07x11 - The Wedge

[bunniefuu]

- I'm serious, Jake,
there's no more democrat,

no more republican, liberal, conservative.

It's two people run the
country now, the world even.

You wanna know?

The mob and the trilateral commission.

You don't believe me.

- Yeah, I do.

- No you don't.

- Foxy, I said I believed you.

Matter of fact, you know how Einstein died?

I mean, how he really died.

- Einstein?

- Yeah, Albert Einstein.

You know how?

- How.

- The mob k*lled him.

He knew too much.

It's a joke, foxy, a joke!

Oscar two, Oscar eight.

We have sh*ts fired.

clearlake Avenue.

- That's us.

Oscar two here, six blocks from the scene.

On our way now, copy?

Copy.

Oscar eight's about minutes behind you,

coming in from acker.

Ditto Oscar two.

- I know that address.

- Yeah, who?

- I don't know, just sounds familiar.

- Maybe somebody from
the trilateral commission?

- Oh, very funny.

- He's got a g*n, he's got a g*n!

- Okay sir, drop the g*n now!

Drop the g*n, do it!

Detective defalco?

- Foxy?

I shot my wife, foxy.

I shot my wife.

- It's seven in the morning.

Doesn't anybody sleep around here anymore?

Harry.

Cassy.

- What?

Is it Tom?

Has somethin' happened to him?

- Tom is fine.

- You scared the hell
outta me for a minute.

- So, what, your place is
unusually dirty this morning?

- What?

- Oh, I'm standing out here like a lump.

- I'm sorry, come in.

What's up?

- Tony defalco shot and
k*lled his wife last night.

- Rita?

Yeah.

- What happened?

- Don't know yet.

Listen, cassy, I put Tom on this alone.

- Alone?

Yeah, I need you for somethin' else.

- What else?

- I want you to act as
internal affairs officer on this.

- Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.

- As soon as word came
down about the sh**ting,

I got a call from carrosco in Miami.

He wanted to send an ia team down here

because officially we don't have one.

You know something?

I don't want them up here
looking down their noses at us

so I told 'em I already assigned
somebody from the ranks.

- Terrific.

You got, what, other
detectives to choose from

and you make me the honoree?

Why?

- Because I need an
unbiased investigation here

and out of all of them,

you're the most objective.

- So what are you sayin',
that Tom is not objective?

- No, I'm sayin' you're more, that's it.

You'll report only to me.

You have carte blanche, anything ya need.

Here's what we got so far.

Got response reports
from officers on the scene,

the photos of the victim.

Hey.

You can do this.

- Like I have a choice.

- I was in the living room.

I'd just gotten back from meeting

one of my informants on the danzeen case.

Danzeen case?

You and Ballard have
been workin' that for, what?

About six months now?

How's that goin'?

- Dirt bag, capital d.

I mean everybody

but the pope knows this
guy's dealin' dr*gs, right?

So, I don't know, my informant tells me

he's goin' legitimate.

What, prescription dr*gs now?

- No, porno films.

Can you believe it?

- It doesn't surprise me.

- The mole tells me
I'd better watch my back

just the same.

Rumor is danzeen's
droppin' dimes in Chicago.

- What, danzeen's got a contract on you?

- It's just a rumor.

I mean, it's not his m.O.

Still, you know, you hear
a noise in the garage, you.

Yeah, yeah, okay.

Okay so what happened?

- I don't know.

I mean, Rita had gone out with a friend.

I didn't check to see if
she was back, you know,

I just pulled my w*apon.

I mean, then you know what?

Somebody says boo and
out comes the damn g*n.

- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

- Yeah, no, I'm sorry.

All right, so I heard the noise,

I went out to see and pitch black.

- Okay, so it's dark.

You can't see who it is.

You see someone move?

- Freeze!

I said freeze, and no response.

They just keep movin' towards me.

- Did she say somethin' or?

- I think it's the hit right?

So I got my g*n pointed, one shot.

I fire, one lousy shot.

Son of a bitch, Tom, I k*lled her.

