(drumroll continues)
(rimshot)
(body thuds, crowd gasps)
("stars and stripes
forever" playing)
(knocking)
(door opens)
Well, boss, you wanted to see me?
Sit down.
Moe kitchener.
What about him? He got sh*t
Last night outside a
bar over in roxborough.
You're serious? Large caliber slug,
Back of the head.
So... He's dead?
Where were you last night, lil?
Home. I was, uh,
finishing up a report.
You're going to need
someone to confirm that.
Who-who's the
investigating detective?
Doherty wants the state
police to handle it.
They're gonna want to talk to you.
You all right?
I don't know.
Listen, I told the boss
If anyone wants to know,
you were home when I
Dropped off that file last night.
The file...? Yeah.
Rodriguez file, ' .
No way you could've been
across town when moe caught one
Outside that bar.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Yeah.
Listen, I got a lady
Waiting on a case.
I'll handle it.
I want to...
Keep working.
Valens: Detectives
Valens. Rush.
You got something on an old
Homicide, miss deluca?
Mia romanov.
An aerialist for the
jones brothers circus.
The circus?
Her death was ruled
an accidental fall
In .
You're saying it wasn't?
Mia did a silk act where
She came out of a cocoon
high above the rafters.
I knew something was wrong
the moment she came out.
This a bad time?
What?
No. Uh, you were there the night
of her fall? My mother worked
At jones brothers circus.
She was a fortune-teller.
I'm a psychic.
Always felt mia's "accident" was
Anything but.
Valens: Then just tell us
Who you "feel" k*lled her,
And we'll clear this
up by lunchtime.
Doesn't work that way.
Yeah, it never does.
Always wondered how
mia could've fallen.
And then I found
these at an exhibit,
"death under the big top."
Photographs of various
Tragic falls, including mia's.
You can see
How the other performers
braced for impact.
Mia didn't. Fell head first.
Arms limp, hands at her side.
Might've been unconscious.
Or already dead.
You think that her fall
was some kind of cover-up?
Mia grew up in the circus.
Had the agility of a cat.
Something wasn't right.
I felt it.
Yeah, we got that.
We'll be in touch, isabel.
Your mother
Will be fine.
You-- I'm not so sure.
Vera: Mia romanov, .
d*ed in st.
Mary's fairgrounds in ' .
Ruled accidental.
More like inevitable.
Flying through the air
on nothing but silk?
Not much here by the
way of statements.
Well, getting circus
folk to talk isn't easy.
Finally got warrants,
you're looking at an empty lot.
Miller: Assigned spoke to a few
Audience members.
Said mia looked fine
giving her pre-act bow.
So whatever happened to her,
happened backstage.
It's got the stink of
sabotage all over it.
A/v blew up the
picture of mia's fall.
Me said the shadow around her
nose and mouth could be blood.
Before impact.
Miller: Autopsy report:
Broken neck, shattered skull--
Thought to have been
caused by the fall,
But hands and wrists only
suffered minor damage.
She didn't brace for impact.
Survival instinct never kicked in.
Stillman: Run all the
performers for priors,
Anything else we can
dig up on this big top.
"mia was legally adopted
by sheldon burgess,
Aka cleo the clown."
Never gave a statement.
Got an address over
in point breeze.
Well, go talk to this clown.
Mr. Burgess? Hey, hey!
Hey, hey! Hey,
welcome to cleo's fun house.
What can I do for you?
Homicide. We're looking
Into the death of mia romanov.
Mia?
All these years later?
What can you tell
us about her fall?
She was trying a new stunt.
It's the worst night of my life.
Valens: How come you didn't
Give a statement, mr. Burgess?
I climbed deep into
a bottle that night.
Stayed there for a long time after.
It never crossed your mind that
maybe it wasn't an accident?
Silks weren't cut or frayed.
Thought the moment
got the best of her.
So who was in charge of
sending up her cocoon?
Uh, gaucho, day players,
in and out.
But mia did her own rigging.
She was stubborn, like her father.
Her father?
The romanovs have been
kicking the sawdust
For five generations.
