts of my lifelong
companion.
[agents look at
Kowalski]
Ray
: I gotta find my car. It’s a classic.
[bullpen]
Francesca:
[pages through a
book] It’s
in here somewhere.
[an altar is set up on her desk: bowl with skull, jars, burning candles, idols, chalice]
Francesca
: Okay, okay, here it is. So you take the cow’s blood and
mix it with the graveyard dirt.
Huey: Graveyard
dirt?
Dewey: Yeah,
you get it from the graveyard at midnight.
Francesca:
Yeah, and I got the blood at Tony’s Cold Meats, so it’s
nice and fresh.
Huey: You guys
are out of your mind! Voodoo is a
religion. You
can’t learn it from a
book.
Dewey: Oh yeah?
What about the Bible?
Huey: That’s
different.
Dewey: Look,
we’re not hurting anybody, okay? It’s a precautionary
thing.
Francesca:
Okay, so now we need the powder.
[pours out a
handful, sprinkles some around, then blows the rest from
her hand... right at Huey]
Welsh: Miss
Vecchio!
Francesca: Yes,
sir.
Welsh: What is
all this paraphernalia?
Francesca:
Um... Okay, this is anti-curse paraphernalia, okay? You
got your graveyard dirt, some special powder, and some
cow’s blood, which I’m not absolutely sure about because
it seems to indicate here that we’re supposed to
drink it
which--
Welsh: I want
all this stuff out of my station. Immediately!
Francesca: But
what about the curse?
Welsh: If it’s
not outta here in two seconds you’ll face the curse of
unemployment.
Francesca:
But-but-but...
[Welsh exits, running into a cop... making the cop drop an armload of files]
Francesca
: See? [hits
Dewey]
It’s getting worse.
Huey: Come on,
throw the blood on the skull.
Dewey:
But--
Huey: Do
it!
Dewey:
[opening
jar]
Shouldn’t I let it breathe a little?
Francesca: Just
pour it!
Huey: Do
it!
Dewey: Okay,
all right. [pours
blood over skull in
bowl]
[corridor]
Damien
: Raymond! I didn’t think you were here. I didn’t see the
car in the lot.
Ray: I know.
You see, the car...got...
Damien: Got
what?
Ray: Boring.
You know, driving in every day. So I’m trying to get some,
uh, exercise.
Damien:
Exercise?
Ray: Yeah, you
know, so, a couple of mornings a week, I run in. It gets
the cardio going. It’s...
Damien: You run
in your work clothes?
Ray: Yeah. It’s
cold, and it warms ‘em up.
Damien: Okay.
Well, I’ll pick up the camshaft, swing by your
place--
Ray: No! ‘Cause
that’s...way too much trouble. Why don’t you just wait for
a day when I have the car here.
Damien: What
about tomorrow? You can’t have it here tomorrow?
Ray:
Sure...Dad. Tomorrow.
Damien: Okay,
tomorrow it is then. See ya.
[exits]
[street; people
scatter as the unmarked sedan pulls up]
Goodfellow:
Well, it kicks the hell out of your ego, people treating
you like you got a bad smell.
Fraser
: Perhaps we should go in alone.
Goodfellow:
Good idea.
[Fraser & Kowalski exit]
Gobrah : Maybe we should take a shower.
[apartment building
hallway]
Ray: The guy’s
dead, Fraser. I don’t really think he’s gonna be coming
home for a visit.
Fraser: Well,
if he was dead, that would be true.
Ray: You don’t
really give into this zombie stuff do you? ‘Cause
personally, I don’t. But
you? That
would be unMountielike and unlogical.
Fraser: It
depends on what you mean by zombie, Ray.
Ray: Uh, dead
guy walking.
Fraser: No,
that would be highly unlikely. There are however certain
drugs. For example, the gland secretions of the booga toad
are 100 times more powerful than digitalis or the puffer
fish which contains a tetrodotoxin. Either of these would
allow an individual to create a very convincing impression
of death.
[Kowalski slaps
himself in the face]
Ray
: Good enough to fool you?
Fraser:
Virtually undetectable.
Ray: So you
think he’s faking it.
Fraser: It
would account for his leaving and for Diefenbaker’s
disappearance.
Ray: Why’s the
wolf hanging with the dead guy?
Fraser: Mr.
Laferette has a very powerful presence. Diefenbaker’s
responding to that.
[goes to knock but
the door opens]
Momma Lolla:
You are not needed here!
Fraser: We
thought we could help.
Gutman: Can you
find Gerome?
Fraser: Mr.
Gutman, we are trying, yes.
[they
enter]
Gutman: I just
stopped by to see if I could be of any help to Lisa.
Fraser: That
was very thoughtful.
Lisa
: Mr. Gutman has been very good to both Gerome and to
myself.
Ray: You only
have the one other room?
