01x12 - Homecoming

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Battle Creek...

Katrina: Are you saying my husband, he could die?

Oh, my head hurts.

(exhales)

Ask her out. It's not that hard.

Hey, Holly?

Yeah, Russ.

Have a... have... have a great vacation.

A girl can only wait so long.

Wh...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Shut up.

(whistling)

My brother from another mother.

Yeah.

Hey, guys. Thanks for doing that.

How you doing, man? You having a good day?

Hey, Milt's assistant. How you doing?

Oh, sorry!

That's...

Good morning.

How you doing?

Oh. I'm fine. Yeah.

I just wanted to say I'm-I'm really sorry about last night.

Sorry? You don't have to apologize for that.

I feel like I do. I practically att*cked you.

Yeah, but in a good way.

I just don't want you to feel like you have to act any differently around me or that it changes our friendship in any way.

It was no big deal.

Yeah, yeah. No.

(clears throat)

Of course.

Yeah, well, we got Milt's mail again.

So I'm gonna run that across the hall.

Yeah.

See you soon.

(sighs)

Oh. Man of the hour.

Aw.

How you feeling, man?

Welcome back.

Thank you. Can't go swimming for a month and, uh, got welcomed back with an impossible case.

Mm. Font got a John Doe.

John Doe?

This is more like shredded clothes with a pile of meat inside, all right?

Hell of a way to say thanks for taking a spear through the head.

Any of you guys want to commit su1c1de, hang yourselves, cut your wrists. Do not step in front of a moving train.

Hey, Jacocks, uh, you play softball with the guys in patrol. Maybe you could get them to...

I'm not taking your case, Font.

I could've d*ed a couple weeks ago.

And if you had, I'd take it.

But since the only reason why you want to dump this case is so you don't miss the football game Friday, the answer's no.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

What-what football game?

What? Seriously, Russ?

It's rivalry week.

Valley versus Lakeview.

How could I forget? It's the annual "let's all pretend we're still in high school" week.

Why anyone would still want to go through...

Hey. You see this? This ain't pretend, son.

Lakeview High till we die.

Ugh. Ugh. No, no, no.

Valley for life.

Thank you. Oh...

Thank you.

Get ready to wear my jersey again.

No.

We're actually good this year.

Roll Thunder.

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, well, Miss Roll Thunder, I'm gonna take the week off.

No, you're not.

And there may not be a game.

Head Coach Richard Zuransky's body was discovered this morning in his office at Valley High.

Zuransky? I mean, everyone loved Zuransky.

Deductive reasoning tells me that at least one person didn't.

I'd like to take this one, if you don't mind.

Milt's got lead.

The mayor called.

Zuransky's a local icon.

He felt more comfortable.

Are you serious?

Mm-hmm.

The mayor assigns a case to-to Milt, who's not a local? Who has no idea who the victim is?

Oh, that's brilliant.

Why don't you head on over to the high school and assist Milt in looking into the coach's football life.

Font, Funkhauser, you guys inform his wife and then start looking into his personal life.

This is unbelievable.

(door closes)

Janitor found him just like this this morning when he opened up the offices.

He never got up from his desk, which means that he probably knew his k*ller.

Oh, and, by the way, congratulations.

Why the hell are you congratulating me?

You and Holly.

What about me and Holly?

Come on, Russ. I know.

I saw you two outside my office this morning.

I could tell that something was different.

Puncture wounds and... lacerations, all different sizes and depths.

Not sharp enough for a Kn*fe or dull enough for a hammer.

So the m*rder w*apon wasn't really a w*apon.

And clearly you know nothing about me and Holly 'cause you're wrong.

k*ller must've improvised.

I don't know.

And I have a sixth sense about these things.

I can tell when two people have... you know.

No, I don't know.

Crossed the crime scene tape.

Unholstered your weapons.

Buried the evidence.

Yeah.

Cute. I got it. Hey, you know what, look at this.

Check out this rack of trophies.

Now... check out the lack of trophy.

Third one from the right.

It's in the photo, but...

I don't see it in the room.

That's a good call.

Russ, why are you denying that you and Holly were involved in a 237?

Excuse me?

Huh?

Officer down.

It didn't happen.