Tom, I k*lled Rita!

I k*lled her.

- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Hey.

Hey.

It's okay, sit back, sit back.

Just take it easy for a
second, sit back Tony.

Take a breath now.

Tony, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry about what happened.

Okay, we'll see ya, thanks.

- Hey.

Oh man.

- I didn't see ya.

- No problem.

How's it goin'?

- How's it goin'?

- I'll go.

I guess you heard about the defalco thing.

Cassy, I'm really, I'm
really sorry, you know?

Harry made me do this.

I wanted ya on it with
me, I really did, I just.

- No, I know you did.

I'm ia on this one.

- Excuse me.

- Look, I didn't volunteer okay.

Another one of Harry's ideas.

- Wait, wait, wait a minute, wait a minute.

You're workin' with internal affairs?

- No, I'm not with them.

Look, I can't get into this right now.

I just need you to understand
I'm not doing this by choice.

- Well just say no, cassy.

What's Harry gonna do, fire ya?

- You think I like pullin' blue rat duty?

I'm a cop just like you
and cops follow orders.

- Okay, I got a Rodney
dangerfield for foxy.

Then it's rye with Lincoln logs,

two sides of lime wheels

with butter in the barrel for mangione.

- Hey Betty, you know
if you're real nice to me,

I may buy ya a nice pencil holder

for your head.

- You still havin' those
trilateral emissions

at night, foxy?

You I love.

Hey cassy, what's up?

- Hey.

Have a seat, you eat yet?

- Oh no thanks.

I just need to ask you
guys a couple of questions.

- Sure cassy.

Will you stop for god's sake?

You sound like a pig with a head cold.

- Hey, I'm hungry all right?

Hey cassy.

- Hey.

So, what do you need to know?

- It's about last night.

- Last night, what last night?

- The sh**ting.

You guys were first on the
scene at the sh**ting, right?

- You mean Tony defalco?

- No, Jack Ruby.

Yeah, so, isn't Ryan handling that?

- This is a separate investigation.

- Separate, why separate?

- It's orders from headquarters.

I got chosen.

- You mean like ia?

- Not like ia, she is ia.

- You went to the other side?

- Oh, look I'm not on anybody's side.

I'm just tryin' to run an
impartial investigation.

Now on your r, you didn't say whether

or not you canvassed the area.

Neighbors, bystanders,
did you canvas the area?

Did you canvas the area?

- If it ain't on the
paper, we didn't do it.

- Anything else?

Sergeant St. John.

- If there is, I'll let you know.

- Thanks for nothin'.

- Hey, Tony.

Hey you know if there's anything

that we can do, you got it, all right?

- Thanks lonny.

- Sure.

- It's gonna be all right, Tony, it is.

- Yeah, I know that.

- And that damn St. John,
she gives you any grief,

just tell us.

- Cassy St. John?

Why would she do that?

- You don't know?

She's gone ia on us.

- Cassy's ia?

Movin' up in the world.

- Yeah, she sure is.

- Hey, cass, can I talk to you for a sec?

- Sure you won't catch my virus?

- Come on, come on, come on.

- Okay.

Yeah?

- Cass, you know, I don't want this thing

to come between us.

- Well, that's really not up to me, is it?

- No.

You think you can handle it

in the face of all this?

- I've been through worse.

I was married to you remember.

It's me, the creep.

Hey, thanks.

What made you come to
the window, Mr. Johnstone?

You said it was close
to one in the morning?

- I heard the man call her name.

You sure it was a man?

- Oh yes, I'm sure.

He said, see you Rita, good luck

and when I got to the window,

she was walkin' up the
driveway to the garage.

- The garage?

- They always kept the garage door open

until both of 'em got home.

They kept such odd hours.

Well, Tony bein' a policeman and Rita,

well, I don't really know what she did.

I mean, she was very sweet

but she never said much about herself.

Hey, Charlie, this won't take long.

Formality, right?

- Yeah, yeah.

Just touchin' all the bases
and we can get back to our jobs.

- Including Tony?

- Right.