Gutman: If
you’re looking for Gerome, I can assure you you’re not
going to find him here.
Ray: Mind if I
look around? [pushes
back a curtain]
Gutman: May I
ask why you are doing this, Detective?
Ray. No.
[finds a child’s
bed, empty]
Gutman: Are you
satisfied?
Momma Lolla:
They are never satisfied.
Fraser:
Terribly sorry for the inconvenience, ma’am. We are just
trying to help.
Momma Lolla: We
don’t need your help. We’re doing fine as we are.
Fraser: I’m
sure you are. In the meantime, I’d like to thank you for
feeding Diefenbaker. I uh...
[takes money from
Stetson] I
hope that this will cover it.
[Momma Lolla chuckles]
Fraser
: Oh by the way, Mrs. Laferette, is your daughter
home?
Momma Lolla:
She’s at school.
Fraser: And a
good thing, too. In the words of Plato, ‘A soul takes
nothing with it to the other world save its education and
its culture.’ Thank you kindly.
[corridor]
Ray: Fraser,
what was that feeding Diefenbaker stuff?
Fraser: I
detected the scent the moment we entered the
apartment.
Ray: Well, that
means Laferette was in there, too.
Fraser: Almost
certainly.
Ray: Well,
let’s go back in there and bust ‘em for harboring a
fugitive.
Fraser: We have
no proof.
Ray: We got
proof Fraser, you smelled the dog!
[mutters]
Smelled the dog...
[shouts]
Fraser, I think I’ve been working with
you too long.
[27th
precinct]
Francesca:
[on
phone]
Yeah sure, Fraze, I’ll check it out....Okay.
[hangs up]
Huey: You know
what? I think we need more blood.
Dewey: All
right, more blood.
Francesca:
Yeah, we just might. Look. See? It says right here.
Welsh: What’s
that smell? Miss Vecchio, I seem to recall issuing an
order regarding mumbo jumbo, as there will *be* no mumbo
jumbo? Does that ring a bell?
Francesca: Yes,
sir.
Welsh: All
right. Get rid of this stuff now, and you two get back to
work.
[Frannie gathers the
bowl, walks into hallway]
Welsh : [to cop] I don’t care what happened to their bus. Get ‘em out of here! [to uniformed marching band major] Forward! Left, right, left, right!
[Frannie walks past a guy on ladder changing light bulb... chain reaction: light bulb explodes, guy falls off ladder onto a cart, which rolls down the hall, sending cops running; light bulbs keep exploding...]
Voice : Stop that guy!
[the guy slams into a door & sails through the glass... an occupied wheelchair careens down the next hallway, and a man leaps out of the way – right into a uniformed band member... and the marching band goes down like dominos; Frannie rushes back to her desk, knocking into someone who knocks into Dewey, who falls down... hitting the burning candle, which tumbles into the trash can, which starts flaming]
Francesca
: Fire! Fire!
The book! Look, it says right here!
[points to
picture]
Welsh: The
book, huh? [throws
it into the burning
trashcan]
All right?
[smoke billows as the fire goes out... but then sprinklers
go
off]
Francesca:
[pointing
up]
See?
Welsh: Ah!
[heads into his
office]
Francesca: It’s
the curse!
Welsh: Ah! Ah!
Ah! Ah!
[Huey laughs in frustration & defeat]
[outside Laferette’s
apartment building]
Ray: Gutman’s a
weirdo.
Fraser: I did
detect a certain amount of tension in the apartment.
Gobrah: He runs
a clean shop as far as we can tell.
Ray: As far as
you can tell? Why, are you investigating him?
Gobrah: We
investigate everybody. His name’s come up a couple of
times. Nothing concrete. Although a legitimate operation
like Gutman’s could be a good cover for a sweatshop. Give
you a way to distribute the product. And the Voodoo might
be useful, too.
Ray:
Voodoo?
Goodfellow:
Yeah, he’s kinda hyped on it.
Ray: Hyped on
Voodoo.
Fraser: He did
seem very knowledgeable.
Goodfellow:
He’s what those in Voodoo circles would refer to as a
“hangan.”
Fraser: A
“houngan”?
Goodfellow:
That’s what I said.
Fraser: Ah,
right.
Goodfellow: Not
a lot of white guys ever get that far into it.
Fraser: Is that
why he employed Gerome?
Goodfellow:
Yeah, I guess. Laferette never talked that much about
him.
Gobrah: Never
talked about him at all.
[Kowalski’s cell
phone rings]
Francesca:
[voice]
Yeah, it’s me, where’s Fraze?
Ray: Yeah.
[hands over the
phone but keeps his hand out]
Fraser
: Hello?
Francesca:
[voice]
Hey, Fraze. That Laferette girl? She
didn’t go to school today. She hasn’t been there all
week.