♪ I might be gone right now ♪
♪ Check me out tomorrow ♪
♪ Eyes don't see when they're open ♪
♪ Please remind me to speak ♪
♪ I have fallen from the steepest mountain ♪
♪ Broken heart, you think ♪
♪ It's just you ♪
♪ So please forgive me ♪
♪ I'm lost to be found ♪
♪ I'm lost to be found ♪

This must be nostalgic for you... you spent important formative years here on campus.

Oh, enough.

This is about work.

What?

That's all this is about. No, it's not some opportunity for you to try to get to know me better, peel back my onion...

Woman: Russ.

Hey.

When I woke up this morning, I thought I'd be launching Spirit Week, not lining up grief counselors.

Not in the principal's manual, is it?

(sighs)

It's good to see you, Russ.

It's good to see you, too, Lydia.

Special Agent Milton Chamberlain.

And forgive me for being the third wheel here.

Sorry, it's just we haven't spoken since...

Uh, actually, we came by to... talk to Phil... we figured he knew Zuransky better than anybody.

Could you hang back just for a few minutes?

He's breaking the news to the team right now.

Sure.

And could you do me a favor?

Just... soften the edges a little bit.

Remember, this is a school with kids.

Who, me?

I'm a teddy bear.

Hmm.

Yeah, right.

Just... play nice.

You dog.

You had sex with her, too, didn't you?

(chuckles)

Font, when you were out, like, in that coma, was there a light?

I wasn't dead, Funkhauser.

I know. But you were close there for a minute.

Was... no angels? No harp music?

Yeah, I saw your grandfather.

He told me to tell you to stop asking stupid questions.

And to cut down on your cholesterol.

My grandfather's still alive.

So was I.

(knocking)

There was just nothing.

I mean, I was in Milt's car, then I was in a hospital bed.

I didn't realize till Katrina told me that an entire day had passed by in between. It was... like I didn't exist for a whole day.

I guess that's what being dead is... nothing.

Mrs. Zuransky? I'm afraid we have some bad news.

For Coach!

All: For Coach!

All right, get out of here.

(indistinct chatter)

Wally...

I know, man, okay?

Everything's gonna be all right.

Yo, Dunaway!

Ah!

Agnew.

I almost didn't recognize you without the mullet.

That's a good one.

I almost didn't recognize you without my fist in your face.

Good one.

You think it's appropriate?

Ah, maybe not.

But neither is making those kids play on Friday night using m*rder as a motivation.

Yeah, I told 'em I was gonna cancel the game.

Team voted to play.

Said that's what Coach would've wanted.

Oh. And you get to decide that because you're the new head coach?

Wow, that's a pretty big promotion for a ham and egger like yourself.

Wait, are you... are you accusing me of this?

Hell, I loved that guy.

The old man only had one or two more years before his retirement; his job would have been mine soon enough.

I didn't want it this way.

I'm Milt Chamberlain of the FBI.

We don't mean to accuse you of anything.

We're just wondering if Coach Zuransky had any conflicts that you were aware of.

Only one.

With T.D. E.D.

T.D. E.D.?

Touchdown Eddie Diamond.

Duncan.

Whatever.

Something is really wrong with that boy.

You dealt with him personally?

He would show up at the house in the middle of the night, screaming outside our window that my husband had to give him his job back.

He's the best player to ever come out of Valley.

He won us our only state championship, about 12 years ago, then he flamed out in college.

You know, went from being the town hero to village idiot.

Did he ever thr*aten v*olence?

He didn't have to.

I mean... what sane person screams outside somebody's window at 2:00 in the morning?

Coach took pity on him, hired him as an equipment manager.

Eddie couldn't even do that right.

He started screaming at the players.

He even punched a kid a few weeks back.

Uh, Coach had no choice but to let him go.

Mrs. Zuransky: He would go outside and put his arm around Eddie, talk to him, calm him down.

He was... (laughs) always loyal to his players, no matter what.

Can you pull out one of those annoying office forms?

Uh, 289B?

Sure, no problem.

Um...

Wait, 289B?

Mm-hmm.

This is to report an interoffice romance.

I know.

Who are you involved with?

Everyone here is married.

Not Russ.

You and Russ?

Yeah.

Last night in the evidence locker, he really...

Oh, no.

That wasn't me. That was you.

You need the 289B.

Okay, how do you even know about that?

I had two cans of spray paint I needed to file into evidence.

Don't worry, I was only in there a couple of minutes.

Minutes?

Don't freak out.

