08x21 - Noir (Part 1)

[bunniefuu]

- Detective Ryan, is that you?

- Yeah, Kevin.

- I haven't seen you around for a while.

Where you been, vacation?

Yeah, I just got back myself
two days ago. I hate vacations.

I always seem to come back
more tired than when I left.

- Palm beach, January th.
Memo to captain Harry lipschitz

from detective sergeant Tom Ryan.

Carbon copy internal affairs

and the palm beach district attorney.

Oh, hell, Harry.

I was always lousy at
confessions, even in church.

Do me a favor, call the
da and tell him that I did it.

I k*lled the guy.

Internal affairs will be
relieved to hear that.

It'll make it all nice and neat for them,

all wrapped up in a bow with pink ribbons.

One more thing, Harry.

There's another body lying
on a dirt road out in the keys.

I'm guilty of that one too.

♪ Oh, oh, oh

♪ oh, oh, oh

♪ Oh, oh, oh

♪ oh yeah

♪ Oh, oh, oh

♪ ow

- You know what's wrong
with us, Harry? We're cops.

And because we're cops,

we think we see things
in people that others don't.

You question a guy,
he can't meet your eyes,

you know he's guilty.

Sometimes all he has to do
is blink. You know that quick.

From the look in a perp's
eyes, I can tell what the lie

is gonna be before it crosses his lips.

That doesn't make me
a fool, does it, Harry?

All the signs were there. I
should've seen it coming.

I was just looking the other way.

You cold?

- Mhm.

- You want me to close the window?

- No.

- You washed your hair in flowers.

What is the name of that
plant that only blooms at night?

- It's Jasmine.

- Jasmine.

Jasmine, that's it.

She had eyes you could drown in.

You never seen a guy more
willing to surrender his life.

Virginia.

- You don't have to.

- Yes, I do.

It's been a long time.

I love you.

I love you.

Those words were hard for
me, but I never meant them more.

We spent that whole weekend making love,

talking about everything and nothing.

Stupid stuff like curtains,
picket fences, China patterns.

The kind of conversation I'd only had

once before in my life.

- We can't afford this.

- Well, we don't have to afford this.

I told you, it's my treat.

- Yes, so you did. Why?

- Lunch.

- Lunch is burrito king. We
haven't been here in ages.

- It hasn't been that long.

- Five years ago, new year's Eve.

- Five? - Yeah.

- Really?

- You weren't thinking too clear then.

- I remember.

- You do not.

- Yeah, I do.

- What was I wearing?

- You had on a deep blue dress,

and it had a collar with trim.

- Yeah, silver.

- Yes, that matched your stockings.

And you were beautiful.

- You always said that.

- And I always meant that.

- So what's the occasion?

- Nothing.

Well, you know, I'm
looking for a new place.

So I just thought if you saw something

that maybe you could tell me.

- You and Virginia?

- Yeah.

Well, you know, her place is furnished.

It's costing her a mint.
My place is too small.

So I just thought, you know,
that we could save on the rent.

That's not true.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

- Just say it.

- I can't.

You shouldn't be here, cass.

This is a conversation you
have with your best friend,

not your ex-wife.

- We got us both.

- Yeah.

- You want to feel better?

Well, I'm nervous as
hell. That's weird, huh?

- That's weird.

Well, I hope it's okay I told you.

- You haven't told me anything yet, but...

- Yeah.

- Go get married, buy a house, have kids.

Lose your shirt.

Let's eat.

- Right.

We'll take it.

No. No, we won't.

- Oh come on, this is great.
These are real hardwood floors.

Fireplace. We need this.

- Oh, yeah.

Fireplace in palm beach.
- That's real brick.

Well, hey, hurricane season
is right around the corner.

- Thank you, but it's just a little bit

out of our price range.

- You love this.

- I love you. We'll let you know.

- Hey.

When life looks like it
can only get brighter,

it never hits you that
it can only get darker.

We gotta go down to Jensen's.

It's right down the street. Come on.

You know that little guy, the
owner with the foreign accent?

He actually jumps up and
down on those sofas on live TV.

I'm telling you if you want
quality, we go down to Jensen's.

- We don't want quality. We want cheap.

- You're starting this
off with a bad attitude.

Okay, we need this.

- You're a very sick, sick man.

- Hey, you don't fish, you don't marry me.