They were royalty
amongst us kinkers.
And mia was like her folks:
More comfortable in the
air than on terra firma.
Valens: How does a clown
in a traveling circus
Adopt a little girl?
I was her godfather.
Her parents willed her to me,
but the circus raised her.
Jones brothers was a one-ring mud show,
but we were family.
Anyone backstage with her?
The act before hers,
Zelda "the queen of knives" panay.
Zelda and mia get on all right?
Oh, sure. Long as zelda
was the headliner.
What the hell was that tonight?
Williamsport?
Used to pack 'em to the stingers.
Now, we're lucky to be making horse feed
out there. You still getting paid, cleo?
This dog and pony
show is dying, biggie.
We need an aerial act.
Biggie: Can't afford one, so
Unless you got one in that wig of yours...
No way a Kn*fe-thrower
Can carry the big top.
No offense, zelda. Excuse me?
Zelda: I've been... Stop it.
Everybody, please, just...
(mia sighs)
I ca... I can give
us an aerial act.
(laughs) mia,
I didn't mean you should...
I can fly.
It's in my blood.
She's a baby.
Well, what do we got to lose?
Even a baby can see we're dying.
I'll talk to management.
Start putting it together, kid.
I don't know, mia.
It's going to be fine, cleo.
Oops.
Accidents happen.
Valens: Zelda p-a-n-a-y...
...Was the headliner prior to mia?
Yeah, ever since the
last aerial act walked.
I didn't want mia up there.
Hate to think I put
a target on her.
Sounds like zelda wasn't
ready to put her knives away.
(door opens, then closes)
Thanks for coming in. Well, if I'd
Known you were so handsome,
I would've sprinted
All the way from atlantic city.
I don't mean to be
Rude, but, uh,
can we get going on this,
Because... I got a show, at : .
Still performing? Yeah,
well, it's mostly
Blue plate dinners for seniors.
But they remember me from
the ed sullivan show.
How did you and mia
romanov get along?
"mia romanov"?
Fine.
I took her under my wing.
She was like my sister.
You always throw daggers at family?
(laughs): Darling...
Even a lady loses
her cool sometimes,
Which accounts for three
Out of four of my divorces.
Foolish. Jealous.
Jealous enough to get rid of her?
What do you mean?
She fell.
I was there.
Miller: With her
backstage before her act.
Your "sister" ends up dead
And you get to keep your spotlight.
Now, I got my pride.
But I'm not stupid.
We needed mia's act to work.
It was all over, for all of us.
(the doors' "waiting
for the sun" plays)
¶ at first flash of eden ¶
¶ we race down... ¶
Where's the trapeze bar?
Forget the trapeze.
Biggie, we need something new.
We need dramatic.
You'll never be ready in a week
Trying to get a new act together.
Just do what your folks taught you.
I need a theme.
To tell a story.
I need some time.
You're not a clown anymore.
It's not about stories.
It's about wowing them.
Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do.
There's something
Groovy with the silks-
the freedom it gives me...
People don't want groovy.
They want tradition.
For their kids to see
and feel what they did.
Maybe we can start a new one.
You know, we can capture
their imagination. Great.
Then imagine there's no
circus when we get shut down
Waiting for you to get
your act together.
Now this is all on me?
You asked for a sh*t, kid,
And I gave it to you.
Convinced management
to roll the dice.
Don't hang me out to dry.
No, I'll do the silk act.
I'll use a mechanic if I have to.
The advance men
Have been pumping your
act as death-defying.
But I... But nothing!
I took a flyer on you.
You'd better not make a fool of me.
(gasps)
Mia was way ahead of the curve.
She was cirque du
soleil before they were.
Now everybody's got a silk act.
What about david and goliath?
Ringmaster biggie
jones and his goon,
Lester "gargantuan" smith.
Biggie pushed us hard.
Maybe pushed mia too hard.
That's probably why he
pulled up stakes so fast
And left town that night.
You see biggie backstage
with mia before her fall?
Biggie always checked
on the featured acts
Before they went on.