Fraser: Thank
you kindly, Francesca.
[passes phone back
to
Kowalski]
I think perhaps we should have another conversation with
Mrs. Laferette.
[*pop* *bang* *pop* *bang*]
[Kowalski & Agents pull their guns... a kid with a skull mask runs off]
Ray : Ah. Fireworks.
[Diefenbaker & Gerome appear]
Fraser
: Dief.
[Gerome points a
gun]
Ray
: Gun!
[Dief disarms
Gerome]
Goodfellow
: Hold it right there, Laferette!
[Gerome jumps off
the ledge... a wall of flames appears]
Fraser:
Dief!
Ray: Dief’s
deaf.
Fraser: Good
point, Ray.
[Fraser jumps through the flames, but Gerome & Dief
are gone; the flames die
down]
Ray: Are you
all right?
Fraser:
Yeah.
Ray: You’re
sure you’re okay?
Fraser: Yeah.
I’m fine.
[Fraser turns around: the back of his coat is
burning]
Ray: The reason
I ask is, you’re on fire.
Fraser:
[casually]
Oh.
[takes off his coat
& drops it to the ground]
[alley; cops are everywhere]
Ray
: Another gimmick?
Fraser: Well,
the fire was real enough.
Ray: What are
you saying, it was magic?
Fraser: Lighter
fluid. [hands over
container]
This may not sound particularly logical, Ray, but judging
from the intense and immediate bond that he and
Diefenbaker have formed, I’m inclined to believe that
Gerome is trying to do the right thing.
Ray: Would that
include stealing cars and taking pot-shots at cops? He’s
got a lot to learn about civics, Fraser.
Goodfellow: As
usual, no one saw anything else, including the fire.
Ray: Hey, you
know, you blink, you miss a big wall of fire. Look, he
planned the whole deal. Escape route, everything.
[hands over
container]
Goodfellow
: Where’d you find this?
Ray: Uh, Fraser
found it over th...there.
[Fraser has
gone]
[Lolla’s apartment; Fraser
enters]
Momma Lolla:
Leave this alone. You don’t know what you’re messing
with.
Fraser: I know
that you’re frightened. And that Mrs. Laferette is
frightened.
Momma Lolla: I
don’t know what you’re talking about.
Fraser: I’m
talking about Gerome’s daughter.
Momma Lolla:
Nobody’s doing nothing to Marie.
Fraser: Then
perhaps I could see her.
[pause]
I can’t let Gerome kill someone, or be
killed himself. I don’t think you could do that
either.
Momma Lolla:
I’ve been working on him.
[indicates photo of
Gutman]
I’ve been working on him *hard.*
Ray:
[entering]
Gutman?
Momma Lolla:
He’s a
Bokor.
Ray: Broker?
Like stock broker?
Fraser: No,
it’s Bokor, Ray.
It’s a practitioner of black magic.
Momma Lolla:
Gutman uses Voodoo to control the folks working in his
sweatshops.
Fraser: The
dark side of Vodun.
Ray: Oh, and
this is the light side?
Momma Lolla:
You see, you fight the dark with the dark. I don’t like
it, but that’s the only way it works. But Gutman’s too
strong for me. I can’t control him, and Gerome
won’t!
Fraser: Because
Gutman has his daughter. And in exchange for her safety,
Gerome was ordered to kill two federal agents. He’s
afraid.
Momma Lolla: So
we gotta put a hurtin’ on him.
[Gutman’s
office]
Gutman: What do
you want, Lolla?
Momma Lolla: To
bring you this.
Gutman: You
doing this to me?
Momma Lolla : Gerome doing it.
[she places a charm on the desk: animal skull wrapped with string & decorated with beads & feathers]
Gutman
: He’s bluffing. It would cost him too much.
Momma Lolla:
Maybe. Maybe not. I’m just delivering the message.
[Gutman speaks in
French, gesturing for Lolla to get out; Momma Lolla exits
& goes straight to the car]
Momma Lolla: He
got the message.
Fraser:
Good.
Ray:
Good?
Fraser: Mr.
Gutman now believes Mr. Laferette is no longer afraid of
him.
Ray: So?
Fraser: He’ll
wonder why. That should lead us to Marie.
Momma Lolla:
You know she’s a sweet little girl, you know, and I’m
gonna work it. You find his
govi?
Fraser: We
will.
Ray: Govi?
What’s a govi?
Fraser: It’s a
vessel in which he keeps his
puin, or his
spirits. It’s symbolic of his power.
Ray : Hmm.
[Gutman tries to continue working, but his attention is drawn to the charm; hurriedly he exits the warehouse... Fraser & Kowalski see him leave]
Fraser : Let’s go.