Tell me about this danzeen
case you were workin' on.

- Still working on.

It's your typical lowlife,
dirt-bag drug dealer

with a lotta money to buy loopholes.

- Consider him dangerous?

- Well they're all dangerous, Tom.

You thr*aten their business,
they do whatever they have to.

What about the rumor?

- Oh, you're referring to
the contract out on us?

He was just trying to rattle our cage.

Hiring hits is not his m.O.

- Still make ya a little
bit more cautious right?

More on edge, maybe?

- I'm that way /

what about Tony?

Same for him?

- Tony, nothing bothers him.

Nothing on the street anyway.

I don't know how he does it.

- He ever talk about his
personal life, about Rita?

- Talk about her?

Yeah, he loved her.

Talked about her all the time.

- So as far as you're concerned,

they had no problems at home.

- Problems?

No.

Of course not.

I mean, okay, so they
had some tiffs, all right.

But hey, who doesn't?

- Yeah.

- All right, here you go detective.

Detective, the protocol.

Here it is.

Most of it anyway.

Some of the fluids are still in toxicology

but I knew you wanted to see what we had.

It's about %.

- Okay, thanks.

- Tough day, detective?

Yeah.

Wait a second, Benny?

Wait a second, Rita defalco was pregnant?

- Yeah. - She's pregnant?

- She was two and a half months.

I have the fetus if you'd like to verify.

What?

- It's just, you know, Rita
and Tony had been tryin'

to have a family.

She didn't think that they could

and now she gets pregnant.

- Damn.

- Cass, hey I wanna talk to ya

about what happened yesterday.

- Protocol.

- Cassy.

- I need to see the protocol.

- All right.

Some of the fluids are
still in tox bein' tested.

Get back to Bernie.

- Then tell me what you know.

- Cause of death, g*nsh*t wound.

b*llet under the left
parietal causing fatal trauma

to the superior temporal
region of the brain,

death was instantaneous.

The ballistics are
still testing the b*llet.

- Is there anything else?

I'm gonna read it anyway.

- She's pregnant, two and a half months.

- Pregnant, okay, what about
your q and a with Ballard?

- I haven't transcribed them yet.

What do you wanna know?

- Did she indicate what
defalco was like days prior

to the sh**ting?

- Cass.

- Nervous, edgy, any
signs of emotional distress.

Did he talk to her about personal problems?

Problems at home?

- No.

Anything else?

- No.

- Cassy?

Let's talk.

I don't wanna see you doin' that again.

- What did I do?

- Ya backed off.

Why, because he's your partner?

- No, because I got what I wanted.

- You got what he wanted to give you.

Lemme explain this to you one more time.

You are in control here.

You call the sh*ts.

Anybody stonewalls you,
you put 'em on a report,

it goes to the captain and
their butts are bone meal.

You got that?

- What do you want from me, Harry?

This is like goin' to a family reunion

with a warrant for my uncle.

- Come on cassy, you think
I don't know this is hard?

- It's not only hard, it hurts.

- Yeah.

- These are my friends.

I know their girlfriends,
their wives, their kids,

I go to their parties, I
listen to their problems

and now I am, I'm less
than nothing to them.

Oh yeah, it hurts.

It hurts.

Marianne, hi, it's detective St. John.

I need some home phone
records for Anthony defalco.

Let's say last six weeks.

Yeah?

No, don't fax them.

I'll pick them up at your office.

Flight of stairs won't k*ll me.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, this is detective
St. John in homicide.

I need an ID on a phone number.

It's -.

Lyle Phillips?

Uh-huh, address on that?

coral grove.

Got it, thanks.

coral grove, now.

Unless you wanna
explain it to the captain, go!

- Cass.

- Do I care if the market's
gone down points?

I've been going down half my life

and I make more than you can spit at

so if I tell you to buy
shares of hamaguchi systems,

just do it.

And feed the kids.

I'll be home late tonight.

- Lyle, what the hell are you doin'?

- Typing some lines for the next scene.

- Excuse me?

- He's an actor.

He says he needs lines.

