Tears to a Glass Eye (2025)

[bunniefuu]

[tape deck rattling]

[ominous music]

[tape deck humming]

[upbeat guitar music]

[car engine roaring]

Eddie, what can I do?

Make you smart?

I'd like to think so.

Shut up and drive.

A dog! Dog!

[tires screech]

[dog whimpers]

One dead.

One might as well be dead.

Jack knifed.

He'll never walk again.

[sirens wailing]

The driver is dead,

and I'm alive.

If I wore my seat belt,

I wouldn't be

in this wheelchair.

So your friend Eddie.

Mmm!

When did he die?

- 18 months ago.

- Oh, yeah.

How long was he in a wheelchair?

Over 20 years,

the entire time I knew him.

But Eddie was not

an easy guy to know.

Wait, this happened

20 years ago?

Yeah.

Tell me about the money.

Gone.

Disappeared

from the accident scene.

It was in a duffel bag, I think,

because that's all Eddie

would ever talk about.

So anytime you

would go see Eddie,

especially towards

the end of his days,

it was the duffel bag.

Duffel bag?

- Yeah.

- What's that about?

Some kind of emotional artifact,

remind him of before

the accident, when he was a kid?

What is that?

Maybe like Rosebud

from "Citizen Kane."

Oh?

I'm a big film buff.

- That's good.

- Glad you got the reference.

Listen, don't

get your hopes up.

This happened 20 years ago.

Like they say, after 20 years,

it's all forgotten

but the songs.

Yeah, maybe.

And I'm not really

taking cases anymore.

I'm more of a writer now.

Well, yeah, but I saw you

on TV, though.

And on TV, you said, I would

like to get back into the game.

Yeah.

Unless the great

Martin Dye just doesn't

like mysteries anymore?

No, I'm trying to sell books.

- [chuckles]

- I'm making up stuff.

I'm on a talk show.

But obviously, I'm interested,

or I wouldn't be here.

So just let me think about it.

I'll get back to you.

I'm staying with my nephew

next town over.

Oh. Nice.

I guess the Plaza must

have been fully booked.

[laughs] Yeah.

[birds chirping]

Hey, there he is.

So how's my favorite nephew?

Oh, good, but soon to be busy.

Oh.

How was your meeting?

Oh, it was... it was good.

Thanks for asking.

Wait, so tell me, what is

"busy" these days for a kid?

Well, the party boat

will be in soon.

Okay.

I gotta do some cleaning,

fillet some fish.

Then I gotta hose down the boat.

It'll be a lot of work,

but the tips should be good.

Okay, yeah.

Sounds like a lot.

Kinda impressed.

[chuckles]

All right, keep busy.

Keeps you out of trouble.

[laughs]

Oh, can you, by any chance,

find me a whiteboard?

Like a schoolroom-sized

whiteboard?

I'm doing a project.

I think I know

where I can find one.

Today on "Coffee Talk,"

I'm here with Martin Dye,

the author of this book,

"A Drop in the Gray."

What happens when

an adopted daughter searches

for her birth parents and

discovers that her birth mother

might have been m*rder*d

and her birth father

is famous LA detective

Martin Dye?

Well, together,

they solve the case.

And it's a true life tale.

Wow, I wanna read that book.

[laughter]

What an intro. Yeah, it is.

It's all true.

And thank you, by the way.

I'm happy to be here.

Thanks for having me.

I'm so glad you're joining us.

Well, I have to tell you,

this book is a real page turner.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You know, I really

love the relationship

that you have with

your daughter in this book

and how you bond

by solving this case.

I found it funny

and very touching.

I mean, critics and readers

alike really enjoy your books.

So I have to know,

is there going to be a sequel,

a follow-up?

Well, I hope so.

I mean, you know,

I'm always interested

in the next big case, right?

In the meantime, the paperback

is about to come out,

and it can be found at all

your best bookstores.

And hopefully, once your

paperback is launched,

you will come back

and bring your daughter.

We would love to meet her.

Well, thank you.

I would love to come back,

and I would absolutely

love to bring Janet.

Well, thank you so much for

joining us today, Martin Dye.

And to you, stay tuned.

You're not gonna wanna go

anywhere because we have

another very special guest.

Stephanie Powers

is going to be joining us,

and you're not going to want

to miss it.

Hey, Mommy. How's the baby?

Oh, he's great.

He's sleeping.

Something I have to do

every once in a while.

How was the award show?

You know what, it was great.

It really was.

I never won an award

for my chosen profession,

so it was kind of a treat.

No one is ever

private eye of the year.

I know. Can you believe it?

It's such bullshit.

Dad, our talk show run

is over.

"PM Magazine" is never

going to call us again.

I know.

It's gonna be a struggle,

but I'm gonna fight through it.

With you selling your firm,

I think you should find someone.

Irene's been gone a while.

And a fabulous non-award-winning.

PI like yourself

should have someone.

Well, I'll take that

under advisement.

Thank you.

You know what, though, I did?

I talked to a guy today who

had a pretty interesting story

about some missing money.

I might just take the case.

Take the case.

Go back to being you.

Semi-retirement

isn't working for you.

Maybe you'll get

a story out of it.

[tender music]

My husband comes

bearing gifts.

I got it. Here it is.

The Rosetta Stone is here.

So there it is.

That is the duffel bag.

Wow, it's big.

How much money

are we talking about here?

Oh, it was, like,

$25,000 to $35,000.

It would depend.

What did he do

to make this money?

Selling grass.

Wow, that's a lot of grass.

George is fascinated by you

because you were on

"The Geraldo Show."

[chuckles]

They both went

to community college.

Oh, did they?

[chuckles] You know,

you give me two years,

and I'll give you the world.

[chuckles]

Did you go to a

community college, or...?

No, I didn't have the grades.

Oh.

Oh, okay, he's busting my ba*ls.

That's what they do in Hollywood

because... if you're famous.

Okay, some hypothetical

business talk.

If... if I took the case, my fee

would be 20% of the retrieval.

So it's no

out-of-pocket for you.

It's all or nothing for me.

Would that work for you?

Of course, the answer is yes.

You're letting George fulfill

his old movie fantasy.

Oh, yeah.

And you were in charge

of Eddie's estate

near the end, right?

Correct.

Okay, that...

That could be helpful.

Tell me,

where did you meet Eddie?

At Dory Conrad's

art therapy class.

It was a program

funded by the state.

Dory was the instructor there.

Everyone was in wheelchairs.

Eddie was there.

And Dory Conrad,

she still around?

Yeah.

We still see her.

So if I wanted

to meet with her,

you could help make that happen?

Sure, we can do that.

[chuckles]

Okay.

But not for a couple days.

I got some things to do.

You, I have a couple things

for you to do too.

Me? Does that mean that

we're working for you?

Yes, it does.

Great.

[chuckles]

Cool.

Settle down.

Cool.

[chuckles]

- Ta-da!

- All right!

Oh, good. You found one.

Yeah, I did.

I got it from a friend of mine

who works in a janitors' union.

Oh, so it's stolen.

No, it's not stolen.

I just have to return it

before the school starts.

Or else then it's stolen.

Yeah, then it's stolen.

I can live with that.

So what is this case

all about?

Well, this is basically

a straight-up retrieval case.

I'm looking for a duffel bag

full of money

that disappeared from

a car accident 20 years ago.

The Big Four:

Money, power, love, fear.

What could have

happened to that money?

[twangy guitar music]

The answer's

in there somewhere.

[phone ringing]

Hello?

Sammy, hey. It's Martin Dye.

How's my favorite

clipping service guy?

So how many clippings

do you need?

You need more pictures

of yourself?

"Parade" magazine?

"OFF Magazine"?

How many pictures of a dad

standing next to his daughter

do you need?

Aren't you sick of seeing

yourself in the paper?

[laughs]

No, never gets old.

Hey, but this is

for something else.

It's a case I'm working on,

a guy named Eddie Grant.

Edward Grant.

All the clippings are

gonna be 20 years old.

All right. Got my pad.

I got my pen.

20 years ago?

These could come

in drips and drabs.

The first batch

usually has the most.

All right.

When you get more,

send them over.

I'll messenger them to you.

Okay.

Uh, oh, well, first of all, he

was a victim of a car accident.

Oh, first,

where are you staying?

We don't wanna forget that.

I'm Dory Conrad.

You must be Martin Dye?

I am.

Nice to meet you, Dory.

You too.

Do you wanna come in?

- Yeah, please.

I read your book.

It was a great yarn.

Cool.

A case goes

from noise to music.

Like that line.

[soft music]

Thank you.

You know, I have it

around here somewhere.

I should get you to sign it.

I would be honored.

Tell me how you became a, uh...

An art therapist.

So there was this speaker

in the city.

And I went in, and he gave

this incredible speech

on the importance

of art and healing.

Right up my alley.

- [chuckles]

Creation, drawing, painting

improves brain functioning

and increases optimism.

The simple act

of drawing, pen to pad,

changes your brain chemistry,

raises your spirits

while simultaneously

calming you down.

Makes you think better.

Now, a recent study conducted

by the Troty Institute

suggests that people

that suffer severe pain

or severe trauma may benefit

the most from this type

of art enhancement therapy.

It's so successful,

in fact, that the state

is piloting a program

and needs professional artists

to teach these classes.

When I heard that, I lit up.

I'm an artist.

I'm starving, and I need a job.

[chuckles]

So when his speech ended,

I jumped

into the service of mankind

and introduced myself.

Then I may have

exaggerated a little bit

about how busy I was.

I'm presently finishing up some

advertising work right now.

I recently sold some

greeting card drawings.

I might also have

a new wave album cover,

which is also a first for me.

I think you could really

fit into this program.

Is there any way...

Then, as my dad would say,

I pumped him

for all the information I could.

I filled out a ton

of grant papers,

and I met all

the local politicians.

They found me

a couple of sponsors,

and then I found a classroom

at Brentwood Hall.

Wow, that's a lot.

Um, George and Caroline

were two of my students.

The assignment was

to draw something,

anything that you want.

And George decides to draw

Caroline on his sketchpad.

It's his very first sketch,

and it was good.

I mean, it really

looked like her.

Needless to say,

a romance was born.

Yes, it was.

Yeah, they're cute.

So what was Eddie like?

Oh, God.

Eddie was a completely

different cat.