- Oh really? A challenge?

- Well, unless you feel threatened by a man

who once caught a -pound bonefish.

- I don't know.

- What?

- Striped bass, pounds, two ounces.

- You've been holding out on me.

- I never said I told you everything.

- Geez.

- Okay, come on, let's hear it.

Bait, tackle, latitude, longitude.

- Okay. - Exact surf conditions.

- Okay, I took a fishing rod
and I just put it in the water.

- Oh, that's understandable.
It's beginner's luck.

- That is exactly what the boat man said

till I caught the marlin.

- No, that's great.

You know, those baby
marlins can put up quite a fight.

- Hey, watch out.

- Stay here.

- Where are you going?

- Freeze!

Freeze!

No, no!

- Tom, what's going on? What happened?

- Did you see a g*n?

Did anybody see a g*n?

- What have you done?

- He sh*t at you. How many
times did he sh**t, once?

- Twice.

- Into the air?

- Toward me. He was sh**ting at me.

You saw the man enter the store?

- I saw the man leave the store.

But inside the store,

you saw him steal something.

- No.

- thr*aten someone?

- No, i...

- but you knew he was committing a robbery.

- The guy comes out
of the store like the devil

is on his heels, flashes a w*apon.

It's a reasonable assumption.

- An assumption.

- That he had a g*n.

- So a man comes out of a store.

Something in his hands, maybe a g*n.

- No maybe.

- You assume he's a
thief, and you sh**t him.

- He fired first.

- If only there were b*ll*ts to prove that.

- Well, I told you that he sh*t wide,

so the b*ll*ts could be
anywhere within three blocks.

- Could be, but they're not.

- So bring forensics back in
and have someone stay there

till they find 'em.

- Want some?

- The store manager
says there was no robbery.

Just this guy running through the store.

- He had a g*n in his hand.

- The manager didn't see a
g*n. Neither did anyone else.

- Then he had a g*n under his jacket.

- No one saw it.

Maybe it was just a guy in a hurry.

- Ballard and burmeister? Come on, Harry.

- They're the best we got.

- Burmeister has been on
homicide for less than a year.

And Ballard? Talk about bias.

- She's a good cop.

- Oh, for god's sakes, Harry.
He sent her partner to jail.

- You want something to eat?
- Take your seat, sergeant.

Now.

I'm starving. What about Chinese?

We gonna be here all night?

Just relax.

- Now either we investigate
this using our own people,

or headquarters will send in theirs

so we have no control
over the investigation at all.

Which do you prefer, cassy?

- Captain, sergeant.

- Commissioner.

- Mind if I sit in?

Where was your girlfriend during all this?

- She was at the car.

- No, before when the man
came out of the doorway

when he knocked you down.

- Right there with me.

- She was beside you? Close
enough to see the suspect well?

- She saw the guy.

- But no g*n. It was in her statement.

- She couldn't see the g*n
because it was in his jacket.

- How long have you known miles Archer?

- Who?

- The guy you k*lled.

- What are you trying
to do to me, burmeister?

You trying to convict me? - Hey, sit down!

Sit down, Ryan! Sit down!

Sit down.

- They're not even listening to him.

We ask, you answer. You know the drill.

It's crap.

- Call it what you want. Just do it.

This girlfriend, you
two are engaged, right?

Known each other a long time?

- A few months.

- So this is a relatively new relationship.

- What has this got to do with it?

- An off-duty cop goes after
a presumed robbery suspect.

No robbery, no g*n. Suspect gets sh*t.

- Only the g*n turns out to be a shadow.

- Don't suppose you were
trying to impress your lady friend.

Show her what a brave guy you are.

- There were a couple of kids in the alley.

One of the them could have
lifted the w*apon, stole it.

-year-olds.

- Again, you're chasing
a guy down the street.

He runs into a driveway.

- I come around the corner.
He's already in the building.

You follow him. You have your g*n out.

- Yes.

Do you tell him to freeze?

- No, no time. No time.

He's already on the roof.

- So you go up after him.

- So I get up onto the roof.

The guy's already out on
the ledge. I tell him to freeze.

He fires. The sh*t goes wild.

I hit the deck. He fires
again, it goes wild again.

- You fire?

- Yes, I hit him in the right thigh.

It drives him backwards.
He's three feet from the ledge.