- Lines, Lyle, he enters,
takes off her clothes,

puts her on the table and
consummates the relationship.

You're costing me money, Lyle.

- It's not a good time for me, danzeen.

- Look, I don't have time for this, okay?

Just get this scene done and
move on to the next, all right?

Which reminds me, I'm
late for an appointment.

- Lyle Phillips?

Yeah.

- Can I have a moment please?

- I'm sorry miss, there's
no open casting today.

- It's about Rita defalco.

- Hey, take another five huh?

- How well did you know Tony?

- I know him.

- How did he feel about
your relationship with his wife?

- She said he was fine with it.

She was very talented, you know.

I don't mean like with this stuff.

She was a writer, we were
collaborating on a script.

- And Tony didn't mind?

- She didn't think so.

Even had me over for dinner to discuss it.

Gave her his official blessing.

- How did they strike you as a couple?

- He wasn't being good to her.

He was being nice.

There's a difference.

- You talked to her
the night she was k*lled.

What was the gist of the conversation?

- She seemed happy actually.

Said she had a surprise for Tony.

- She tell you what it was?

- No, she said I'd be the second to know.

- So you had no idea Rita was pregnant.

- No.

Oh no.

She'd always wanted kids.

She didn't think she
could have 'em, damn it.

- Were you and Rita ever lovers?

- Hey, come on, what's
that got to do with anything?

- I'm gonna ask you again.

Were you and Rita ever lovers?

- A fling, a one-nighter, okay?

- How long ago?

- Two months.

She and Tony had had an
argument about something.

She was, you know, needing to be close.

I was there, that was it.

For her.

- So you were in love with her.

- But it wasn't reciprocated,
not the way I would've liked.

To her, I was like a brother.

- Except for one night.

Thanks.

- I figured you'd be here.

You weren't home, I called.

- Hello Harry.

- I heard about what happened.

- What?

- Don't gimme what.

The rat.

The tires.

Cassy, I honest to god never
thought it would be like this.

Not here, come on.

These are all good cops.

- Just let me finish what I started, okay?

- You're pod huh?

- I work better that way.

- Okay.

Cassy, please be careful huh?

- Work better that way too.

- I would've loved to see her face

when she opened up her locker

and just saw it hanging there.

- I don't know, lonny,
hangin' a rat in her locker.

That was pretty cold.

- Hey, like Joey said, she had it comin'.

He's right.

- What the hell kinda cop are you?

- Hey, come on Tom.

- I hate what cassy's doin' as well

but she's playin' fair and so should we.

- So what's fair, Tom, huh?

You coverin' your ex-wife's tail

while lettin' the best cop

in this town get
railroaded down the toilet?

She had it comin'

and you're either with
her or you're with us.

I meant what I said Tom,

you're either with her or you're with us.

- I'll get you, Ross.

- Tom, take it easy, will you all right?

We're all upset over this.

Tony's a good cop.

- What, and cassy isn't?

Just let it go man.

- Hey cassy.

- Hey.

- I understand the g*ng's

been givin' you a pretty rough time.

- Boys will be boys.

- Yeah.

Look, I wanna go on record.

I know you're only doin' what you gotta do

so if you have questions, ask 'em.

I got nothin' to hide.

- Thanks Tony, appreciate that.

Look, I just wanna let you know,

I'm very sorry about Rita.

I didn't know her.

The few times I've talked to her,

she seemed like a very
kind and giving person.

- Yeah, that was Rita.

You guys were pretty close, huh?

- If there was a line separating us,

I couldn't find it.

- How'd you feel with her
relationship with Lyle Phillips?

- Hey, I mean, he knew
her long before I did.

If he was her friend, then he was mine too.

Yeah, I gotta admit that it
took a little getting used to.

I mean, I come from an environment

where men had men friends

and women had women friends

and anything in between
better be a relative.

- Yeah, tradition's hard to buck sometimes.

How'd you feel about her pregnancy?

- Yeah, I guess it's
time we got to that huh?

How did I feel?

We've been tryin' ever
since we got married.