Woman: Have information
that you called in
The - last week.
Dui check on mr. Kitchener?
That's right.
Outside the same bar
that he was m*rder*d?
The suspect was inebriated.
Suspect was awaiting trial.
And what were you doing
Observing him in the first place?
It was a continuing investigation.
He had already filed a
complaint against you.
Which was completely bogus,
same as this.
Were you outside that bar
last night, detective?
No.
Woman: You testified
Moe kitchener tried to k*ll you.
You believe that.
So does the commonwealth.
Maybe you should talk to the da.
Said you were home last night
between the hours of :
And : ?
That's right.
Anyone who can confirm that?
My partner, scotty valens.
He came by,
dropped off some paperwork
On a case I was reviewing.
What case?
Cesar rodriguez.
The file's on my desk.
Bunch of gink squad bs.
I need you to surrender
Your service w*apon. What?
Until this thing blows over,
you're on restricted duty.
Mia romanov.
A real tragedy, that one.
Understand you checked on your acts
Before they hit the stage.
So how'd she look
Before going out? Ready to fly.
Girl was good to go. You're saying
She looked good, biggie,
Ready to fly? You whizzing
On the wrong hydrant there,
kemosabe.
I needed that girl.
Without her act I lost my main
moneymaker, lost the midway.
Lost that,
Lost the circus.
Then why the cover-up?
You pulled up stakes
before sunup, hit the road.
Now, hold your horses.
We had a long haul the
next day to allentown.
The show must go on, huh?
Well, we was feeding
a lot of people.
My family survived the ten-in-one
To turn around and own this circus.
Ten-in-ones?
Ten freaks in one tent.
It was humiliating.
For three generations we fought
off larger predatory circuses.
Ringling.
And you banked everything on mia,
But she crossed you up.
We were family.
Wouldn't sell.
Loyal. We circled the
tents around mia.
But mia stepped out of line,
made her own act, didn't she?
She make a fool out of you, biggie?
Wrong.
I was on board with her act.
Hell, I had to be;
times was desperate.
I helped her set
the whole thing up.
("love her madly" by
the doors playing)
¶ don't you love her madly... ¶
(clears throat)
You heard of knocking?
Peace offering.
Thought about what you said--
Wanting a story for your act.
How about this?
Silk worm goes up into her cocoon
To emerge as the human butterfly.
Call it the metamorphosis.
¶ don't you love her as she's
walkin' out the door... ¶
I don't know what to say.
Biggie, that's... Perfect.
So are you, kid.
We're all behind you here.
You're the best we got.
I'll be ready for philly.
And no mechanic or safety harness.
Knock 'em dead, kid.
¶ don't you love her... ¶
I got an act, lester.
I'm the human butterfly.
(giggles)
(biggie clears throat) ¶
all your love... ¶
(wheezing)
Management had
Them tack spitters wallpaper
the town with that bill.
She was our homegrown star.
And who was management?
J.B. Ricketts investment.
Bunch of suits out of florida,
Helped us through the lean years.
Got a number?
(laughs) no, ma'am,
That was a long time ago.
Vera: What about this paul bunyan?
He have a thing for mia?
(laughing): Gargantuan?
I don't think he
was wired that way.
His feelings were simple,
childlike.
With big boy plumbing--
That's reassuring.
Some kind of condition?
Cerebral gigantism.
(chuckles)
Made him huge.
Also made him about as
sharp as a bowling ball.
So what beanstalk
is he up right now?
I haven't seen him in years.
He's probably dead.
Giants don't last too long.
Heart can't take it.
Man: Excuse me,
Um, I'd like to talk
to a detective rush.
Mr. Butler.
What can I do for you?
I want to make a statement.
Would you like a lawyer
present, mr. Butler?
I would not.
I recommend you get one, hank.
All you've been through.
My wife doesn't eat anymore.
She doesn't sleep.
She just cries.
Do you want to tell us
what happened, hank?
When I saw him at the
courthouse, I knew.
Moe kitchener?
Ten, years-- didn't matter.