Eddie was kind of a surly guy

with a dark sense of humor,

almost cryptic.

He had issues.

He would hang out with George

and a few others,

but he was kind of

a far away guy.

I still see George

and Caroline from time to time.

Did Eddie ever

talk about money?

Eddie, oh, he had a past

I wanted nothing to do with.

Okay.

What do you got for me, Sammy?

[sighs]

"Good to see you

back doing honest work.

"More to come. Sammy.

"PS, the messenger

was my nephew.

You don't have to tip him."

I just tipped him, Sammy.

Maybe put the note

on the outside.

Unbelievable.

What do we got?

All right.

"Death crash ends

friends' night out."

Yeah, that's why we're here.

"Condo for sale."

Okay,

that's, uh, Eddie Grant's condo.

Contact, George.

[mysterious music]

"Townie makes specialty vehicle

for the handicapped."

Eddie Grant.

Oh, look at that.

This is Dory's art therapy class

from 20 years ago.

And there's Eddie.

[sighs] "Local cinematographer

Tom Tully at accident."

"One dead,

other critically injured.

Both went through

the windshield."

Damn.

Photo by Tom Tully.

Tom, you are first.

[somber guitar music]

No, I didn't read your book.

I thumbed through it

at the library

to see if you were real.

- [chuckles]

Well, I guess you're real.

You're the only cameraman

in the Yellow Pages.

Right, it's just me.

I've been a cameraman

for over 40 years.

Retired now.

Started in the service

with the navy.

Came out, shot newsreels,

you know, like these two.

Oh, wow.

So you worked with MacArthur

and Casey Stengel?

I did.

Casey was the better general.

[chuckles]

Also worked in TV news,

uh, weekend documentary,

commercials.

To pay off the mortgage?

You name it, I shot it.

Woodstock?

No, I missed that one.

[chuckles]

Strangest weekend

sh**t I ever had

was filming Richard Nixon

at a dental convention.

Wow, I wouldn't have

guessed that one.

So you were never

an employee of the paper.

No. No.

No.

That was a freelance gig,

the night you're talking about.

Yeah, I used to sh**t

safety films for the IIA,

the International

Insurance Association.

IIA.

You know, I shot car crashes

and accident scenes.

I would show up at the car crash

accident scene and document.

I had ins, you know, contacts

with the local police,

newspapers.

See, I even had a police radio,

ham radio set up.

The footage was used

to make safety films, PSAs,

trainings, things like that.

[siren wailing]

The night the call came in,

there was one dead,

and the other was split in half.

I took some footage

and then took two stills

at the end for the paper.

I mean, I've shot worse.

But two young guys, way sad.

What'd you do

with the footage?

The footage?

We used the footage

to make two PSAs

on seat belt safety, you know.

They're here somewhere.

Wow, that is strange.

Politicians, dental

conventions, I don't know.

Where's the sound?

Do you really wanna hear?

[siren wailing]

I didn't wear

my seat belt that night.

I was the passenger.

The driver didn't live

to tell his story.

Wear your seat belt.

Well, dramatic.

Okay, now my shot.

The driver is dead,

and I'm alive.

[tense music playing]

If I wore my seat belt,

I wouldn't be

in this wheelchair.

They didn't need

the second one.

For the record, Eddie got paid.

Yeah.

He even was talking

about residuals.

That never happened.

I never saw him again

after that night.

You know, he gave off

a sullen vibe.

After years of doing this,

you know who to avoid.

Do you remember exactly

where that accident happened?

It wasn't that tree, was it?

No.

The tree is gone.

The site was cleared.

They always clear the site

of a deadly accident.

Death site changes

the vibe in the community.

Sure.

You know, it's not good

to be reminded of a tragedy.

The International Insurance

Association recommends this.

Oh, okay.

What about, uh,

duffel bag or money?

Did you hear

anything about that?

Money, not that I know of.

Do you know anybody else

from the accident

that's still around?

Mm, it's been 20 years.

People retire,

some go to heaven.

I know one of the cops.

There you go.

And he's a snowbird,

and he's back.

Would you like to meet him?

- I would.

In the TV commercial.

A chance for stardom, dashed.

Dreams die hard.

So close.

[chuckles] So you're a snowbird?

Yeah.

Yeah, I do November

to tax time in Florida.

The rest, I'm here.

I left at 55.

I don't miss the winter

nor my kids.

Well, sometimes.

Did you find any...

Any cash or drugs at the scene?

Didn't find any drugs.

I don't know if drugs

were in their system.

That's for the medical people,

nurses.

Thank God they cleared the site

before it became a shrine.

Right, Tommy?

That's for sure.

[chuckles]

What about cash?

Look, accident sites always

bring out strange behavior,

especially when there's a death.

Some people always believe

there's money there.

What, you're gonna crash

your car then bury your loot?

Think about that one.

[laughter]

Do you know who called 911?

Probably someone

from a payphone.

Back then,

we didn't record calls.

Payphone?

How do we figure out where

those payphones were?

Is there, like, a master

location list or something?

This is America.

Every town in America has a

retired phone company employee.

We're all over the place.

There's 15 retired phone

company employees alone

at the Knights of Columbus.

Two out on parole.

Really?

So this is where

the payphone was.

It was originally here

to service the people

of the Indian Lanes.

Indian Lanes?

Oh, the developer,

he named all

the streets with Indian names.

Mohawk, Iroquois,

Pequot, Mrowki.

Hence the nickname,

the Indian Lanes.

Huh.

Oh, yeah, there's Mohawk.

Yeah, when these houses

were first built,

a lot of people

didn't have phones.

They were bungalow houses,

low income,

first-time starter homes.

So in case of emergency,

they use the payphone.

Of course, nowadays

everyone's got phones.

Company pulled it out.

Collecting dimes

from a payphone, lousy job.

[chuckles]

No, I always like

being around the money.

Oh, yeah?

Well, hey,

I appreciate your time.

Thanks a lot.

I... I understand you're single.

You know, my wife's sister,

she's available.

Oh.

She has a pension.

[chuckles] Pension now?

See, I knew it.

I see what you're doing there.

[rotary phone ratcheting]

[soft music]

Hey, Tom. Martin Dye.

Yeah, do you know

anybody at the hospital?

Uh, let me look into it.

It's been over two decades,

and I think I may be

losing my charisma.

But I'll look into it.

I've lost my charisma.

Between mandatory retirement,

death, Florida,

I can't find anything.

No one is around.

So I plan on going

back to Golden Pond

and wish you the best

of luck with your case.

Well, thank you, Tom.

Don't sweat it.

I'll figure it out.

And thanks for all your help.

I'm really glad I met you.

You're welcome.

Take care.

[fire blazing]

Oh, my gosh.

- It's a towering inferno!

- Do you hear what I live with?

Now if only he'd clean his room.

One second.

George,

it's Martin on the phone.

He's coming.

[wheelchair rattling]

- Hey.

- Hey, George.

Hey, how much did you

actually hang out with Eddie?

I mean, I didn't see Eddie

for long periods in my life.

But at the end,

I did see quite a lot of him.

Mm-hmm.

He spent most of his days

just watching news on TV

and making the occasional phone

call, if you can believe that.

Okay.

But you did... you did handle

the funeral stuff, right?

Yeah, I helped manage

the funeral arrangements.

Okay.

Yeah, that could be useful.

Well, remember, I had this

idealized version of Eddie,

kind of like... "I could have

been a contender" kind of thing.

You know, everybody knew that

Eddie had these anger issues.

They were mostly on the surface.

- Uh-uh.

- Hmm?

Okay, hold on.

Eddie loved to provoke people.

Well, okay, he did

provoke people.

Like the time that he

dressed up like a Vietnam vet

at the rally.

Remember that?

- Oh.

- He had that big argument.

That was all wrong, man.

You were never even in Vietnam.

- [laughs]

You're pretending to be

something that you're not!

Come on,

I did it for a friend.

We all pretend to be

something we're not.

It wasn't an award-winning

performance.

You're not

an actor, Eddie, okay?

That's not a g*dd*mn movie!

[laughs]

You're deliberately

hurting those people.

They loved it.

It made their day.

Donations are pouring in.

You're a sick

pup, you know that?

[laughs]

I'm done with your sh*t.

[somber music]

George was furious.

Well, he really pissed me off.

Yeah.

You know who

you should go visit?

Who?

Marie from art class.

- Oh, yeah.

- She dated Eddie.

And I'm sure there's

some story there.

Okay, yeah.

I'll do that.

All right, that's enough.

Thank you, guys.

I met Eddie

in Dory's art class.

Everybody likes Dory.

I like Dory.

Eddie wasn't much

of a boyfriend.

My Aunt Nora was a nurse

and worked in the ER

the night of Eddie's accident.

Mm-hmm.

She disliked him. [Chuckles]

But I dated him anyway.

Of course, you did.

Is Nora still a nurse?

No, she passed away

two years ago.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

At the funeral,

Mallory, Dave's sister,

the boy who died

in the accident, she was there.

And she told me that my

Aunt Nora had great honor,

and she always took her advice.

I do have regrets about not

listening to my Aunt Nora.

Well, it sounds like

she was a special lady.

So... so you didn't

date Eddie long, then?

No, no.

It started off nice,

then it declined.

I think I wanted something

like George and Caroline,

but that never happened for me.

What do you mean,

never happened?

Still could happen.

Don't give up.

[laughs] Thank you.

You know, Eddie,

he smoked grass.

He hung out at strip clubs.

He knew the owners.

Yeah, that's a bad sign.

Yeah.

Yeah, Eddie missed

being a somebody.

He never grew up, you know.

He wasn't cool anymore,

hanging out

with rock star Mud Mulligan.

Talk about parties and groupies.

The 365 Club? I mean, really?

So what happened with him

and Mud Mulligan?

Oh, Mud Mulligan dropped him

after the accident.

I think he got a letter,

and that was that, you know.

Most relationships, they don't

survive big accidents.

People don't wanna hear that.

Oh, they don't.

Eddie... Eddie

never fully got it.

We're all beautiful.

No matter what shape we're in.

[tender music]

There you go, as promised.

Please place it next to

"To k*ll a Mockingbird."

Never read it.

You've never read

"To k*ll a Mockingbird?"

No.

What about

"Catcher in the Rye"?