Your secret's safe if you guys aren't ready to go public yet.

We're definitely not going public because it didn't mean anything.

It looked like it meant something to me.

Were those tears in your eyes?

Okay, look, the only reason I even threw myself at Russ was because I needed one night of simple, no strings attached...

Look, I get it.

You're protecting yourself because you think Russ is gonna screw it up and you don't... you don't want to get hurt.

But Russ has wanted this for so long, I think you should give him a chance.

He just might get it right.

Why'd you go after that assistant coach so hard?

Seems a bit of a stretch to think that he k*lled a guy for a promotion.

Yeah, well... he was a jerk back in high school, which means he's a jerk today.

'Cause nothing... ever changes.

You hold a grudge for 20 years, something must have happened.

I don't hold grudges, I hold information, Milt.

You know, Dunaway...

He used to think it was cool to torment the little guy.

I told him I thought it'd be cooler if he picked on someone his own size, so he shoved me, I knocked him out.

Well, it sounds like you won, so you could afford to be magnanimous.

Yeah.

I got kicked out of school for a week.

But they weren't gonna suspend him... no, no, no, no.

He was a high school quarterback.

He threw for five TD passes that night.

High school sports, it teaches you hypocrisy and entitlement.

It does sound like you were the aggressor.

You taking his side?

Oh, yeah, no, I get it.

You were a high school quarterback, too.

No, I was a bowler.

There was no football in Tehran or Monaco, so I played cricket.

And athletes don't just get things handed to them, they work hard. They practice 20 hours a week.

You know... you might not have ever played the game, but you're still living that QB lifestyle, Milt.

Yeah, instead of a jersey, you-you wear a badge and you got your car and your stupid haircut and you get the mayor to call you and assign you the leads on cases that you don't know anything about, because nothing ever changes.

And who were you in high school, Russ?

Huh? Judd Nelson, class tough guy?

Skate punk?

Auto shop?

Glee club?

Font: When was the last time you saw your son?

I don't know, a couple of days ago. He comes and goes.

Funkhauser: We heard he was going through a hard time.

You could say that. When he was a kid, everyone in town wanted his autograph, but when he wasn't a football player anymore, they wanted nothing to do with him.

You notice any changes in his behavior recently?

He become agitated?

His behavior changed when he was cut from his college team.

He, uh, came home after his freshman year.

He was different.

How different?

What's this really about?

The coach?

You think Eddie k*lled him?

Did you know he's been showing up outside Coach Zuransky's house in the middle of the night?

When he goes away for a few days, do you know where he goes?

Here and there.

But he always ends up at Gilroy's.

Yeah, Eddie was here last night.

Did he stay till closing?

No, he left around 10:00. Why?

Just trying to establish a timeline.

Timeline?

Is this about Coach Zuransky? You guys think Eddie did that?

Too early to point any fingers.

You know, he was a bit agitated last night.

Was going on about getting fired from that job, how it's so unfair...

(train horn blowing, bottles rattling)

Sorry, we back up onto the railroad track.

How far are we from the Harpers Lane Crossing?

Uh, not too far. Couple miles up the road.

That's walking distance.

Thank you.

I think I just I.D.'d my John Doe.

Solved two cases at once.

Font: So here's my thinking.

Eddie goes to the Coach's office to ask for his old job back.

Coach says no, Eddie forgets everything he learned in anger management class and grabs the nearest trophy.

Where's Milt?

He's upstairs.

Why?

Maybe he wants to hear your line of thinking.

Maybe you just want to stare at his ass.

I'm not getting Milt until I know I'm right.

You're definitely right. Time to get Milt.

You haven't heard the rest of my theory.

I'm sure it's brilliant. Milt time.

So Eddie's freaked out, right?

And he decides he's gonna walk over to his favorite bar, calm down, have a couple of drinks.

But then guilt takes over.

And at 10:55 he makes an infinite walk down the tracks.

Damn.

What? E-Eddie's not my John Doe?

Eddie is your John Doe, but based on rectal temperature, decomp, and stomach contents, the coach here didn't die until at least two hours after that.

Oh.

At least I solved one case.

Yeah. Great news for you.

But we still have a m*rder*r out there and I'm still Miltless.

Nothing like coffee and donuts and telling a guy his son's dead.

So our only suspect is no longer a suspect.

Means we got squat.

Or maybe we're just looking in the wrong place.