It wouldn't go away.
I couldn't go on
Thinking that that
smug son of a bitch
Was walking the earth.
Someone had to put that dog down.
¶ ¶
(g*n hammer clicks)
Hank.
Listen, hank, I didn't k*ll
your daughter. Shut up.
You buried her in a box.
You'd have let me twist forever.
Sorry, hank. It wasn't personal.
I'm sorry, too.
(g*nsh*t)
I went home.
I thought I'd feel better.
Katie's gone.
Nothing's ever going
to change that.
(dog barking)
(doorknob rattles)
What do you want?
What do you want?
Leave me alone. You hear me?!
I seen you standing here.
(straining): I'm a cop.
(coughing)
(coughing continues) I'm sorry.
Police.
I didn't know!
I didn't know!
I, I didn't know.
(door closes)
People paint on my wall,
Break my windows...
I thought you was one of 'em.
Gonna hurt me.
You thought I was gonna hurt you,
gargantuan?
Vera: Lot of performers
at jones brothers
Had priors, lester.
You're the only one with
a history of v*olence.
In and out of
institutions as a kid.
b*at a grown man within an inch
of his life at the age of .
He att*cked me,
'cause I was big.
What about mia romanov?
Yeah, you...
Remember her, right?
Yes. Mia.
You liked her?
Pretty. Soft.
She smelled nice.
She just wasn't into the whole
beauty and the beast thing.
So you squeezed her too hard,
Like you did me?
No!
Mia was special.
"special"? Friend.
She was my friend.
I could
Never hurt her. Well, someone did
Hurt your "friend," lester.
Someone backstage.
And then they dropped
her from the ceiling.
There was this
Gaucho. (the door's
"wild child" plays)
¶ wild child ¶
¶ full of grace ¶
¶ savior of the human... ¶
Hey.
Eddie, right? That's right,
darlin'.
I haven't checked my rig yet.
It's looking fine to me.
Get rid of that
Carabiner and mount it on a swivel.
Carabiner's twice
As strong as a swivel.
What do I look like,
some first of may?
That swivel's going to let
me get out over the audience.
Now, lose the carabiner.
Looks like you're
Calling the sh*ts
around here, huh, kid?
How long you been doing this,
eddie? Ten years experience.
Rigged every big rock and roll
show from vancouver to miami.
Then you should know a performer
needs to check their rig
Before it's flown.
How old are you, sweet cheeks?
Old enough.
Are you hopped up, eddie?
I'm the one
feet in the air. You gonna be
On that junk, you can stay
away from me and my rig.
I want you out of my tent.
Now!
Get out. Or I'll
have you dragged out.
All right, look.
Easy, big fella, easy.
All right, I dig it.
If that's what the
little lady wants.
Ouch!
Now that would hurt.
Eddie wasn't one of us.
Not circus folk.
He poisoned her.
You mean with dr*gs?
Was he selling to the crew?
This rigger,
He responsible for putting
mia's cocoon in the air?
Till she kicked him
out of the big top.
They made him shovel
after the elephants.
Eddie left
After mia...
Fell.
(knocking)
I went to jones.
The bartender said
you took nick home.
Yeah. He was plastered
by the time I got there.
Something's up with him.
Lot of that going around.
Hmm.
Still thirsty?
I heard about your
dance with gargantuan.
Had him right where I wanted him.
Yeah.
You ring him up for as*ault?
Guy belongs in the
puzzle house, not county.
Punks were harassing him.
Tagged "freak" on his building.
Cruel world.
I filed three separate
Police reports. He was just
Protecting himself.
I'm sorry I wasn't there. Almost...
Lit him up, lil.
Wanted to.
Thanks for... Having my back.
With moe.
The alibi.
Partners, right?
Yeah.
I still can't believe it.
What hank did. Just b*at you to it.
So what does that make me?
Human.
Protect and serve,
right? The innocent.
Lil.
Need more hanks out there.
The guy deserves a medal.
You believe that?
Yeah.
Yeah, I believe that.
Just be glad someone else did it.
That he's gone.