[chuckles]

That's for serial K*llers.

Okay.

And you both work in a library?

Yes.

Huh.

Well, I guess you guys see a lot

of each other, though, huh?

No. We job-share.

- You what?

- Job-share.

Three days a week, a piece.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Our husbands work

together, though.

They're brothers.

The O'Brien brothers?

You're sisters who

are married to brothers?

[chuckles]

Yes, we are

our own ethnic group.

[laughs]

Yep, that's for you.

Pristine copy.

No autographs.

Thank you.

Eddie's in this yearbook?

Yeah, yeah.

This is gonna be

really good for research.

Thank you.

And we'll help you

find people.

Oh, right, you guys have

all the juicy reunion gossip.

Oh, yeah.

We want something

from you, though.

Okay.

Will you speak at our library

mystery book club

when you're done?

Oh, yeah.

We found your first person

for you, Sheila Farrow.

She dated Eddie Grant

in high school.

Oh, that's really

gonna be helpful.

Thank you.

You must be Martin Dye.

I am.

I'm Sheila Farrow.

Hi, Sheila.

I don't think the Galasso

sisters ever left high school.

[chuckles]

Do you know their... their

husbands, the O'Brien brothers?

Sure.

The twins with

the gap-toothed smile.

Oh. [Chuckles]

Couldn't forget them

if you wanted to.

Oh, see, now I gotta look

them up in the yearbook.

You know, when

I got your call, I thought,

I haven't talked

about Eddie in years.

And I never look

at that yearbook.

But my husband said that

I should talk to you.

He says that it's a cautionary

tale, and I should tell it.

Well, thank you.

He's probably right.

So how would you

describe Eddie?

Eddie was

the ultimate bad boy.

My life would have

been a disaster

if I had stayed with him.

Really? How?

And my father hated him.

Of course.

[chuckles] I thought

he was cool in that

faux hippie sort of way.

[chuckles]

Oh, he had

tickets to everything.

I was a rebellious,

silly teenage girl.

Right after I graduated

from high school,

my father shipped me

right off to Europe

with a couple of girls

from the Hewitt School.

It was the right move.

Eddie had a real

self-destructive streak.

He took dumb chances and did

some really deplorable things.

Besides selling drugs?

And people thought

that was cool.

Selling grass

shouldn't be ill*gal.

It was a public service.

It's a pretty common opinion.

He had a really

malicious sense of humor.

He did some really

shitty things,

including the ultimate teenage

male fantasy, which...

I am not even

going to talk about.

That was it.

I broke up with him

before the accident.

And after Europe,

I never spoke to him again.

I don't think he missed me.

My dad forbid me from visiting

him after his accident.

He didn't want me

to feel sorry for him.

I don't feel any guilt

over this guy.

But you did.

But I did.

[somber music]

He was lucky to be alive.

The other kid was dead.

I didn't know him.

Did you know anyone that

visited him in the hospital?

No.

No, my friends

were not his friends.

Did you ever hear anything

about missing money?

The Eddie Grant legend.

No, I don't think there was ever

any missing money.

I mean, Eddie carried cash,

sure, but Eddie was small time.

Let's not kid ourselves.

[chuckles]

Just talked

to the Galasso sisters.

Yeah, wow.

The Galasso sisters

were hot in high school.

So whenever I was near them,

I could barely control myself.

[laughs]

Ah. That's right.

Okay.

To me, he was a rock star.

He used to hang out with some

real unsavory characters.

But in reality,

he was small potatoes.

You know who you should talk to?

You should go

to Vaccarro Insurance.

Talk to Joey.

Thanks.

So how long have you

been in business here?

Well, I inherited

the agency from my dad,

but it's been in my family

for nearly 50 years.

50 years.

Wow.

Your family's seen a lot.

Mm-hmm.

So what about Eddie?

Can you tell me more about him?

Eddie's accident,

or should I say the PSA,

sold a lot of insurance.

For years, people would

come into the office

and talk about that commercial.

It was shot in the neighborhood.

I'm a member of the IIA,

the International Insurance

Association.

Still go to their meetings

every year.

Guess the commercial

covered your dues.

[laughs] Yeah, I guess so.

Eddie's parents gave him

the house when they passed.

We didn't insure it.

He had an entry-level union job

at the time of the accident.

What union?

32B.

He was fully insured,

and he was lucky to have it

because they covered everything.

Do you know if he got a union

settlement from the accident?

Mm, no, I doubt it.

Maybe life insurance

from his parents.

So what happened to the...

The company, the union job?

The Sagamore factory was

bought out by a Japanese firm

a few years back.

They closed it down,

and now all the manufacturing

is done in Asia.

They lost union business

when they left.

Happens all the time now.

Mm-hmm.

Well, thank you, sir.

You have been a great help.

Oh, yeah.

Before you go, hang on.

Take my card.

And that is a stress test card.

So put your thumb on the square.

If it turns blue, that means

you're calm, relaxed.

If it turns red,

you're stressed.

- I'm gonna use that.

- Yeah, you should.

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you. Bye now.

Thank you so much

for stopping by.

Thank you.

Okay, let's review.

Eddie had a union job.

32B, fully insured,

life insurance, maybe.

[upbeat music]

And I am relaxed.

Hey, there he is. How you doing?

- Doing all right. You?

- Good.

I've been interviewing

former students all this time.

Now I'm meeting with

an actual teacher.

- Lucky you.

- Yeah.

Have a good day.

You've got

an interesting profession.

Yeah.

Yeah, it pays the bills,

and I get to talk

to interesting guys like you.

Yeah, I'm the last

guy standing,

so I get invited

to all the reunions.

- Well, it could be fun.

- Mm.

You have a few drinks,

meet people

you haven't seen in years.

It could be interesting.

I see how

my students are doing.

See how my students turned out.

See if I had

a positive influence

or no influence at all.

- Could be a good thing.

- Mm.

Yeah, well, many of my

students, I don't remember.

But some of them

remember me, so, well.

Then you pretend like

you remember each other.

- Yeah, I've done that.

- Yeah.

Look, Mr. Taylor,

I need some information.

No, I'm not gonna talk

about my fellow faculty

or the intimate affairs

in the faculty lounge.

- Okay.

- Not a chance.

And Eddie was not

interested in school.

Couldn't care less.

Did he have any

favorite teachers?

I don't think

I was one of them.

But you knew about

him dealing drugs?

Everybody did.

I mean, I'm sure that

there were some...

Someone from the faculty

who bought from him.

But that would be an intimate

detail from the faculty lounge.

Hmm.

His accident was tragic,

and the other boy died.

I didn't know the other boy.

Was he worth knowing?

I don't know.

Eddie was out of school by then.

Look, Eddie wasn't

the pride of the county.

All right, were there

any fights, any incidents?

Any memorable moment...

I'm doing this

for the Galasso sisters.

They're nice.

[whimsical music]

Oh, Mr. Teller.

Not telling the intimate

affairs of the faculty lounge.

And then Sheila,

she's not telling the ultimate

male teenage fantasy.

Huh.

Shame, shame, shame.

[chuckles]

[sharp ringing sound]

Eric?

I swing my club, and the next

thing I hear is, hey, as*h*le,

it's caddy's day. [Laughs]

I wrote those lyrics.

I used to be a caddy here,

and now I'm a member.

[chuckles] It's life.

Better than the other

way around, I guess.

Yeah.

You know, when I got

that call from you,

I was thinking about

guys like Eddie.

I have a teenage boy.

Teenage boys seem

to think that, you know,

they're stronger than the sun.

I know I did.

Eddie was a treacherous

little sh*t.

Anybody who hung out with him

and his buddy, Jimmy Kyle,

got damaged.

How so?

Well, there was three guys

they went to high school with,

you know, they died

in a boating accident.

Drugs provided by Eddie.

Stoned out their minds.

They hit another boat at night.

A real tragedy.

You know, three, you know,

wise-a*s kids, but you know,

we just thought it was a phase.

You think Eddie

was responsible?

Directly, no.

But you know, look him up

in the yearbook, you'll see.

You'll agree with me.

There was another group,

a group of girls

from the posh Hewitt School.

You know, all-girls school.

They got busted,

grass provided by Eddie.

You know, they had lawyers.

They were privileged,

so they got off.

Oh, so they really

dodged the b*llet there.

What if these girls were

from a working class family?

They'd have a felony record.

They wouldn't be

able to get bonded.

They couldn't work

at a hospital.

They couldn't work at a bank.

They probably couldn't

even get any job.

They couldn't even write

the civil service test.

Nothing.

Their lives would be ruined.

Yeah.

Hey, a felony record kills you.

Yeah, well I think

about these things.

I got a teenage boy, you know.

He is not stronger than the sun.

You know, he's a stupid

f*cking kid, you know.

And these... and these guys,

they take advantage

of their stupidity, you know.

You get damaged, so what?

Yeah, a lot of people

think that way.

I don't know,

I think, Eddie, it's karmic.

I don't know.

That's...

You know about a...

A teacher, Mr. Teller?

Talked to him the other day,

kinda odd.

That smug fool.

Like a complete fraud?

You know, he still goes to the

reunions to pick up the girls.

He's a piece of work.

You know,

he has complete disdain

for people who pay his salary.

Yeah, you could sense that.

f*ck.

You know, he was...

He was there to undo

all the changes,

all the bad things

that were taught at home.

And you know, who are these

people that are raising kids

these days, he would say?

Yeah?

I wonder if he still thinks

that Walt Disney is frozen.

You know, he was real

concerned about not

telling the intimate affairs

of the faculty lounge.

What's that about?

Oh, I know who

he's talking about.

He's talking about Miss Magnus,

Roxanne Magnus.

Rocks off with Roxy.

She was only a few years older

than us, right out of college.

You know?

I bet he was pissed that she

probably turned him down.

Yeah, rejection is a b*tch.

Yeah.

You know, the rumor...

There was rumors,

and I thought it was true.

But you know, everybody sort of

knew about the affair.

You know, I figured it was true.

Because once she started

selling her grass, you know,

she's probably partying with

her students, not a big leap.

I think you're

on to something there.

The rumors got

bigger and bigger,

and the next thing you know,

she's gone to another school.

You know, Eddie's probably

graduated by this time.

You, uh...

You like the reunions?

[scoffs] Hell, no.