Goin' on five years now.

She just couldn't conceive and.

It's ironic, isn't it?

She finally does.

- How 'bout we talk about
this some other time, huh?

- Thanks cassy.

- You can make a lotta money, all right.

Thanks Sean.

I'm gonna wait to hear from you.

Call me.

- What the, get off me ya
gorilla, get off me, I'm a cop.

- It's okay Ron.

- We need to talk.

- Shouldn't you be out
practicing your goose step?

- You got yourself in big trouble, danzeen.

- Really?

Well, I live for big trouble.

- Well, how would you
like to be livin' at stark

for to life.

- You're threatening a
legend with a fairytale?

- Do you call puttin' a
contract on a cop a fairytale?

- Oh, you've been talkin' to
our friend, detective defalco.

- I've been talkin' to a lotta people.

- Well, may I tell ya something.

Taking out contracts, it's not my style.

I leave scars but not tombstones.

As for defalco, he's been
harassing me consistently

for the last several weeks

because I'm in business with his old lady

and that's his choice of words, not mine.

- Back up.

You're in business with Rita defalco?

- I'm putting up the
money to finance her script.

That is I was until she stepped in front

of that accidental b*llet.

Let's go, Ron.

- Detective cassy St. John

interviewing detective
charlene "Charlie" Ballard.

We're on record.

Just a few questions, detective.

Do you have occasion to
notice any change of mood

or attitude in detective defalco
over the past few weeks?

- No.

- Did he seem edgy,
nervous, anything like that?

- No.

Does the name Lyle Phillips
mean anything to you?

- Should it?

- You wanna stonewall me, that's fine.

Stays in this room.

But you're a cop, Charlie, and a good one

and you know what you're
doing here is obstruction.

I thought what we were all
about is getting to the truth.

- Yeah, the truth?

Well the truth is Tony defalco's

been my partner for three years.

He took me when nobody else would.

- So what are you saying?

- The blue law.

Benefit of the doubt
should always go to the blue.

- And which is it for you, hm?

Are you doubting his guilt
or his innocence, Charlie?

We're through here.

Small world.

- Nice calves.

You could star in one of my movies.

- Huh, little blase for a man booked

for m*rder one, danzeen.

Sit.

- Yeah, well, iron-clad alibis tend

to make one a little blase.

- Oh really?

Alibi this, pal.

So?

- So, it was found in the car

where Phillips' body was
discovered and guess what,

it's got your prints all over it.

Now what do you think about that?

- Detective, do I look stupid enough

to leave such an obvious piece of evidence

near the body of a man I was known

to be doing business with?

Besides, I've got an alibi

who should be showing up any moment now.

- What's goin' on here?

Harry, did someone hide
your brainstem this morning?

- Your his alibi?

- I'm his project.

He's helpin' me develop my script.

- It's what I do.

- Shut up.

So you were with him last night?

- Yesterday, last night,
this morning, I told ya.

We're developing my script.

- What?

Who is it?

It's me.

Open up.

- Okay, just a second, just a second.

What?

Do you know what time it is?

- Yeah, it's time we stopped
this stupid game we're playing.

What are you talkin' about?

- Coffee first.

- To the left, up and to the left.

- Where?

- Okay, so we both feel
that Charlie was holdin' back,

that at least she suspected
that somethin' was goin'

on between 'em.

- Yeah, but she idolizes defalco.

She'd protect the least
little thing that implicates him.

Besides, I don't think she knows anything.

- Yeah, we're gonna make this stick,

we're gonna need cement, not play-doh.

Heard that, Columbo.

- So what's your take
on the Phillips m*rder?

- Same as yours.

I don't think it's danzeen's m.O.

I think the toothpick was a plant.

- You know, he's playin' with us Tom.

- I don't think that.

- Oh come on.

He's got half the damn
department on his side

over Rita's death.

He's probably already bought
an alibi on Phillips' m*rder.

I mean, his public grief,

his willingness to talk to me.

I mean, come on Tom.

This guy is playin' with us big time.