We got a coach and his star player that die hours apart.

You think it's just some sort of coincidence?

What if we're investigating one m*rder and we should be investigating two?

According to the train engineer, it was clearly a su1c1de.

He just stood on the tracks despite the horn.

Eddie was definitely not m*rder*d.

Uh, Coach's wife said that Coach and Eddie were part of an anger management group, so even if Eddie didn't do it, doesn't mean that, uh, somebody else with anger problems didn't.

I don't think it's that.

Coach Zuransky benched his star quarterback after he threw three interceptions in last Friday night's game.

You went to Friday night's game?

Who'd you go with?

I go to every game, along with about a hundred other Valley High alum who don't think football is stupid.

Okay, Holly, uh, please, go ahead.

It was a really big game against Harper Creek... there were college scouts in the stands, so I'm sure Wally Stanton...

That's the quarterback... was pretty angry to not have a chance to redeem himself in the second half.

An angry athlete taken out of the spotlight, possibly losing his dream of playing college ball.

That's a, that's a solid motive.

Milt, you were a quarterback, right?

I...

Well, no, Milt wasn't a quarterback.

Why would you assume that?

I did compete in high school athletics, yes.

Yeah, maybe you could talk to him.

Right? Like, relate to him on that level, get him to open up.

That's a great idea.

Good.

So, you threw three interceptions.

It happens.

It was the worst game of my life.

I threw five once.

My senior year.

But the coach still kept me in.

Told me to play through it.

Said that the team trusted me, and he didn't want to undermine me as their leader.

Well, I'm not a leader.

Not anymore.

Well, it would've made me pretty angry.

Getting undercut like that in front of all my teammates?

In front of all those scouts?

I wasn't angry at all.

Because... I threw those three interceptions on purpose.

I didn't want the scouts to think I was any good, 'cause I don't want to play college football.

That's a lot of hours to put into something you don't want.

It's not what I want.

It's what my father wants.

He wants me to be a quarterback at his alma mater, but they don't even have a pre-med program.

So, y-you tanked the game?

Wouldn't it have been easier just to tell your old man the truth?

My dad? No way. If I ever told him the truth, he'd probably k*ll me.

They said the FBI was here.

What's this about?

Agent Milton Chamberlain.

How are you?

I just spoke with your son over at the high school.

And I heard that you were pretty upset about the... game last Friday night, which led me to finding this video.

Whoa. You don't think...?

Why don't you tell me what I should think?

I'm not guilty of m*rder.

You can see in the video I don't get violent.

You have every right to expect more from the coach.

Your son's his star.

And you? You gave more money than anyone to the football program.

Look... football was good to me, okay?

I played for Valley.

Coach Zuransky was my coach.

He helped make me what I am today.

Frankly?

I was happy to subsidize the measly salary the school paid him.

Wait a second... are you telling me that the coach took money from the football program's fund to supplement his own income?

That's not legal.

Could've gone up his nose for all I care.

He was a good coach.

And that's all I gave a damn about.

Okay.

Thank you.

Oh, and... you should talk your son.

Whatever you're doing can wait. Holly's getting ready to leave.

You just hung up on someone with a serious anger management problem.

You'll call them back. After you walk Holly out.

And why would I do that?

Because that's what civilized people do after engaging in carnal relations.

She told you?

No, the mole on your butt told me.

Next time pick someplace private.

Well, there's not gonna be a next time.

She said that she wants to keep things the same between us.

And you believe her?

She tell you something different?

She didn't have to.

I know what she's doing because I've pulled the same move myself.

She's being a lady.

She's letting you off the hook because she thinks that that's what you want.

But the gentlemanly thing to do is to not let her let you off the hook.

Go, catch her.

Ask her to a proper dinner tonight.

Hey, Holl?

Hey.

Hey.

Are you heading out?

Yeah.

I know you were saying the other morning about, uh, about us just being friends.

But I don't know.

I don't think it's such a bad idea if things would... be a little bit different, you know?

I mean, we could... at least have dinner together sometime?

I don't want that.

I mean, I do want... that.

I want that a lot.

But it won't last.

L-Look, I-I know sometimes I screw things up.

It's just, it's kind of...

No. No, it's... it's not that.

I found out the other night after... us that I got into law school.

Wow. Uh... congratulations.

Yeah.

It's in Indiana.