- You identify yourself?

- Yes.

- When? You tell him to freeze.

When did you tell him
you were a police officer?

On the sidewalk? In the hallway?

- You did identify
yourself as a police officer.

- He was f*ring at me.

- You didn't do it on the roof.

On the roof, you told him to freeze, right?

- Did you identify yourself?

- Freeze!

Freeze, freeze, freeze, freeze, freeze!

No!

- So when Archer saw you on
the roof waving your revolver,

he didn't know who you were.

He didn't see a cop. He
saw a man with a g*n.

A man who chased him
and put a b*llet in his leg.

And in his panic to get away,

he stumbled backward and fell to his death.

- He was f*ring at me. There was a g*n.

- We'll speak in the morning.

- How could I not identify myself?

That never, ever happened before.

No matter how many times I went over it,

it always came up the same.

He pulled a g*n and fired.

Freeze!

No!

- What have you done?

- Sorry.

- Oh, it's okay.

It's : A.M.

- I know, go back to bed. I'm fine.

- Tell me.

- It's just that man. I
just keep seeing his face.

His whole skull was caved in.

- How can you consider
sending this to the da?

You have an incomplete investigation.

- We're talking a preliminary hearing.

There's no rush to judgment here.

It's only to your benefit
that the public perceives you

as moving quickly and decisively.

- My benefit?
- The department does not want

to be perceived as
dragging its heels either.

- Excuse me, but it's never been my concern

how the department is perceived, okay?

Just tell the da he's gonna have to wait

for more evidence, all right?

It's a court. Tell them...

- if the family of the dead man sues,

there could be a civil
suit, a rather large one.

If the city shows its...

- family? What family?

Nobody has even shown
up here to claim the body.

You do this now, and I'm gonna fight you

all the way to the mayor.

- The mayor and I have
already discussed this.

He doesn't want a scandal,
especially in this precinct.

Two dirty cops in as many...

- wait a minute. Are you
saying this precinct is dirty?

- A poor choice of words.

- Yeah, very poor.

Tom Ryan is not Tony defalco,

but you wouldn't know that would, you know?

No, 'cause you weren't here two years ago.

You've been police
commissioner for now, what,

a whole eight months?

I have work to do.

You understand.

- So why didn't you take it?

- Take what?

- Early retirement.

- I like what I do.

- Or is it that you like
the way that you do it?

I mean, everything gets to be

the way Harry lipschitz likes it, hm?

It doesn't matter what the
police commissioner wants,

what the mayor says,
what the city council thinks.

Isn't that why you stayed on?

- Are you questioning
whether or not I'm a good cop?

- No, I'm questioning whether
you're an obedient cop.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.

I assume the least you will do

is put sergeant Ryan on suspension.

- I'll take it under advisement.

- I see. I understand, captain.

You have a lot to think about.

- It's just administrative leave. Routine.

Come on, you know that.

Look, take Virginia, go
away for a couple of days.

You give us time to sort
this whole thing out, all right?

Your g*n.

- Morton's got it.

- The other one.

Tom, you might want to get
rid of the one you have at home.

g*ns in the home, always a bad idea.

I never understood cops
who went home one night,

kissed their wives, tucked in their kids,

and then put a g*n to their heads.

Of course I'd never
been betrayed, humiliated,

and treated like a social pariah either.

Little things like that tend to
broaden your point of view.

Hey, what about g*nsh*t
residue? They test the guy's hands?

Of course, and they
found gsr on both hands.

Okay, so that proves it then.

That proves that the guy had
a g*n and that he sh*t at me.

- No, it proves he was in
the presence of gunpowder.

The brand was Winchester.
That's the same as yours.

You sh*t Archer in the leg,

so the powder on Archer's
body could have come from you.

- Okay, we need a copy of Morton's report.

We need a background check on Archer.

See if you can get somebody
in vice to run that on the qt.

Brenner, he owes us a favor.

- What are you doing?

- It's what I'm not doing, cassy.

I'm not gonna leave my future

in the hands of Ballard and burmeister.

- Excuse me? Did we not
all read the same rulebook?

- No, please. - Short memory?

No, let me run it down for you.

You investigate a crime
that isn't assigned to you,

you'll be reprimanded and suspended.

And you interfere in an ia investigation,

you're charged with obstruction.

If that interference harms
the case, you're terminated.