[laughs] sh**t me dead, man.

[laughs]

I figured.

[mysterious music]

[sighs] Mm, a memorial.

Tragic Seneca Bay boat crash.

Friends dying

in a boating accident.

All students at Red Willow

High School died in the crash.

Their parents have

been notified.

They are Hal Renith, 17,

recently accepted into

the Somerset Junior College,

General Studies program.

Jim Coats, 17,

who played on the golf team

and worked summers

at the Sagamore factory,

and Bill Stafford, 18,

a musician

who planned on joining

the Peace Corps upon graduation.

Planned to join

the Peace Corps?

Well, that is sad.

"Tears to a glass eye" sad.

Where's Miss Magnus?

Her picture's not in here.

She's not

in the faculty listing.

Okay, according to that,

he was born in January,

so that makes him 18 for the

second half of his senior year.

He was an adult. He could vote.

[mellow country music]

Hey, you know, my cousin

used to buy a lot of drugs

off that guy.

- Really?

- Yeah.

Quite a place you got here.

It's the only thing my wife

didn't get in the divorce.

My own personal Taj Mahal.

- [laughs]

- Let's sit.

Thanks.

You knew Jimmy Kyle?

Yeah, I knew Jimmy Kyle.

I think Eddie followed his lead.

Back then, everybody knew

who the dealers were.

Mainly grass, so they weren't

really thought of as criminals.

Vendors providing a product.

Herb for a healthy consumer,

gentler, better society.

That's good.

We're talking hippies,

an era gone by.

[chuckles] Nothing sadder

than an old hipster.

It's almost embarrassing if

people thought this was cool,

you know what I mean?

Was it profitable?

He made money.

Plenty of customers.

Kyle's family had a steak house.

A lot of local kids

worked there.

Kyle's dad was a tricky fellow,

and Jimmy was definitely

a chip off the old block.

Like father, like son, huh?

You know,

you can easily launder

drug money in a restaurant,

a steak house.

And no matter what happens

in your business life,

you always wanna keep around

one cash business for laundry.

I'll write that down.

Look, Kyle liked the money

more than the action.

Eddie liked being cool.

Did they go

to the same high school?

'Cause I can't find Jimmy Kyle

in the yearbook.

Jimmy dropped out,

got his GED.

Actually, I doubt

he ever took the test.

Remember, his life was

basically planned out.

Be like Daddy,

and Daddy always had his eye

on the wallet of the town.

How do you mean?

Jimmy had cash.

People came to him

with business ideas.

What kind of business ideas?

Oh, they invested

in various downscale ventures...

Strip clubs, dirty bookstores,

X-ray video stores.

You know, that type of thing.

The cash coming in

from all the sources,

they bought some real estate.

You know, businesses

pressure each other

to get what they want.

How?

I mean, dentist doesn't wanna

be next door to a porn shop.

Chiropractor doesn't wanna be

near a massage parlor.

You pressure them to leave.

Place a sketchy shop

on either side of them,

and they will

start negotiations.

And you start

buying up property.

So that's it.

He's buying up property.

That's the plan?

Well, the plan is

to degrade, then upgrade.

Look, people want the porn shop,

the massage parlor gone.

You own them, you close them.

That's good PR, right?

Right.

Then you get

the politicians to rezone.

And with rezoning, you attract

respectable businesses

back to the community.

Better retail, boutiques,

upscale eateries,

that type of thing.

And after a while,

people forget all

about your sleazy businesses.

The rezoning improves the town.

Property values go up.

And when you start

hiring people,

your sins are

completely forgiven.

Enter sainthood?

Yeah, exactly.

Sponsor some dumb local charity,

donate to politicians,

hire their kids for summer jobs.

What goes around comes around.

And that means?

How many of these

politicians who

hold a fundraiser

at your steak house,

which you don't charge them for?

How many of them

were your customers

from your pot-dealing days?

Shared values.

There's nothing

like honest nostalgia.

Once you get there, no one

cares how you got there.

Look, I don't know

if I've been much help.

But if there was any

missing money, Kyle found it.

[mysterious rock music]

I knew Mrs. Grant

for quite a while.

Mrs. Grant was a client

of mine for years.

The woman had

a thick head of hair,

colored it every six weeks.

The Grants could

be tricky, though.

How's that?

Well, Mrs. Grant had

a no-show union job.

When she retired,

she gave it to her son,

Eddie, who was barely 18.

But thank God the benefits

covered everything.

How were they

after the accident?

I think Eddie's disability

overwhelmed them.

I know Mrs. Grant was

afraid of his anger,

and it always got worse when

he went to visit Jimmy Kyle.

And she would tell me that.

There was a lot

of tension there.

Do you know anybody else

who knew the Grants?

Well, Kristine Miller

sold the family home.

You know that the Grants died

within months of each other.

Mm.

Yeah, Kristine owns the local

real estate firm in town,

and she still knows Jimmy Kyle.

I saw her sign

in one of his buildings.

You should talk to her.

I will. Thanks.

Have you heard anything

about any missing money

from Eddie's accident?

No.

Always rumors about

missing money.

[chuckles] I ain't got it.

[chuckles]

Hey, can you cut my hair?

Of course.

Hey, now we can officially

gossip with each other.

Perfect.

Put me in the chair.

[intriguing music]

Hey, good morning.

You're Martin Dye.

- [chuckles] I am.

- [chuckles] Nice to meet you.

I'm Kristine Miller.

- Hi, Kristine.

I didn't finish your book,

but Mary did.

- I loved it.

- Oh.

And I really

like your daughter.

Oh, thank you.

I will relay the love.

Do you want me

to autograph that?

Yeah.

Are you working on a project?

I am.

I'm staying with my nephew

in, uh...

Well, a couple towns over.

And your boss is gonna help me.

I am.

Okay.

Let's talk.

So you sold

the family home, right?

It had too many memories,

according to Eddie.

I found the perfect assisted

living home for Eddie.

After he passed,

I didn't get the listing.

The people in charge

of handling the estate

took care of it.

Ah, yeah, George and Caroline.

Right, yeah, I know them.

They're a fun couple.

So did Jimmy Kyle own

the condo project?

'Cause he and Eddie

were good friends.

The Kyles didn't own that, no.

I wish they did.

Senior living, assisted living

is a new wave of the future.

Did you... did you know Eddie

before the accident?

A little.

I knew his parents.

The accident was tragic.

It took its toll.

Yeah.

To be expected, I guess.

Eddie was a wild kid,

but not like people thought.

When you work local real estate,

you got a pipeline

to all the rumors.

Mm, I bet.

See, now, that... that stuff,

that works great

in my book idea.

On the day of the accident,

did you ever hear about

any missing money,

that proverbial bag of cash?

No.

There's no missing money.

Yeah. Yeah, okay.

It's just sometimes, you know,

a large amount of money

disappears, and it turns up

in, like, a big real estate

deal or something.

So I'm just, you know,

following up

on the old rumor pipeline.

After the condo, there were

no purchases made with me.

Okay.

Yeah, no, I figured that.

It's just, you know,

he had a bunch of money.

Then he got in a wreck,

and then he didn't have it.

And so, you know,

stuff keeps popping up.

I'm just looking into it.

Collecting small town legends

for the, uh...

For the book.

Mm. That's a stretch.

But this book idea sounds fun.

What other legends

are you checking out?

I got, uh, three teenage boys

who died in a boating accident.

Apparently, they went

to school at the same time as...

As Eddie.

And then there were three

rich girls who got busted

in their upscale private school,

and they apparently

kinda knew Eddie.

So that's why his name keeps

popping up in the conversation.

Hmm, I've never heard

of any of that stuff.

Okay.

Guy in the picture,

is that your husband?

No, I don't keep pictures

of my ex-husband around.

Oh, yeah, I guess no one does.

That's the town supervisor.

He's not really my type.

So you must know a lot

about taxes and regulations

and stuff like that.

That's probably good

for your business, right?

The conversation has devolved

into taxes and regulations?

Okay, you're right.

Listen, you have

been a great help.

It was really nice

to meet you and Mary,

and always nice to meet

a fan of the work.

I'm so glad you could come in.

Let me give you my card.

Call me if you wanna move here.

Thank you.

I like it here.

Here's my card.

Let's keep in touch.

Okay. So what do we have?

Kristine Miller, she sold

the Grant family home

and other Jimmy Kyle properties.

Mrs. Grant gave her no-show

union job to her son, Eddie.

[sighs] What else

did Loretta tell me?

Check out the Thornton

Savings Bank.

Those same people have

been there forever.

And you... you know

those three private schoolgirls

who got busted doing drugs?

They were partying

with a female teacher

when they got busted.

Same teacher who taught

at Eddie's school.

Yeah, Mr. Grant pulled

a lot of strings

to save that woman's reputation.

Just a thought.

Thank you.

Driving on the Pittsburgh

Highway,

three police officers...

Was our Miss Magnus

at that drug bust?

Continuing coverage

of the Gambidge case...

Just a thought.

Thank you, Steve.

I'm here in front of this

apartment building with Carl.

Carl?

Yeah, my... my partner

recently passed away of A*DS.

I was with him for ten years.

I am so sorry for your loss.

Now, is the landlord

trying to evict you?

Throw you out of this building,

your apartment?

You mean my home? Yes.

This is a RAT building...

Refuses a tenant.

- Thank you.

- We're not the only ones.

We're group tenants.

We built everything in this

neighborhood from the slums,

and now the greedy

landlord wants us out.

Hey, I know her.

I was on her talk show

promoting my book.

Huh.

Yeah, I went to school

with Natalie.

I think she did

a lot better than me

in the career department.

Oh, come on.

This is just a product

of G*ntrification.

G*ntrification?

This is a m*rder.

This is a soul-k*lling.

- Poor guy.

Thank you, Carl.

And you are?

I'm Jeff Connors.

I'm an attorney

representing the tenants.

And are you planning

to sue the landlord?

Oh, we are taking the entire

corporation to court.

A*DS is a terrible disease.

It is not a method to abuse.

Oh, he's a good guy.

Yeah, isn't he?

You know, this lawyer

is from our town.

This is their community,

and people are more important

than corporate greed

and profits.

And if the public would

like to help, how can they?

We set up a nonprofit fund.

It's the 1649 Argyle fund.

They can contribute there.

You can have famous

people live here.