- What haven't we done yet, cassy?

What step have we missed?

- The why?

- No, no, we know the why.

The why is jealous.

- Yeah.

I was thinkin' about
somethin' that Lyle said.

That it goes much deeper than this and,

how the hell do you dig deeper.

Profiles.

- Profiles.

- We shouldn't do this here.

It's gonna get too busy.

- Well, where then?

- How 'bout Harry's office.

- The privileges of rank.

I'm gonna take the big chair.

Ooh.

- Oh good, I get his one file.

All right.

He's been a detective
years, right outta college.

First two years, five commendations for

exemplary behavior

and community service.

Listen to this, third year,

he gets shot in the line of duty, does,

he does a complete here.

He gets cited one, two,
three, four, five, six times

for lack of restraint and
abusive use for force.

After that, the guy's perfect again.

He goes right back, four
more commendations,

one right from the mayor himself.

- You know, I think we have a match here.

I have his psych file.

He was tested after he got
shot, passed with flying colors

and then he was tested
again after he was treated

by Dr. Ralph kurland.

- For what?

- Possible psychological
repercussions resulting

from genetic azs.

But he passed that test too.

- What's azs?

- Yes, I'm familiar with this.

It came of course as the
result of an epididymal blockage.

Nothing at all to do with the lesion

to his left lateral, the g*nsh*t wound.

- What exactly is it?

The note in the file said genetic azs.

- Genetic azoospermia,
yes, low sperm count.

We tested him after his wound was healed

which was sop of any invasive groin injury.

We discovered the azoospermia as a result

and going back into his
family history discovered

it was genetic in nature.

He was predisposed to it.

- So what you're saying here is that

for the past nine years, officer defalco

has been sterile?

- No question.

- How'd he take it?

- Very well, he took it very well indeed.

- So he felt his manhood
had been taken from him.

Buries it.

Spends the next year tryin'
to prove that he's a man

by beatin' people up.

- And he marries Rita, he doesn't tell her

about his problem and he lets her think

that she's infertile.

- And she comes home,
tells him that he's pregnant

with his child and he knows
that that's not possible.

So he assumes, correctly, that it's Lyle's.

- Sounds good to me.

- Hey, Tom, cassy.

You two back on the job again?

Does this mean the investigation's over?

I sure hope so 'cause
I'm chompin' at the bit

to get back to work again.

- We have a motive, Tony.

Rita wasn't carryin' your baby.

The term azoospermia ring a bell to you?

- You wired?

No, I didn't think so.

You're too smart for that.

And it'd be inadmissible

since you couldn't prove probable cause

and make it stick anyway.

So where does that leave us?

- What, you think we're just gonna go away?

We just came by to let you
know that we know you did it

because, well, you just
couldn't get it up anymore.

- And I'm supposed to suddenly lunge at you

and scream I did for attacking my manhood.

Nice try.

- We're not attackin' it,

mother nature already did.

You know, it must be
really humiliating to know

a wimp like Lyle Phillips was
more of a man to your wife

than you were.

- I saw him in the morgue, Tony.

Had a nice hinge on him.

Must've been very belittling to you.

- You know, this is harassment.

And I can have you cited for this

and unlawful entry.

- The two words that Tony
defalco is never gonna hear.

Goodnight daddy.

- You bitch.

- Freeze, defalco!

- It's still my word against yours

and my word is harassment.

Mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Three to five minimum psych rehab.

I'll be out in months.

- Maybe, but you won't be a cop.

What are you thinkin' about?

A case?

- Yeah, sorta.

- What's sorta?

- I'm just thinkin' about
what it would've been like

if we had had kids.

Playin' ball with my son.

Keepin' the creeps away from my daughter.

Watchin' 'em grow up.

- You sorry?

- Sorry?

Yeah, maybe a little.

Hey but my life's not over yet, cass.

At least I don't have that
zoo thing defalco had.

- Zoo thing?

What are you talkin' about?

- You know what I'm talkin' about.

What about you?

You ever sorry that we didn't have kids?

- Of course I am.