So, I didn't let you off the hook to be polite.

I let you off the hook 'cause I'm leaving.

I'm giving Guz my notice.

(sighs)

I think it would be a mistake to start anything.

Think if we just stay friends, it'll hurt a lot less when I leave.

It'll be easier this way.

Yeah.

Makes sense.

So, I also checked with Principal Conrad, and it turns out that the quarterback's dad was telling the truth.

Uh, she looked into the football team's booster account and found that none of the money raised was actually spent on the program.

So, Coach Zuransky was diverting funds.

Well, none of the money was ever transferred from the booster account into his personal account.

But I did find a series of ATM withdrawals, starting over the summer and ending just before the coach was k*lled, that amounted to over $8,000.

Maybe the coach had, uh, gambling debts.

Or got mixed up in dr*gs.

No way, not Zuransky. Come on.

(gasps)

Funkhauser: Two cakes in one week?

This is the greatest job in the history of jobs!

Oh, what's the occasion?

She is.

Jacocks: Holly?

I thought your birthday was May 15.

It is. Yeah, uh, Russ, what are you doing?

Just, uh, sharing the good news.

Holly got accepted to law school.

Hey!

That's awesome!

Congratulations!

Congrats, girl.

Hey.

(indistinct chatter)

That's...

Uh, Russ, you know I hadn't given my notice yet.

Yeah, I guess I'd forgotten.

Yeah, I-I just kind of...

I wanted to talk to everybody myself.

Yeah, well, now you don't have to.

It's easier this way.

What?

I'm happy for her, all right?

Hey, maybe Coach Zuransky was keeping a girlfriend.

That's expensive... you got to rent the apartment, set up cable and phone.

Then they want a car.

No. No, I'm not.

(laughs)

I think that we should talk to Zuransky's wife one more time.

See what she knows about the money.

Russ, come on.

Well, it's really good to see you again, Mrs. Z.

I'm just sorry it had to be under such awful circumstances.

I didn't realize you two knew each other.

My husband wasn't the only one who taught at Valley High.

I was an English teacher for nearly 30 years.

Taught Russell here.

Um, we need to ask you a few questions about your husband.

Turned out, he was taking quite a bit of money out of the football program.

Do you have any idea what he'd do with it?

No, I never knew anything about that.

Did he make any large purchases recently?

Surprise you with a diamond, a new car?

Was he supporting anyone financially?

Maybe took on a-a second apartment?

Not that I know of.

Did he gamble?

Richard? Never.

He abhorred the whole idea of it.

He would go on and on about how gambling runs counter to the whole idea of sport.

It's okay to lose as long as you played with honor.

Right, Russell?

Like in that poem you once wrote about honor.

I... I-I wrote a poem about honor?

Well, superficially, it was about your pet bird.

What was his name again?

Ch-Charlie.

So that's what you were in high school... the poet.

No. No, I wasn't the poet.

Russell was such a sensitive young man, wrote free verse that reminded me of Whitman.

Although he would always try and shock me by using explicit descriptions of women's...

I-I really don't think that Milt wants to hear any of that.

No, I would love to hear about the depths of your soul.

Stick to the conversation In fact, I would love to read any of Russell's words, if... at hand, the case.

It's possible I still have some.

I make a point of saving my most gifted students' work.

No, that's okay, y-you really...

Okay.

Russ: You don't have to do that.

No, that'd be great. Thank you.

(cell phone buzzes)

Oh, I got a text from Principal Conrad.

Did you write any poems about her or her lady parts?

That's funny; will you just shut up and read it to me, please?

Somebody made a cash withdrawal from Coach Zuransky's booster account this morning.

Thanks for your help.

Anything?

Put that anger management lead to bed.

All the people in that group have rock-solid alibis.

Yeah, same with the QB's dad.

He literally lives at work.

Really?

Literally "literally"?

Yeah.

He got divorced, never bothered getting an apartment 'cause he had a hundred beds he could sleep on.

Video surveillance showed him spooning a body pillow the night Coach was k*lled.

I printed this out for you.

It's a list of miracles confirmed by the Vatican.

Uh...

Thanks?

When we spoke last, you said something about death then there was nothing.

I haven't slept since you said that.

Why do you care what I believe?

If we die, and there's nothing, no loved ones, no Shaylene, I can't live like that.

I just need to know there's more out there.

Would you feel better if I lied to you?