Okay, a congressman.

Okay, the rock star

Mud Mulligan,

maybe he could throw

a charity contribution

concert for our building.

Well, let's hope

he's watching this report.

Now back to our studio.

Hi.

Stuart Holden. Glad you came.

Thanks, Stuart.

You're my first

private detective.

Hopefully your last.

- Have a seat.

- Thank you.

So you're... you're retiring.

In a month.

All the papers are in.

Obviously, I'm not

your typical banker, right?

But I am gonna miss this place.

Yeah, well, apparently

half the town's gonna miss you.

I've been talking to a lot

of business people

the last few days, and they all

recommend you and this bank.

Well, thank you.

Baseball fan?

That's my grandson's Little

League team we're sponsoring.

And that's the charity

I mentioned over the phone.

Oh, yeah.

Is that Kristine Miller

in the lower one?

I didn't know

you knew Kristine.

Yeah.

Yeah, I just talked

to her the other day.

Huh, perfect timing.

So you do business

with Ms. Miller?

Sure have.

You wanna hear about

our business dealings?

No, I was just asking.

Let me tell you why I'm here.

You mentioned that

you knew Eddie Grant.

This is a mystery novel,

though, right?

Well, I can't

tell you everything.

It's a mystery.

No, I'm doing a little

investigating as well.

Eddie was a customer

of ours for years.

Okay.

First at

our Gates Point branch,

which we sold years ago,

and then here.

But he was like

a "cash customer," right?

As a kid, he carried

a lot of cash,

which we recommended him

not to do.

Put it to work, right?

- Yeah.

He took our advice,

and that really solidified

our banking relationship

with him.

So you knew him before

and after the accident, right?

Yes.

Tell me more about that.

In many ways,

a typical young man.

He liked the tellers.

Why?

Tellers were young and pretty.

Oh, okay.

Sometimes he would

just come for a visit.

The tellers did like him.

What about after the accident?

There's a sadness.

We at the bank acted

as normal as possible, but...

Eddie, Eddie was

a respected customer of ours.

He was good to us,

and he brought

many customers to the bank.

Really?

What kind of customers?

We were always

wheelchair-friendly.

But he recommended

many handicapped people

that are still with us.

The others,

we'll keep the mystery.

Okay, fair enough.

So you know about

the legend of Eddie

and the missing money, right?

You've heard that.

Do you think Eddie was carrying

around a bunch of money

on the day of the accident?

Eddie quit carrying cash,

I believe, before the accident.

We were always afraid

he was gonna get robbed,

so we advised him to stop.

So I can see...

I can see how that rumor

could be around.

Oh, yeah.

Did he come around a lot?

- After the accident?

- Mm-hmm.

We saw him less and less.

Yeah.

Well, it makes sense, I guess.

So when you guys sold

the Gates Point branch,

was Kristine Miller

the agent, by any chance?

'Cause that woman's a go-getter.

- No, no.

Back then,

she just sold residential.

Oh.

Now she sells

business properties,

office buildings,

things like that.

[sighs] So I'm guessing

you remember

the tellers pretty well.

Sure.

And they stayed with the bank.

Really?

'Cause I'd really like

to talk to some of them.

Can you make that happen?

I think so.

Great.

You know, my son

played Little League,

and I sponsored his team.

So before I go, I'd love to get

a better look at that picture.

Yeah, tell you what, let me

show you my favorite team.

[soft music]

Stuart left us alone,

me and the other bank tellers,

after he was married.

His second wife keeps him

on a tight leash.

Probably a smart move.

I could tell by talking to him

he was pretty smitten

with you girls.

[chuckles]

How did you feel about Eddie?

Eddie?

There's always

a mystery about Eddie.

We all knew there

was something there,

but we didn't know quite what.

Before the accident,

he was kind full of himself.

His swagger was

kind of fun, though.

On Valentine's Day,

all the tellers

would get a box of chocolates.

Oh, smooth Eddie.

[chuckles]

Our guy Stuart was jealous

and would warn us

about taking gifts.

Eddie heard about this and left

him a bottle of champagne.

No more lectures

from our superior. [Chuckles]

He was easily persuaded.

- Was he?

- Mm-hmm.

So Eddie just did typical

banking with you guys, right?

Mm-hmm.

Basically, Eddie would

deposit his union checks

and cash every once in a while.

That's what he did with us.

How'd Stuart feel

about all the cash?

There was always a question,

how does a young guy

get a lot of cash?

The pretty green.

[chuckles] What do we know?

We were as young as him.

Oh, yeah. That's true.

I liked working at the bank,

but there was no

career advancement at all.

So when I got married, I went

to work for my husband's firm,

keeping the books.

Well, good.

You got to stay in finance.

That's good.

I have two boys.

It makes it easier for me

to look after them.

When they get

their driver's license,

I am telling them

all about Eddie.

That is probably a smart move.

Mm-hmm.

You know who you should talk to?

- Who?

- Greta Beckett.

Oh, Eddie had

a mad crush on her.

[somber music]

Eddie was a sad story.

He would ask me out all the time

before the accident.

Not a chance.

- [chuckles] No?

Okay.

Yeah, probably for the best.

[chuckles] You know how it is.

Eddie had a reputation.

Before the accident,

he would regularly deposit cash,

which created a bit of talk.

What kind of talk?

Talk of Eddie's life

as a criminal.

The bank would take his money.

Everybody knew that

he was involved

with some creepy

businesspeople in town.

His parents had accounts

at the bank.

They had to know.

Yeah.

So did you see anything

out of the ordinary or odd?

Yes.

After the accident, I was

there for his happiest day.

He deposited a large check.

It might have been insurance.

And he was beaming,

smiling ear to ear.

A couple weeks later,

I was there for his worst day,

when he withdrew it all.

There were these guys

waiting for him.

And you could tell

he was emotionally drained.

You could see it in his face.

They were scary.

How much was it?

It was over 20 grand.

[curious country music]

So I got the funeral

wake registry here.

I got the thank you card list

and some other things

that I thought might

be of interest to you.

Perfect. Thank you.

Oh, do you... do you guys

know about a teacher

named Miss Magnus?

- I don't know.

- Mm-mm.

I don't... I didn't go to

community college with Eddie.

I don't know any

of his teachers.

Oh, yeah. That's right.

Okay, what about the...

The Vietnam vet?

The one Eddie pretended to be.

I'd love to talk to him.

Eli.

Dory would know.

You should give her a call.

He was in class with her

for a short time.

Okay.

Yeah, I'll definitely call her.

Okay, so here's the thing.

Did Eddie ever do anything nice?

Wait, what do you mean?

What do I mean?

You hate to speak ill

of the dead,

but the guy was

kind of hard to like.

Who are we kidding?

He was nasty.

I mean, the guy

treated girlfriends like sh*t.

He sold drugs.

Everybody around him

either got busted or died.

So my question is, did Eddie

ever do anything nice?

Yeah.

You're not gonna believe it,

but Eddie was a Big Brother.

What?

He was.

He was a Lifeline Big Brother.

Oh, come on.

Yeah, the Lifeline, it's like

for the handicapped foundation.

It's kind of like

a Big Brother program

for kids in wheelchairs.

But he was a Big Brother

to a kid named Tommy Preston,

and Tommy's still in town.

He's a great kid, a good kid.

Eddie donated to the foundation.

Oh, come on.

But we can set up

a meeting easily with Tommy.

Totally.

Oh, you should meet him.

I would love that.

Yes, please.

[soft music]

Hey, I got us some coffees.

- Thank you.

- Yeah.

I'm Martin Dye.

Tommy.

George says hi.

Back at him.

So tell me all about Eddie.

Oh.

Um.

My mom thought that

I should have somebody older

for my situation.

Yeah.

As a role model,

somebody I could talk to.

But Eddie was not

your typical mentor type.

[scoffs]

No, he was sort

of a anti-role model.

Yeah, this is gonna be good.

Yeah, my mom

thought that he was

going to be a successful

middle class businessman.

[chuckles]

The foundation

gave that impression.

They had a little bio

that sort of leaned that way.

Well, yeah, that...

That was not Eddie.

No. [Chuckles]

No.

Eddie had some business

ventures, all nefarious.

He liked smoking dope,

visiting strip clubs,

partying with rock stars.

You know, my kind of role model.

Perfect.

His stories of the 365 Club,

that fascinated me.

And the adventures

of the rock star Mud Mulligan

turned me on to no end.

Yeah, I bet.

But while we're on it,

where the hell is this 365 Club?

I can't find it.

Oh.

Yeah, the 365 Club

is a different girl

for every day of the week.

- What?

- There is no actual location.

[laughs]

It was the goal

of Mud Mulligan.

Well, yeah, I thought

that Mud Mulligan

was named after the blues guy,

Muddy Waters.

No, no.

He was named after

his favorite drink,

Mud Mulligan, Irish coffee

with chocolate whipped cream.

Whipped cream, right.

Yeah.

So you know how when you're

a high school kid, a teenager,

you can't wait

to hear this stuff?

Well, of course, my mom heard me

telling all my friends

about Eddie and the 365 Club,

and that sort of put an end

to my mentors hip with Eddie.

Yeah.

Well, he was a lousy mentor

but a fun character.

I really enjoyed our meetings.

You know, he used

to tell me something.

You find something

you like to do,

and then you find people

who like you doing it,

and then you work for them.

[soft music]

So I did.

That's why I'm working here.

That's why I'm at this job.

Well, hell.

I mean, that sounds

to me like great advice.

So, you know what, maybe...

Maybe Eddie was good for you.

You know, when

Eddie died and I heard that

he left money to the foundation,

I was in shock.

Completely surprised.

I went to his funeral,

and a few days later,

I got a knock on my door.

And this guy says,

I'm here to build you a new car.

Eddie put down money

for a customized vehicle.

What?

Hi, I'm Mitch Whalen.

I built Eddie's car,

and I'm gonna

build you a better car.

Wow.

Unbelievable.

My mother broke down in tears.

That was Eddie.

Eddie was impossible.

[twangy country music]

Thank you.

Hey, Dory.

Do you remember Eli?

He's a Vietnam vet.

He would have been

in your art class with Eddie.

Yeah. No, I know Eli.

Do you happen

to have his number?

I'd really like to talk to him.

I do have his number.