The fortune-teller said
something about your mom.
She okay?
Time comes, lil...
I might need you to
have my back, too.
Partners, right?
Thought I was invisible. So did we,
Till we found your name in
a jones brothers payroll.
Quite a healthy rap sheet
you got there, eddie.
Mama always said I had a
little bit of the devil in me.
Sure she's real proud: dr*gs,
Cons, kiting checks...
Youthful indiscretions, detectives.
Made a few mistakes.
Is she one of those indiscretions?
You might say that.
But she was far from a mistake.
Destroying mia's rig,
Threatening her in
front of witnesses--
Those aren't mistakes?
Wait a second.
I didn't even work the big top.
I know. She had you kicked out.
Had you shoveling pachyderm pies.
Cost you money,
not to mention your pride.
About to narc you out.
But you weren't looking
to do jail time,
So you did her instead. You got me.
Guilty as charged.
If you call love a crime.
"love"?
Anyone could see that that girl
Was a bud about to bloom.
All she needed was
A double dose of eddie.
I might just hit you on principle.
Seem to have that effect on women.
The other side of desire.
That young lady
Was bursting with it.
¶ riders on the storm ¶
¶ riders on the storm ¶
¶ into this house we're born ¶
Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday.
I've been shoveling
crap my whole life.
So don't lose
Any sleep over me, okay?
(sighs)
I'm just under a lot of pressure
And I could've handled it better.
I heard about your folks.
It takes a lot of guts
doing what you're doing.
Well, I don't really
know what else to do.
I mean... Family needs me.
I guess you had to grow up
a little fast around here.
So maybe, you and I aren't
so different after all.
Sounds like you've been around
quite a bit. What about you?
I never heard of a circus
that didn't travel.
I've been to a bunch of places,
But I never get to leave the lot.
Never?
Once.
When I was a little girl,
My mom took me down
to bourbon street.
New orleans.
There was one of
those jazz funerals.
Something eerie about it, but...
It was beautiful.
¶ girl, you gotta love your man ¶
¶ girl, you gotta... ¶
We should go out tonight.
I'm not sure cleo would like that.
Not all adventures are out there.
¶ the world on you depends ¶
¶ our life will never end ¶
¶ gotta love your man, yeah. ¶
¶ ¶
¶ ¶
(panting)
You should come with me.
Where?
Anywhere but this
stick and rag show.
(both laugh)
You're .
You can do anything you want. Mia!
Giving it up to some gaucho!
Have you lost your mind?!
Come on! No!
Get out. Come with me! Wait...
Mia: Cleo! No!
Cleo: Come on!
I felt bad for mia.
If you ask me, there was something
Weird was going on
between those two.
You know, she was and they
were still sharing a boxcar.
Sketchy. Sketchier
Than an alcoholic clown? Next day,
She had a busted lip,
Compliments of cleo.
You painted a pretty
picture of mia, cleo.
But, uh, but she wasn't
such an angel, now, was she?
Droppin' acid, doing riggers...
Then there's you.
Me?! What the hell's
that supposed to mean?
Keeping tight quarters
with a teenage girl
All those years...
Used to having her
By your side. What are you saying?
Take a seat.
I slept on the floor.
I would never, ever do
What you're suggesting.
Mia was my daughter.
She was not blood.
Was to me!
Maybe I was strict
and overprotective,
But that place was
swarming with snakes.
Like eddie armstrong?
Damn straight.
Combed the lot,
found her tripping with that...
Fink trying to get in her pants.
I just snapped.
Oh, busted her lip trying
to show her who's boss.
No! Never laid a hand on her.
She was so out of it, kept falling.
I watched her all
night till she finally
Came down. Always there
to catch her, huh?
Not always.
But I tried.
But you couldn't let go.
And all you had was her
And that bottle.
She was becoming a woman.
You were losing her.
Holding her back so much that...
You were suffocating her.
No, you're wrong.
Loved her so much,
I wanted her to go.
She needed to get
away from that place.
From me.