[sweatshop]
Gutman: What is
she doing laying down like that? Get her up and get her
back to work. What is that? What is that look? What is
that? You resent me? Is that it? Is that it? You all
resent me? Don’t you have any gratitude? What do you
people want! What do you want? You want to go back home?
You want to go back home?! I’ll send you back home! Right
back to the Tonton
Macoutes, with the long knives, and the knock on the
door in the middle of the night when they come and they
take your babies
away!!
Forever!! Is that what you want? Get back to
work!
[Momma Lolla’s group sings a chant to “Papa
Loco”]
[sweatshop, back room; Gutman lights altar candles]
Gutman
:
[imploring]
Papa. Papa
Shango.
[sweatshop; Gutman’s pleading prayers echo through the
room]
Ray: What’s the
matter with them?
Fraser: They’re
afraid.
[Momma Lolla’s group & Gutman each chant, and seem to be competing]
[sweatshop, back room; Fraser & Kowalski interrupt
Gutman... he throws powder at them and disappears; Fraser
investigates the
altar]
Ray: Fraser,
what are you doing?
Fraser: His
govi. [takes a
decorated glass jar]
[they run after
Gutman]
[sweatshop]
Gerome
: Tell me where my daughter is!
Gutman:
No.
Gerome
: Tell me
*now.*
[points & cocks
gun] Or I
will KILL you!
Ray: Laferette,
put the gun down.
Gerome: He is
an *evil* man!
Gutman: You
ain’t gonna shoot me, Gerome. I’ve got your daughter.
Listen to the
Bokor,
Gerome.
Ray: Gerome,
put the gun down. We can work this thing out.
[Momma Lolla & her group arrive, chanting &
dancing & drumming, and she slowly dances Gutman
backward... Fraser hands the govi to Gerome, who drops
it... the dancers surround Gutman, sending him to his
knees]
[back room; Fraser
feels along a stone wall]
Ray: What
are you looking for?
Fraser: A
trigger mechanism. Yep. Here we go.
[he finds the
button & presses it; the wall opens]
Marie:
Daddy?
Gerome:
Marie!
[they rush to the girl, and the family is happily reunited]
[27th
precinct]
Goodfellow:
He’s on his own recognizance, so we should be able to cut
him a good deal in return for his testimony. He shouldn’t
do any jail time. Detective.
Ray:
Agent.
Goodfellow:
Constable. It’s been a real slice.
Fraser: Of
what?
Gobrah: He’s
Canadian.
[exits]
Goodfellow
: Right. Catch you later.
[exits]
Damien:
Raymond! [holds up
the
camshaft]
Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er. Daylight’s burning.
Ray: Dad. I
got, um... something to tell you.
Damien: What is
it, son?
Ray: The car.
[pause]
It’s not here. I lent it to a guy for the
weekend so he can take photos of it for this magazine
called uh, “Black Old Classic Cars” so...
Damien: Look me
in the eye and tell me that again.
[Kowalski looks at his feet]
Damien : The police called your apartment while your mother was ironing shirts. You parked it beside a hydrant. I got it out of the pound, it’s outside.
[Kowalski smiles
widely]
Ray:
Thanks!
[they hug awkwardly, knocking box to the floor; they both try to pick it up, but Damien insists]
Damien
: Okay, okay. There’s no need to lie to us, you know. Your
mother and I are fully functioning adults. We can handle
the truth.
Ray: Remember
that antique lamp that I said the cat broke? It was
me.
Damien: Yeah, I
know, son.
Ray: And that
time after school where I had the black eye? That did not
happen in gym. That uh, I got into a fight.
Damien: I know,
son.
[they head out of the
station]
Ray: Remember
when I was 14 and the station wagon went missing?
Damien:
Yeah?
Ray: That was
me.
Damien: You
stupid son of a bitch.
[Fraser steps onto bullpen floor, which is now a lawn;
grass is growing in little piles everywhere, on desks,
cabinets, etc... and crickets are chirping]
Francesca:
Okay, so the curse is lifted? Well, what about the grass?
That’s not normal.
Momma Lolla: I
just threw around some seed, and somebody starts watering
‘em.
Francesca: So
there never was a curse?
Momma Lolla: If
it was that easy, everybody’d be doing it!
Francesca: So
there was no curse.
[tosses a chunk of
grass on the desk]
Gerome: I have
to thank you, Constable.
Fraser: There’s
no need. Just make sure you keep your
gros bon
ange
healthy.
Gerome: And
you.
[Gerome, Lisa, Marie, & Momma Lolla exit; Dief
whines]
Fraser: Well,
it’s your decision. You are familiar with the concept of
free will. It’s up to you.
[Dief returns to sit at Fraser’s feet]
Fraser : Thank you kindly.
[Dief grumbles]
Fraser : Hungry?
[Dief woofs]
Fraser : Get it yourself.
End
[note: Music credited for this episode: “Yanvalou” (Traditional)]