I think it's in my address book.

Yeah, I can grab that.

Thanks.

By the way, you left

without signing my book.

I know. I remember. Sorry.

I'll... I'll make sure

you get one.

Okay. Hang on one second.

Where is that?

Me and Eddie met

at an art class.

We were not artists.

[chuckles] Though many

would say that Eddie was

a particular kind of artist.

Anyway, I'll tell you

about the rally.

I was home,

sick as a dog with the flu.

Doctor said I couldn't

leave the house.

Yeah.

Eddie was there

to take me to the rally.

He starts screaming,

you gotta go to this rally!

I'm sick. I got the flu.

What are you doing here?

What do you want?

I need your coat.

Where's that dumb-a*s hat?

What do you want my coat for?

I'm going as you.

Have you lost it?

Are you kidding?

Eddie grabs his speech.

You are such an as*h*le.

He's got on my Vietnam jacket,

my dumb-a*s hat.

Nothing you do works.

- Hey, where's your speech?

He goes to the rally

and pretends to be me.

Yeah.

Son of a b*tch

gets away with it.

No way.

Yeah.

I guess everybody in a jacket

and the wheelchair looks alike.

Raised a couple thousand bucks.

No sh*t.

Yeah, no sh*t.

I took credit for it.

[chuckles]

We kept it a secret.

Till now I guess.

Eddie wasn't a friend.

Eddie was an ordeal.

Eddie was a big "what if?"

Yeah.

[smooth guitar music]

So how'd you know Eddie?

Eddie was a teenage kid

with plenty of money

and a love for cars.

I like cars, so we got along.

And then after his accident,

I customized a van for him.

Oh, man, he loved it.

And I enjoyed fixing up

a car for Tommy Preston,

who was also delighted,

so it was this

full circle moment.

It was a really great gesture.

So you liked him, Eddie?

Yeah, I liked Eddie.

Eddie was a strange guy.

He liked being

a small town big shot

with his caper friends, but not

when it was just me and him.

He was really down to earth.

So what about Jimmy Kyle?

Did you know him?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, Eddie helped me out

with Jimmy.

See, I knew the tow company

was up for sale.

It's a good business.

Let's be honest,

there's not a bright future

in customizing vehicles

for people with extra cash.

[chuckles] Yeah.

People never seem

to have extra cash.

Yeah. No.

So I didn't have any money,

and no one wanted to invest,

not in a car towing company.

No one wants to get involved

in a low status business.

And I get it.

And let me tell you,

people definitely

don't wanna hear your car

tow company business pitch.

[laughs] Right.

So... so what'd you do?

What'd you do?

I went to Eddie.

Yeah.

Mind you, he didn't

have the cash.

But no, Eddie was gonna

introduce me to some bankers,

see if I can get a loan.

You help me, I help you,

one of those situations.

Okay.

Our first business meeting

was down at the strip club.

[upbeat sultry music]

Yeah, that club's

been closed for years.

Jimmy had some money

tied up into the strip club,

and Eddie was a frequent

provider to their bottom line.

Oh, that's a good thing,

I guess.

Yeah, no, that's a good thing.

Let me tell you what

a better thing is, though.

Better thing was Jimmy Kyle

knew how to get

the towing contracts

from the county.

So Eddie convinced Jimmy to give

me some seed money

to get the ball rolling,

which was huge.

So Jimmy introduced me

to a couple of bankers

down at the strip club,

and Jimmy told them that

we had a bunch of contracts

with the county lined up.

[glasses clinks]

So what happened next?

The finesse meetings

Eddie was telling me,

he said they'd handle it.

I didn't have to do anything.

No, Jimmy would go down,

he'd talk to the county

and the politicians.

They'd have the... I don't know,

the bigwig conversations,

promising jobs, trading favors.

Hey, my kid's

in town for summer.

Can you help him out?

"Yeah, give me a call."

No, he ended up

giving me the loan.

18 months later, I was able

to pay off Jimmy.

About a year after that,

Eddie actually convinced Jimmy

to stop being my silent partner.

All right.

So let's talk about the rumor,

all the money that went missing

from the accident scene.

Yeah, all the money, right?

That's the... that's

the big rumor.

No, that's the thing.

There was no money.

People just like

to add to tragedy.

Which is a shame,

because I think it's bad enough

that Eddie had to live the rest

of his life in a wheelchair.

See, people don't remember.

Eddie lived a lot longer

after the accident than before.

Oh, yeah, you're right.

Look...

I want you to be kind to Eddie

in your book.

That's why we're sitting

here talking today.

I'm gonna be kind to Eddie.

I... I feel for the guy.

Here's the thing.

That strip club

keeps popping up.

I'd really love

to talk to somebody

who worked there back then.

I know someone

you can talk to.

Yeah?

So tell me about

this Mitch Whalen.

Whenever a customer

was harassing us,

Mitch would come

and he would tow their car.

[chuckles] Nice.

Around the holidays, we would

give Mitch a big tip from us.

He was a dancer's favorite.

[chuckles]

Yeah, makes sense.

So how long were you

an exotic dancer?

About 200 bachelor parties

and about 500 photos

with the grooms to prove it.

Ooh.

So why ever quit?

- Eddie.

- Really?

Every time that I left

the VIP room, he was there.

He'd be like, Noreen,

you deserve better.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, I've been there.

Get a few drinks in you,

you wanna rescue everybody.

Yeah, I was paid to listen.

But anyhow, he did convince me

to take a couple classes down

at the Dowling.

- Where?

- It's a local college nearby.

It was to better myself.

And there, I met a nice

Irish boy from Woodside.

Uh-huh.

They're always working,

and they never stray, so.

I'm gonna use that.

[chuckles]

And I started my new life.

So tell me about

the... the VIP room.

Okay.

It was called

the Islip Skinny Room.

The what?

It was a gag

on the Minnesota Fats.

The famous pool player?

Yeah.

Well, Eddie,

he hung out there so much

that when the club closed,

they gave him the sign.

And then when Eddie died,

he willed it to me.

[laughs]

So now it's currently

in my downstairs playroom,

which I don't necessarily think

is a good thing.

But my husband

gets a kick out of it, so.

So did Eddie hang out with

Mud Mulligan in the VIP room?

Yeah, all the time.

Anytime that Mud

played the Coliseum,

they would party there,

days at a clip.

So, like, Mud was

Eddie's hero, right?

Sex and drugs,

and rock and roll, all that?

So I guess the 365 Club

and playing guitar

was what Mud was good at.

He was much better

at playing the guitar.

[laughs]

I heard that when

Eddie was in the hospital,

he got a letter from...

From Mud and never

saw him again.

That's not what happened.

Mud was messed up,

and he left for, like, a year.

And one day, he just came back.

Mud.

Do I know you?

It was just never the same.

Did Eddie have a falling out

with Jimmy Kyle?

I know who you should talk to.

[pensive music]

[glasses clink]

So for Eddie, that was like

his home away from home, right?

Eddie was there all the time.

And you could tell Jimmy

was growing tired of him.

"Are there any other places

you could drink?"

You know, that type of thing.

- Yeah.

God, Eddie was

such a nasty drunk.

- I heard that.

- Yeah.

And he could hide his anger

in the cloak of a joke.

How?

Telling the people that

he worked for the telethon.

And that didn't really bode

too well for people, you know.

Yeah.

So.

No.

Well, didn't anybody

ever, like, retaliate,

slap him around or something?

No, he knew,

like, when to stop.

He had a good sense of that.

It was weird.

Also, at Christmas,

he would send out cards

with, like, a little cash

in them

to everybody he

basically annoyed.

And he would promise them that

he would be better next year.

I swear, it was like

Eddie's version

of "It's a Wonderful Life."

[laughter]

Right.

But there was this one time

when a major scream and shout

broke out in the VIP room.

My dad is dead.

Whatever debt my family

owed you by knowing you,

that's paid.

You got this all wrong.

Whenever anyone

did business with you,

especially me, as soon

as that check cleared,

you were right there to take it,

waiting at the bank

to suck them dry!

- That's my money!

- You remember that?

You remember that?

Yeah, I always covered my bills.

Oh, that f*cking delivery

you sent me on

had put me in this

f*cking chair.

So f*ck you!

f*ck you!

f*ck you! f*ck you! f*ck you!

[panting]

Suck on this, pus bag!

You're out

of your mind, Eddie.

You're just out of your mind!

So, you know a lot

of employees

from that club, right?

Mm-hmm.

'Cause I'd really like

to talk to some of them.

- [chuckles]

- Think you can hook me up?

Sure.

- Oh, yeah.

- Okay.

But you gotta do me a favor.

Okay.

Mm.

Okay.

[grungy rock music]

Well, when you're

a manager of a strip club,

you see all kinds of things.

Yeah, I know the teacher you're

talking about, Mr. Teller.

- That's him.

- Yeah.

He used to come in and tell

the same bad joke

every time you saw him.

"Hey, you know that your club

is named after an Ibsen play,

'A Doll's House'?"

As if anybody who ever went

to a strip club read Ibsen.

[laughs] Yeah, I see.

Different crowd.

The waitresses,

they called him a CF.

CF?

Yeah, cheap f*ck.

Ah. Clever.

Hey, look,

it was a cash business

with a lot of drugs

and some sad customers,

including your friend Eddie.

Well, luckily, Eddie had Mitch.

He was his weekend caretaker,

you know.

He used to bring him home.

So what happened to the club?

How did it all end?

Well, you know,

people tired of clubs.

Things get seedy.

And girls, they develop

problems. [Chuckles]

You need new girls

because people tired of looking

at the old girls and, well...

Fights become more frequent,

and the cops just stop

being your friends.

So that's the trend.

Mm. Yeah, you know.

The old NBA business model.

Go-go club, strip joint,

becomes a disco, right?

So you take the disco ball away,

and now the disco

becomes a comedy club.

Well, old Jimmy didn't

want any part of that.

No?

No, no, no, he wanted

to build an empire.

You know, do better than Dad.

So he sold the club and all his

other businesses around town,

and he bought a radio station

and a few buildings.

You know, some fixer uppers

in the city.

Tell me about the...

The radio station.

How'd that come about?

[chuckles]

Well, sobriety visited

the neighborhood guitar god,

Mud Mulligan.

So when Mud sobered up, he told

Jimmy about the radio station.