- Cassy. - That's not to mention

possible criminal charges, jail time.

- You and I put a cop in jail.

Ballard's partner, burmeister's friend.

You think they're staying up nights

trying to prove me innocent, huh?

- Just go home, Tom. Let Harry handle this.

- Harry? Come on.

What, do you think Harry
is gonna break the law?

- Oh, is that what you're gonna do?

- I don't know. You gonna turn me in?

- Go home.

- Home, it's the place you go

where no matter what you've
done, they have to take you in.

Unless, of course, there's no one there.

My old man said the way
you tell a winner from a loser,

winner knows when he's hit rock bottom,

loser doesn't have one.

Me and rock bottom, we're
about to become good friends.

Good evening, Irish.

- Evening, Tom. No
rest for the wicked, huh?

- Not for the likes of us, huh?

- That's right. That's right.

So what's your pleasure?

- Branford case. I got a new lead.

I just wanted to confirm some evidence.

- Put your John hancock right there,

and the shop's all yours.

Oh geez, my tea. I must have forgot it.

Hold the fort, will you?

- The g*n. A man has to have
a reason for carrying a g*n.

What was miles Archer's reason?

They say you can tell a lot
about a man from his clothes.

What you find in them
can tell you even more.

Hey, is that your coupon?

- Yeah, sure. Key largo taxi, that's me.

What? You don't think I
look like Humphrey bogart?

- No, not really.

You ever seen this guy?

- Maybe. I don't know.

Look, you want to take
a tour around the keys?

Maybe you like to swim, scuba dive.

- No. No, thanks.

- Oh, you're a gambling man, right?

I take you to the casino.

- There's a casino out there?

- Yeah, out there on the island, key largo.

- International waters. Is that
where you take most people?

- Yeah, climb in. I'll take you right now.

- It took some digging, but
we have a profile on the victim.

Miles Archer was a sales
rep for toole and diop.

They're headquartered in tampa.

He moved here about three years ago.

Good, steady job, no priors,

no reason to expect he would Rob somebody.

- The guy was just a
salesman in a hurry, captain.

Ryan was seeing things.

- Archer was wearing a
wedding ring? So where's the wife.

If Archer was so clean,
why isn't the wife here

filing a wrongful death suit?

- We checked out the apartment.

Neighbors said that they were newlyweds.

About three months
ago, they had a big fight.

She packed up and left.
Neighbor hasn't seen her since.

- Check for a g*n license?

- If he had one, he
bought it on the street. If.

- What about Archer's finances,

stock portfolios, insurance policies?

There was a life
insurance policy, $ , .

Had it for years.

Well, who's the beneficiary?

The wife.

- And why aren't you out
tracking down the wife?

- Who cares about the wife?

Whatever their relationship
was, it doesn't matter.

She didn't k*ll him. Ryan did.

You want us to file?

- No, I want you to keep
looking. Find the loose threads.

- There aren't any, captain.

The investigation is complete
whether we like it or not.

- We?

- You.

- When a detective feels that
her case is being obstructed,

that detective has the
recourse to bring those beliefs

to the next highest authority.

Is that what you feel is being done here?

Because if it is, you must
avail yourself of that recourse.

You must.

Or do you just have the guts to thr*aten?

- We'll keep looking.

- Something wrong?

- No, I'm fine.

You're sitting back on your ass

while a member of our
department gets railroaded.

But you wouldn't call
that wrong, would you?

No, Tom Ryan, he's fair game, huh?

- You think this is about defalco.

- It's not?

- You send a cop to prison,
that's a death sentence,

but we're not supposed to think about that.

We're supposed to go by the book.

You didn't think about defalco ending up

with a shiv in his back, did you?

If the sh**ting was justified, fine.

If it's not, and the
evidence says it's not,

don't expect me to bleed for Tom Ryan.

Most guys travel to get
away from their troubles.

They put their wife, dog, and . kids

into the station wagon
and go see old faithful.

Some guys don't have that luxury.

Trouble follows them
around like a hungry dog

waiting for scraps.

And other guys, well,
they knock on trouble's door

and ask if there's a vacancy.

Hit, hit, hit.

No, stay, stay.

- Double down. - Hold, hold, hold, hold!

- No, no, no, no! - Double down.

Don't split those. Don't split two s.

- No! - What are you doing?