No, I'd feel better if you read the article.

Maybe you'll reconsider what you experienced.

Fine.

In the meantime, if I see Jesus in my French toast, I'll keep you posted.

Okay.

The ATM cams are all digital now, but I'm having our I.T. guy download the footage so you can keep it as evidence.

I'll go grab it now.

Okay, thank you.

(cell phone buzzes)

(chuckles)

What?

Oh, Lydia again.

We had coffee this morning.

For what?

Just to talk about the case and you.

She confirmed that you were high school sweethearts.

Congratulations.

Oh, and she said that you two both planned on going to the University of Michigan and getting a place together.

That's a big step for young kids.

Yeah, well, didn't work out.

Yeah, I know, because you didn't get in.

No shame... it's a numbers game.

I'm sure your poetry was just as good as any other applicant's.

Oh, and she said that you two stayed in a long-distance relationship for about a year.

So maybe, I don't know, you and Holly might...

Long-distance relationships don't work out, Milt.

Absence, it makes the heart grow fonder... of someone else.

Got your footage.

I really hope this helps you catch whoever did this to Coach Zuransky.

That's my sixth sense.

I can tell when someone's dirty.

Hello?

You know, I've got a game to coach.

How long you planning on holding me?

Well... you can get life for m*rder, so, um... life-long?

I didn't k*ll anyone.

Sit down.

Sit down.

If you didn't k*ll anyone, then what'd you do with all the money that you stole from the football program?

I didn't steal it.

I had legitimate access to that account.

Yet, you felt the need to withdraw the money as cash to do something illegitimate.

What's your vice, Phil?

dr*gs and hookers?

Gambling?

No, you don't want to tell me.

Eh, it doesn't really matter.

You know what matters?

It matters that you were doing something that you didn't want to get caught doing, and Zuransky, he caught you doing it, and he was gonna blow the whistle.

No.

So you grabbed the nearest trophy off the shelf, and you caved his head in.

Mm?

(chuckles)

Ah, I shouldn't be surprised.

You were a terrible student.

Why would you be a good detective?

Good enough to find proof of embezzlement.

Good enough to keep your pasty ass sitting in that chair until long after the game is over.

Then Valley loses and the whole town hates you.

You think I give a rat's ass who hates me?!

I wasn't using it for dr*gs or hookers or anything like that.

Okay?

I was buying grades.

And that cost you eight grand?

Well, y-you know how strict Zuransky was.

I mean, he would suspend players or kick them off the team if they didn't keep their GPAs up.

That's why we were losing.

I-I just wanted to win.

Fixing grades may not be moral, but I'm pretty sure it's not against the law.

You know, it's nice that you rationalized all of this.

But it doesn't change the fact that Zuransky still could have caught you doing it and that you needed to shut him up.

Over what?

An academic scandal?

(scoffs)

In high school?

The worst I would get would be a slap on the wrist.

It was no big deal, Russ.

I was getting "D"s up to "C"s.

Go.

(marching band plays dirge)

(music ends)

Big thanks to the band.

And thanks to everyone for showing up tonight.

I know it's been an emotional week for all of us.

We lost two legendary members of our football family.

Richard Zuransky was the head football coach at this school for over 30 years.

He was my coach.

Where's your school colors?

Working.

Hmm.

Dunaway: pacing up and down the sidelines...

During our investigation, we found out that Dunaway was stealing money from the school booster fund and paying for grades.

I know you've never really liked him, but...

I've got several teachers that will confirmed that.

Look, you have... you have football players that don't deserve to be on the field.

You got a-a coach that definitely should not be on the sideline.

Could you do me a favor, Russ?

Could you not give me that folder?

At least not yet.

You really want a bunch of cheaters representing your school?

If Valley wins this game, we'll go through to the regional play-offs.

This is the most excitement our school has seen in almost ten years.

It's only a game, Lydia.

Right now, with what's happened... the kids really need this game.

Mrs. Zuransky: Thank you, Phil, for your kind words.

My husband loved nothing more than this school.

And that field.

And Friday nights!

(laughter)

So... that the guy I lost out to?

The guy in Ann Arbor? Hmm?

It's funny, I... pictured him to be a little bit bigger.

I met him long after you and I had broken up.

And that's not how I remember it.

You didn't lose out to anybody, Russ.

Our relationship didn't fall apart because of distance.