You see, Mud used to do

concert promotions

for the radio station, right?

So they wanted to sell,

they needed a buyer,

and Jimmy, well,

he was flush with cash.

- From selling everything.

- Absolutely.

But also Jimmy, he had

the political connections

to help him, you know,

every step of the way,

with licenses

and things like that.

- Mm-hmm.

- You know?

I mean, this was a win-win

situation for Jimmy.

Mm. So then what happened?

Well, all the crazy

got ramped up

once Jimmy got

the radio station.

You know, the parties

just got bigger.

You know, celebrity,

music people.

In fact, a lot

of people around here

started to believe that

they were celebrities.

Their head started

to swell, both of them.

Oh, it's a real danger.

Anyways, Mud Mulligan,

he was getting older, right?

The girls, they were

getting younger.

So between the drugs,

the underage girls, the payola,

a scandal broke out.

And old Jimmy, well,

he was saved by the bell.

What saved him?

Well, he sold everything

to a Christian broadcast outfit,

the FBC,

Faith Broadcast Corporation.

Then he went all out, you know,

urban, family,

complexes, the whole nine.

The sell really

cleansed him, you know.

But he still owned a little

piece of the radio station.

But the FBC wanted him gone.

I was done with him

way before that.

Hi, Dad.

Hey, honey.

Can you do me a favor and

autograph four books for me?

Okay, Dad.

You seem happy

to be back at work.

I am. [Chuckles]

I'm happy to be busy.

Oh, can you overnight

those to me?

I need them tomorrow.

Will do.

Thanks, kid.

This is great.

Yeah, your mom and two sisters

and family podiatrist

ought to be happy.

Oh, yeah,

he's gonna read this.

- Good.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- Yeah.

By the way, I got

the perfect guy for you.

Okay.

- Steve.

- Steve?

- Steve.

- All right.

Okay?

V-E, that's it.

[laughs] You got it.

[laughs] Okay, so he used

to work at the steak house.

And for a short while,

he worked at the club.

But he didn't like girls.

This is where

the old steak house was.

It was torn down years ago.

I worked with Dave.

I was three years older,

so I could serve drinks.

Mm.

We were the g*y guys

at the shop.

We kept it quiet.

Yeah, I could see that.

Jimmy Kyle hated gays.

He would fire "fairies."

I was working the night

of the accident.

Tell me about that.

It was the end of a shift.

Dave was readying to go home.

Oh, and Eddie and Jimmy Kyle

were bickering as usual.

Hey, Dave.

Dave.

[tense music]

I need you to do

a little favor for me.

Uh, that's more than

you made tonight.

Put on this hat, this coat.

Make a little delivery for me.

All right?

It's a few steaks.

Sounds good.

I needed extra cash.

Drive Eddie to the location.

You just stay in the car.

Eddie, give him your car keys.

When you get back,

I'll double that.

Yeah, I will do it.

They wanna see you, but...

They'll think it's me.

Quit being a little fairy.

All right.

It's two stops.

It's no big deal.

- All right.

- Got the book?

- Let's go.

- Destination's in there.

All right, fellas.

That was the last time

I saw Dave alive.

I went to the funeral.

Jimmy Kyle gave me

the day off with pay.

Big of him.

Did you visit Eddie

in the hospital?

No.

Why not?

Jimmy Kyle gave

the impression that Eddie

wasn't taking any visitors.

It's Martin Dye again.

He's called three times

and wants to speak to you.

Do you even know him?

Uh, he's a snoop.

Get rid of him.

[suspenseful music]

Look at this place.

It's a disaster.

You've gotta clean this mess up.

Honey, I'm going through

all of Eddie's old boxes.

I'm just trying to find

anything that will help Martin.

I understand that,

but we're in the middle

of a home improvement.

The workers are

about to get here,

and we're not even up to code.

Okay. Okay. Okay.

I'll... I'll start

to clean all this up.

Sorry.

[tense music]

I want you to tell

your friend, Martin Dye,

to quit talking to people.

Quit investigating.

What?

What are you doing here?

He's ruining business.

He needs to quit

talking to people.

Get out of my house!

You weren't invited in here!

You don't belong here.

Door was open.

I walk into houses all the time.

Send him my message.

Get out of my house!

You have a g*n?

Is that really necessary?

Get out!

Get out!

- I'm done.

- Leave!

- I'm done.

- Stop talking and leave!

- Okay, I'm done.

[sighs]

You need to call

Martin right away.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

You know, I really didn't see

you guys as, like, g*n people.

Oh, Caroline's a member

of a skeet sh**ting club.

Seriously?

Wow.

Live and learn.

Do you guys have

a place that you can

maybe go for a couple days?

You think there's more to this

than that nutty

real estate agent?

Maybe.

I know where we

can go, Aunt Norma's.

There we go.

Oh, and George has

a package for you.

Right, right.

Oh, you're gonna love this.

I found Mud Mulligan's letter,

and it's framed.

Oh, well, let me have it.

I don't mean sh**t me.

I'm just reaching over

nice and slow.

Come on, guys, we gotta go.

Let's go.

[intriguing music]

"Get well, bud. Mud."

And he framed it?

This is a thank you card list.

Wake registry, there it is.

Tommy Preston.

"I'm glad the foundation

sent you to me."

Mitch Whalen.

"Miss you.

You were my favorite car."

Vaccarro Insurance.

"Can't buy happiness,

but you can buy insurance."

Wow.

Roxanne Graham.

"A student shouldn't

die before his teacher.

I miss you. Rest in peace."

Well, that's Roxy.

That's Miss Magnus.

She's married now.

Hmm.

I was full

of myself back then.

Well, we were younger.

I didn't visit him

in the hospital.

Looking back, that might

have caused more problems.

The first time I saw him

in a wheelchair,

I ran back into my car.

It was too much.

It's understandable.

I went off and got married,

and that didn't work.

The whole teaching thing

didn't bring me any happiness.

Everything that could

go wrong went wrong.

And Eddie?

I didn't talk to Eddie much.

Every once in a while.

You wanted to keep it quiet.

Yes and no.

I was trying to find a new

start, and I told Eddie.

He told me

of the radio station sale,

and the new owners were going to

hire a whole new staff, and

suddenly, the old Eddie

came out.

Roxy, I can get

you the interview,

but you have to land the job.

The new station

would be Christian

faith-based programming.

This is before

I accepted Christ.

[chuckles] I'm a Christian now.

Good for you.

I wanted this.

Good job.

Yes.

In the interview, I told them

I was looking for a fresh start.

They liked that.

My years of teaching told them

I knew young people.

They wanted that.

I liked them, and they

liked my enthusiasm.

I wanted to work on every

project they threw at me.

And did you?

Everything and anything.

[chuckles]

I was working

on the transition team

when Jimmy Kyle was

selling his remaining

shares in the station.

[pensive music]

And at one

of the final meetings,

I saw Jimmy Kyle

and a former student of mine,

Jeff Connor, who was a member

of the legal team

representing

the client's interests.

To me, that was the omen.

I've gone full circle.

Two people from the past...

Jimmy Kyle and Jeff Connor,

a student of mine,

guiding me into the future.

Mm.

The station.

This is where I was meant to be.

I hope Eddie found peace.

[intriguing music]

"Unlucky Night."

Neighborhood around...

Oh, there it is.

[sighs] "Tragedy on Iroquois."

"The accident, a car crash

near Iroquois Avenue,

"k*lling one passenger,

permanently injuring

the other passenger."

New wrinkle.

A new wrinkle in the story.

Hitchhiker Billy Webb.

Yeah, I was

the hitchhiker that night.

Had a few too many beers.

The girl I thought was mine

left with another guy.

[chuckles]

- Yeah, my best friend.

- [chuckles]

Yeah.

So he had the car,

and I had to hitchhike home.

Oh, that sucks.

Okay, so you're hitchhiking.

Yeah.

Um, there weren't too many

cars on the road that night,

so when they pulled up,

I was delighted.

Though it felt like they were

in the middle of an argument.

[soft music]

Can you give me a ride?

Going to Clark & Hanson.

It's only a couple blocks

before Mohawk.

What are you doing?

Quit being a little fairy.

Come on, get in. We got room.

Y'all partying?

- Yeah.

Did you get lucky?

No, that's why I'm hitching.

I guess you and the guy

in the back seat

got a whole lot in common.

[chuckles] Is he hitching?

No, he never gets lucky.

That's why he's

hugging on to that bag.

Keep it up, dumb-a*s.

I picked you up

just to piss him off.

- Keep it up.

- Do you want me to leave?

No, you can stay.

We'll drop you off.

Got plenty more driving to do.

The guy in the back seat

was not happy to see me.

I got out of the car,

didn't think much of it,

and went home.

Stop. Thanks.

Thanks a lot.

Hey, we gotta go.

Radio said it's gonna rain.

A couple days later, my mom

told me about the accident.

It was in the paper, I guess.

This one?

Yeah, that's the car.

My parents wanted me to talk

to the police, so I did.

Told them the story I told you.

I also told them

they were sober,

which is what

they wanted to hear,

so they sent me home.

I kept quiet about it, went

to school upstate that fall,

put it out of my head.

And you didn't know

these guys, right?

No, I went to Catholic school.

I didn't know 'em.

Okay.

The cops, did they

mention anything about a...

About a duffel bag or missing

money or anything like that?

No, that was it.

They sent me home.

Yeah, this is Dave's room.

On the... the night

of his accident,

he was making a delivery

to make a few extra dollars.

He worked a few nights

at Kyle's steak house,

mainly as a busboy.

My brother was such a good guy.

I have two teenage sons now,

and, uh

yeah, they could use an uncle.

My brother would have

made a great uncle.

I'm sure he would have.

[chuckles]

My brother meant a lot to me.

He was special.

I can tell.

Yeah.

Tell me more about

what his life was like.

Um, yeah, well

he had all the problems

a g*y teen had back then.

Believe me, bullying,

few friends, secret life.

I mean, our lives

and our school lives

were completely different.

I was a cheerleader.

I went to prom.

We learned a lot more

from a journal he kept.

And no, I'm not gonna give you

the journal.

I wouldn't ask.

Oh, I occasionally see

his old friend Jeff on TV.

He's a successful attorney now.

And I... I see him, and I think

that could have been my brother.