(the doors' "moonlight
drive" plays)
¶ let's swim to the moon ¶
¶ uh-huh, let's climb
through the tide ¶
¶ surrender to the waiting worlds ¶
¶ that lap against our side ¶
¶ nothing left open and no ¶
¶ time to decide ¶
¶ we've stepped into
a river on our ¶
¶ moonlight drive ¶
¶ let's swim to the moon ¶
¶ let's climb through the tide ¶
¶ you reach your hand to hold me ¶
¶ but I ¶ (applause)
¶ can't be your guide ¶
¶ easy how to love you ¶
¶ as I watch you ¶
¶ glide ¶
¶ falling through wet forests... ¶
For mia romanov and her amazing
Metamorphosis!
R amazing
Metamorphosis!
You looked just like
your mother up there.
You liked it?
I've seen the future,
and you're it, kiddo.
Your act is too good for this top.
What are you talking about?
This is exactly what we need.
You heard the crowd. This will save us.
This place is dying.
You don't need to die with it.
But this is my family.
Cleo, I'm not going anywhere.
You know how... When a
circus elephant is born,
The bull handler will
secure it with a thin rope
Tied to a skinny
stick in the ground?
Sure, and when that
elephant grows up,
That rope and skinny stick
can still make him stay put.
That stick can't hold you anymore.
Are you calling me an elephant?
I wish she'd listened to me,
but it was already too late.
She fell the next night. Buried her
In the romanov family plot.
A few days later, I was back
on the sawdust in allentown.
A few days?
Thought the circus
Was due in allentown
The night after the accident?
Don't know who told you that.
No, we had a week between stops.
Got the route card to prove it.
Losing track of all
your lies, biggie.
Told us you were due
in allentown when you
Had a week between gigs.
We had to wildcat it out of
there after mia's nosedive.
Especially since you had a
m*rder scene to tear down.
Come on, who's going
to take their kiddies
To see us after a fall like that?
Thought with a little
extra time, we could
Drum up some business in allentown.
(inhaling)
I know what it looks like,
But it was a business decision.
You weren't the only one
Making business decisions.
Found out ringling
brothers wanted mia.
Ringling-- they tried
to poach everyone.
After everything your
family had done for her.
Raising mia as one of their own.
Knew if you lost her,
it was all over.
But mia wouldn't fall in line.
Left a little man with a
big temper holding the bag.
And when it's all said and done,
Mia ends up eating sawdust.
Come on, you guys.
Do I look like I could hurt anyone?
Rush: Spoke to biggie, lester.
Remember him?
Yes. Biggie.
Valens: Well, he says
You k*lled mia.
Me?
Biggie couldn't have k*lled mia.
Couldn't have lifted her
up into that cocoon.
I'm thinking he
Forced you to do it, lester.
Like he always forced you.
You don't have to be
scared of biggie anymore.
He can't hurt you.
No, you got it wrong!
Miller: You put yourself
At the scene, biggie.
Said she was "good to go."
Vera: Mia was dead.
You got lester to stuff
her into silks just
To cover it up. I'd done
some things I had to do.
But I did not k*ll mia.
(indistinct chatter)
If you could please find
it in your heart to donate
Again to help orphaned
children get a chance
To see the human butterfly.
Man: In return, for helping make
These children's dreams come true,
your company
Name will be featured
in our special program.
Biggie: Hey, mia.
What are you doing here?
This makes no sense.
It says we've sold tickets.
The top only sits .
What are you doing,
biggie? All right, everyone.
Scram.
Listen, sweetheart,
To make sure that
the show can go on,
I've had to be a little creative.
We're not affiliated with any charity,
But you're selling
tickets in their name.
Where were these
kids in the stands?
It's a write-off to
local businesses.
It's one thing to rip
people off on the midway,
But you're going to use my act
to scam charities for orphans?
What do you care?
You'll be flying under
the ringling top soon.
What? That's right.
I know all about it.
I can't believe you, biggie.
I was going to tell them "no.
" but now?
(inhaling)
Once I told management,
It was out of my hands.
"management," huh?
Controlled the whole thing.