- Hey, you a guest?

- I'm just checking the place out.

- Well, the upper floors
are for registered guests

and staff only.

You might want to confine
yourself to the first floor.

- And if I want to become
a registered guest?

- There's a rate card at the front desk.

You might want to study that
before you make a commitment.

Two sh*ts of Tequila.

Hit me, hit me.

There you go. Keep rolling.

There you go. Keep rolling.

- Good cut. - Nice.

Chips coming.

Tough six. Tough six.

One more time.

- Good job. - There you go.

You got 'em on track, on track.

- You grow up Irish, you
learn a few things about luck.

Like it's never gonna be
there when you need it.

So if you plan on needing it,

you better learn to make your own.

There you go. Keep
it rolling, there you go.

There you go. You got
'em on track, on track.

Come on.

- You got a minute?

- Why?

- Mr. Mundson would like to see you now.

- Cash me out.

That's for you.

Just a little bit more.
Just one more minute.

- You're very good.

- Thank you.

- Normally, I'd have
you thrown off the island.

- Why don't you then?

- I'm thinking it over.

Is this what you do for a living?

- No. No, I'm a cop.

- May I?

- Well, I'm on vacation. A long one.

I could use a job.

- We're full up.

- Can't trust your security.

- I have security. You've met Sidney.

- Oh, well, if you got Sidney.

I'm sure he told you
about the security camera,

the one that's tilted to
avoid table number seven.

Dealer's been skimming from the house.

And you might want to
have a talk with the pit boss.

He's still missing those two
guys that are running systems

right under his nose.

Your bartender, now
that's a nice little scam.

He and the waitress are
overcharging for drinks,

pocketing the difference.

But you got Sidney, so I'm
sure he told you everything.

Haven't you, Sidney?

- Impressive, but I'm not in the market.

You did more than just a little

innocent counting downstairs, Mr. Ryan.

And if you'll cheat me as a customer,

you'll cheat me as an employee.

Avail yourself of the
facilities. Just play straight.

Even with cops, my
hospitality only goes so far.

- Hey, pal, watch your step.

- Excuse me.

Two sh*ts of Tequila.

- I'll take a coke, please.

You're dancing up a storm, baby.

You can really dance.

What you got on there?

- Yeah. - Woo!

Yeah. Yeah.

There's a hard eight.

A little bit more. Just one more minute.

- You better sit this one out.

- Who are you? Who the hell is this guy?

- Dance monitor. You want to argue?

- Tom, what are you doing here?

- Is this where you go fishing?

- Sometimes.

- Yeah, well, you're over your limit.

You better throw that one back.

What the hell's wrong with you?

You like to catch 'em,
you like to reel 'em in,

but you don't like to stick
around to see 'em gutted?

- I tried, and I couldn't do it, so I left.

- Oh, it's that easy, is it?

It gets tough, you just leave the guy there

to choke on his own blood?

- Why did you follow me here?

- I didn't follow you here.

- You're a liar.

- Why couldn't you? Why?

- You k*lled a man when he was defenseless,

and you k*lled both of us too.

Sidney!

- Okay, just back away. Back away.

Hey, tough guy, that
badge of yours still no good?

- Yeah, for the time being.

- You'll be all right.
Come on, get up, get up.

You'll be all right. Stand up.

Here, take care of
that. You'll be all right.

We'll put you in your room now. Come on.

She was lying, of course,

but even her lies had a strange beauty.

They spilled out of her mouth
like diamonds, so genuine

a man would have to be
crazy not to buy every word.

I was crazy, all right.

But I wanted the truth,
and I was gonna get it,

even if it k*lled both of us.

Next on "silk stalkings."

- You're covering his ass.

- I'm asking for proof.

- You're doing something
that if any of us tried the same,

you'd kick our butts right off the force.

- God, everything, everything
has been a lie, hasn't it?

- Get out of here, Ryan!

- Relax. Now relax.

- We have to find something
to throw in front of the ia

to slow them down.

- This is a hell of a way to end a career.

- Police! - Police!

- You supposed to get
a confession out of me?

What, are you wearing a wire?

Look, do you have a wire on?
- Don't touch me!

Get away! - Don't touch me!

- Don't touch me!

♪ Oh, oh, oh

♪ oh, oh, oh

♪ mm, mm, mm, oh

(Upbeat