So Dave didn't...

Didn't really talk

to a lot of people then?

No.

I mean, a few.

It was probably just Jeff

and a priest

they both talked to.

Father Bill.

He's no longer a priest.

He's married now.

Yeah, he was a great comfort

to them, a kind man.

[somber music]

Is he still around?

Mm.

So who's this?

Well, that's my wife, Martha.

She wished she could have

been here to meet you,

but she had some

family business.

She really wanted to meet you.

[chuckles]

Well, that's really nice of her.

Wait, was she in the same

line of work

as you there, Father Bill?

Maybe.

And it's been a long time since

someone called me Father Bill.

Coffee's ready.

- Oh.

[sighs] Certain things

I can't talk about.

I understand.

Dave had anger,

and he wasn't gonna take it.

He tried out

for the football team

just so he could

tackle the quarterback.

And he used to

tackle him so hard,

the coach would scream,

what are you doing?

He's on our team!

- [laughs]

And the quarterback would

be laying there just in pain.

Yeah, that was Dave.

Dave fought the bullies

and gave them back

as much as he took,

sometimes more.

Good.

Fighting back's a good thing.

But to Dave, it was justice,

not revenge.

Now, Jeff, you know,

was the studious type, softer.

He was just a kid

from Indian Lanes,

the poorer section of town.

It was just him

and his mom, Kate.

She was a... a willful woman.

I liked her.

They were typical of the era,

a working-class family

just getting by.

Well, it must have worked

because I heard Jeff's

doing pretty well these days.

Well, yeah, he's an attorney.

You don't happen to still

keep in touch with him?

Yeah, I got it

around here someplace.

You want it?

- Yeah.

All right.

Yeah, that's a few blocks

before Mohawk.

The payphone serviced

the people of Indian Lanes.

Jeff was just a kid

from Indian Lanes.

A few blocks from Mohawk?

Payphone service

to Indian Lanes.

Jeff was a kid

from Indian Lanes.

Whoever made that phone call

knows where the money is.

We share a reporter, you and I.

Natalie Joyce.

And she interviewed me

for her talk show,

and she interviewed you for

your, uh, 1649 Argyle project.

Yes.

I was on TV.

And you spoke to Father Bill?

Yeah, well,

he's just Bill now.

But, yeah.

I spoke to Mallory,

Dave's sister.

I haven't talked

to her in years.

There's a lot

of story here, Jeff.

I mean, you've got... you've got

Dave's death, Eddie's injury,

and some missing money.

See, that night, Dave was

making a delivery with Eddie.

Eddie Grant.

And Steve, a server

at the steak house, you know.

Steve told me.

They wanna see you.

That was the plan.

- They barely know me.

- That's not the point.

All right, you're a big boy.

You can handle it, okay?

All right, look,

just trust me, okay?

Just, um...

[suspenseful music]

I got an idea.

Hey, Dave, come here.

Dave, he's kind of my height.

They'll think it's me.

Okay, I know what

I'm doing, all right?

I'll handle this.

Dave, I need you to make

a delivery for me.

Okay, it's more than

you made tonight.

Just put on the company

colors here.

Okay?

Just make a delivery for me.

- Okay.

- All right.

You just drive Eddie

to the location.

You just stay in the car.

Eddie, give him your car keys.

When you get back,

I'll double that.

Sounds good.

I could use the extra cash.

All right, we'll do it.

They wanna see you, but

we'll do it, we'll do it.

They'll think it's me.

Don't worry about it, okay?

Just quit being a little fairy.

Here, take this.

Dave, let's go.

All right.

Thanks, Dave.

So on the drive, they picked

up a hitchhiker, Billy Webb.

Can you give me a ride?

Going to Clark & Hanson.

Spoke to Billy.

What are you doing?

Quit being a little fairy.

Come on, get in. We got room.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

So then, they... they

dropped off Billy Webb.

And ten blocks later,

they crashed the car.

That night,

someone called the police.

You.

You called the police.

That night...

[sighs] Did you hear

about the accident?

Two boys might be dead.

They crashed their car

near Iroquois.

Where'd you get that money?

The accident.

I was there.

I saw Eddie Grant

and Jimmy Kyle lying there,

and this bag and money.

I called the police

and came running home.

Eddie Grant and Jimmy Kyle?

Weren't they the boys

that beat you up?

[foreboding music]

Eddie, as I live and breathe.

Fairy. Hey.

What's up, as*h*le?

What are you doing?

- [laughs]

- Stop!

Thought you could

handle this, guys.

[grunting]

[guys laughing]

- Does it hurt?

- [coughs]

Does it hurt?

Does it hurt?

What else is in the bag?

[gasps]

I'll take care of this.

We're gonna keep the money.

This is your ticket out of here.

You are to say nothing.

You understand me?

In a few months,

this will all be forgotten.

[somber music]

I didn't know it was Dave

until days later.

You didn't tell anyone.

No.

No.

I... I told Father Bill

a few weeks later.

It was weighing heavy

on my conscience.

[sighs] And so

I went away to school.

I tried to put it

all out of my mind,

and for a while, I did.

But then one day at the firm,

they asked me to be

a part of a transition team.

I went to the meeting,

and I saw Jimmy Kyle.

We were helping him

with some business,

some rental agreement

transactions

he was dealing with.

[tense music]

In the same meeting,

I saw an old high school teacher

of mine, Miss Magnus.

And seeing those two

bad memories.

I knew I had to leave that firm

and get a different job,

and so I did.

And at the new firm,

two paralegals came in

and told me a story

about how much trouble

they were having

with the building

and the landlord at 1649 Argyle.

Somebody told them that

I was very familiar

with that building owner.

Jimmy Kyle.

And I listened

as they told me all about

how the landlord was kicking out

these g*y men with A*DS,

evicting them,

displacing them.

I convinced our firm to take on

the case pro bono, get justice.

About the money in the bag,

what happened to the money?

It paid for college

and law school.

[twangy country music]

So this bag, this stupid bag,

this was in a Hefty bag in

Jeff's mom's attic for 20 years.

And in the side pouch,

look at this,

Eddie's journal of debauchery.

Yeah, everything's in here.

And the last journal entry says,

last stop, 1649...

- Argyle.

- Argyle.

The drugs were

going to Mud Mulligan.

He lived at that address.

Oh, and that... that rumor

about Eddie and the teacher?

Yeah, that's... that's real.

It's all in here, every detail.

Listen, I feel terrible

about this.

Okay, let me write a check.

$25,000 ought

to cover all the expenses.

- What? Stop.

- Well, what about Eddie...

No money's going anywhere.

You paid it back

a million times over.

Look at you.

You think I'm gonna collect

20% commission

when there's people losing

their homes over a disease?

Okay, but what about

Eddie's estate?

This whole thing, you wouldn't

be running around the city...

[both arguing]

- Stop! Stop! Stop!

You've already spent the money

in the best possible way.

You've done a lot

of good with your life.

You know that?

- Yeah.

It's not about the money now.

It's about that

lawsuit with Kyle

and the 1649 Argyle building,

because you're gonna win.

And then all these

other domino pieces

are gonna come falling down.

That book, here, give it to me.

I know just where to put this.

You're one

of the good guys, Jeff.

Keep doing what you're doing.

And I think you know

what you need to do next.

Yeah.

Yeah.

[soft music]

[gentle music]

We need to talk.

[door opens]

Hey, Uncle Marty. I'm back.

Hey, wait.

Where are you going?

Wait up. Hold on. Sit down.

I think I got it.

The key to this whole thing

is the building, 1649 Argyle.

That was Jimmy Kyle's

building, right?

And that was

Mud Mulligan's address.

That's where the money was

headed when it disappeared.

These guys were despicable.

They were putting A*DS patients

out on the streets.

- Ugh.

- Yeah.

And... and I think that

Eddie just wanted

to get over on Jimmy Kyle

just once.

I think he reached out

to those paralegals

that lived there and said,

tell your story to Jeff,

knowing Jeff's a good guy.

He's gonna find a way to help.

And he did.

Right?

Right.

Which brings us

to the Big Four.

Number one, money.

Think about it.

Eddie gets in a car accident

and gets paralyzed for life.

What does Jimmy Kyle do?

He says, oh, you lost my money.

You owe me.

Ugh.

What a d*ck.

So did Eddie pay it back?

Of course, he did.

He had to, out of his

parents' insurance money.

Why?

Power.

Jimmy had the power.

Eddie knew it.

- Yeah.

He had Jimmy on the brain.

Which brings us to love.

Jeff's mom, Kate,

this woman loved her son so much

that she was willing

to have him do the wrong thing

for the right reason.

She knew that that was the only

chance her son was ever

gonna have to get

out of Indian Lanes

and get a real life, and he did.

He got an education

and became a lawyer.

He helps people

who need it the most.

Talk about money well spent.

Yeah.

And fear.

Eddie's whole life

was about fear.

He was afraid of one unlucky

night, and it happened.

And the people around Eddie,

they were afraid to go near him,

especially after the accident.

They wouldn't even visit him.

As if that was gonna rub off

on him or something.

Poor guy died broken and alone.

- Mm.

- See?

The Big Four, kid.

You solve those,

you're on your way.

Uncle Marty,

I think you just did it.

- I did it.

- You solved the case.

I solved the case.

- You're back.

- [laughs]

- You're back!

- I'm back.

[laughs]

We gotta do something.

We gotta celebrate.

We gotta grab some beer

or something.

We will.

We will,

tomorrow night, I promise.

I'm taking you and your girl

out for a nice dinner.

- All right.

- Okay.

Tonight, though,

Uncle Marty has plans.

Oh.

Don't let me get in your way.

- I will not.

- [chuckles]

[playful music]

[doorbell rings]

- Hi, Dory.

- Hi. [Chuckles]

Wow. You look great.

[chuckles] Oh, nice tie.

Van Gogh.

You noticed.

As promised, one autographed

copy of my book.

Oh, that's sweet.

You know, I have

a copy of your book.

Yeah, I... I just didn't

wanna show up with a pen.

[laughter]

These are for you.

Thank you.

I'm really looking

forward to dinner.

Yeah, me too.

You ready?

Uh, a couple more minutes.

You wanna come in and sit down?

Yes, I do.

[chuckles]

It has been a long day.

[static crackling]

[upbeat music]

[soft music]