And just who was this management?
Bunch of suits out of florida.
You see, that's a crock.
The sec has no record
Of j.B. Ricketts investments.
But wikipedia does.
J.B. Ricketts founded
The american circus.
d*ed in .
There was no "management."
It was you. No.
If it were just that simple.
You were diagnosed with, uh,
Is it "cerebral gigantism"?
It's a pretty rare disorder.
Often accompanied with diminished
Mental capacity.
The d.A.'s willing to
cut a deal for you.
We don't want to
send you to county,
So you tell us what happened
And we'll make sure you go
To a comfortable medical facility.
Oh, yeah, they'll get
you squared away.
In a year or two, you're a
handyman in reading again.
Help us put biggie away for good.
Biggie was a... A monster.
(cries): He...
He... He... He made me.
This lifeline,
Those meds--
Pretty expensive. I didn't know
The circus had such great benefits.
So, we decided to check.
Turns out they don't.
Your medicine is paid for
by a private company.
Same company pays your rent.
You don't get it,
do you? No, I get it.
And you're going to prison,
and there's no ppo in the pokie.
A guy like you won't
last six months.
Last time, big.
Who was management?
(stilted applause)
(mockingly): "he made me."
Man, I hope we got that on video.
Submit it to the academy.
Rush: See, the thing is,
People with cerebral gigantism,
Although usually
bigger as children,
Are often in the normal
height range as adults.
Far from normal, gargantuan.
That country doctor
misdiagnosed you.
You don't have cerebral gigantism.
You're just big.
No, but you ain't no dummy.
See, I wanted to talk to your boss.
Went to the city tax assessors
To see who owns that
building you maintain.
Found out, it's you. You own it.
Along with half a dozen others.
Big top, incorporated.
Same company that
pays biggie's bill.
You were "management."
Me?
Biggie's confession.
I'd give it to you in picture form,
But we know you weren't
hit with the idiot stick.
In fact, you're a millionaire.
Now, biggie told us
How his circus was dying
Till you took it over.
You weren't his puppet.
He was yours.
Seen that fear in your eyes
All my life.
But when those cake eaters
would step into ten-in-one...
Looking at me.
Laughing.
Pointing.
They thought I was on exhibit.
But I was studying them.
So you concocted
A scam to get back at them.
Steal their money.
Prove you were smarter.
No. It was about
preserving our family.
Our livelihoods.
The one place where no one
would treat me like a freak.
But mia busted you on your scam.
Wouldn't take part.
We could've moved on.
Gone back to the family we were.
I couldn't just... Sit by
And have her tear us apart.
Biggie: Wanted to wish
you a good show, kid.
But mia, what you saw,
Those phone calls,
will never happen again, mia.
We'll sell out with
your act and some
Old-fashioned bally.
Family again.
No blood, no foul.
You expect me to trust you?
You're a con.
Mia, listen...
You know what a con man hates most?
People knowing the truth.
Look, there's no need
To get the cops involved.
I'm a kinker. No cops.
After the show,
I'm telling the family the truth.
Mia! Don't be a fool.
Let them make their
own decisions, biggie.
I've already made mine.
Now, I gotta fly.
(the doors' "people
are strange" plays)
¶ people are strange
when you're a stranger ¶
¶ faces look ugly
when you're alone ¶
¶ women seem wicked
when you're unwanted ¶
¶ streets are uneven
when you're down ¶
¶ when you're strange ¶
¶ faces come out of the rain ¶
¶ when you're strange ¶
¶ no one remembers your name ¶
¶ when you're strange,
when you're strange ¶
¶ when you're strange... ¶
¶ people are strange
when you're a stranger ¶
¶ faces look ugly
when you're alone ¶
¶ women seem wicked
when you're unwanted ¶
¶ streets are uneven
when you're down ¶
¶ when you're strange ¶
¶ faces come out of the rain ¶
¶ when you're strange ¶
¶ no one remembers your name ¶
¶ when you're strange ¶
¶ when you're strange,
when you're strange... ¶
¶ all right, yeah. ¶