We fell apart because we were too busy fighting for other things.

And we both got those things.

Maybe if we'd fought for each other...

Dunaway: Eddie Duncan's father, Larry, to say a few words.

Larry: Thank you, Coach.

Football was one of the great successes in my son's life.

He also had some struggles.

When I... found out he passed that night...

The last thing any parent wants to do...

I gotta go.

Larry: is outlive their child.

Russ: Excuse me. Excuse me.

And seeing you all here tonight...

When Larry Duncan made his speech at the bonfire, he talked about how he felt the night he found out his son had passed.

He said "that night".

But I didn't notify him about Eddie's su1c1de until after Meredith confirmed the I.D. at the morgue, the next morning.

Well, he could have been talking about the night his son d*ed, not the morning he found out.

Or he found out about Eddie's su1c1de because...

Dash cam footage from the night Eddie Duncan decided he was gonna try and tackle a train.

Font: You were at the train tracks that night.

You saw your son's mutilated body and you snapped.

No. You told me.

I mean, until then, I just thought he was just out on one of his...

Please stop lying.

We have video of you at the train tracks.

And you hated Coach Zuransky.

He fired your son from his job.

The one that kept him around football, the only thing that made him happy.

Hey, football didn't make him happy; football made him crazy.

Made him crazy?

How?

Back in high school, Eddie wasn't just a football star, he was a smart kid.

Smart as a whip.

I was so glad that football was going to pay for his college, 'cause he would... he would take that education and he would do something with it.

But then... he got knocked out catching a pass over the middle.

And I remember the way he was laying there at mid-field, his hands reaching up in the air towards nothing.

Yeah, I-I remember that game.

I was there.

Yeah.

Coach Zuransky, he, uh, gave him some smelling salts and put him right back in.

Couple of games later, it happened again.

Then again.

I begged Coach, just... give him a rest, but he said that Eddie was just "getting his bell rung."

You saw signs that Eddie's mind was being affected all the way back in high school?

Said he couldn't remember things.

Then he started seeing... (sighs) lights and hearing bells.

So I told him he had to hang his cleats up.

But Coach Zuransky told him that he would be letting his team down.

And all Eddie wanted to do was please his coach.

He said... that he would move out if I didn't let him play, so...

I mean, I know I should've...

Tell me what happened the night of the train accident.

I... went to pick Eddie up at Gilroy's bar, 'cause... that's what I did every night before I went to bed.

When they said he left, I drove around looking for him.

And I saw the train.

And all those lights...

I just knew.

And Coach Zuransky sending my son back into those games was all I could think about.

He k*lled my boy.

Roll thunder!

(whoops, speaks indistinctly)

(whooping, cheering)

Hey, hey. Hey, hey.

(whistling)

Working over here.

Well, will you... come on!

Valley High won last night.

Niblet told me.

And I'm exhausted from dancing on top of my desk, but...

You should be happy, and not just because our beloved alma mater won, but because we also won our bets.

It's true.

(Jacocks giggles)

First person to say anything gets sat on.

(laughing)

Holly: Yes!

You people do realize that Valley High... they're a bunch of cheaters?

Right? So therefore, all bets are off.

(laughs)

It's football, man.

It's football. Everyone cheats.

Funkhauser: Yeah, lighten up, Russ.

I mean, I don't have to know how the sausage is made as long as it tastes good.

Sausage tastes good.

Football tastes good, too, metaphorically.

Sausage...

Russ: Hey, hey. Holly.

Holly.

Hey.

Got Milt's mail there?

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Did you come all the way out here to ask me that?

No.

I-I... I want to apologize to you.

For that cake stunt.

And I wanted to, uh...

I wanted to say that I'm sorry for lying to you.

When?

When I told you I was happy for you.

Before.

I-I think it's really great.

I really do, Holly. Everything.

But... I'm not happy.

What... what you said earlier, about not wanting to start something new because, um, it'll be easier for us, it'll hurt less... well, that's true.

But screw that.

We can make a long-distance relationship work.

We just gotta fight for it.

Would you do that with me?

(sighs)

Uh...

Oh! Um, uh...

Why...?

Niblet caught a B and E and he took off.

He said that-that you, um, that you won the lobster...

Oh... that dinner thing?

He also said that you would be boiling these little suckers all night long by yourself and I...

I thought maybe I could help you out if you wanted me to.

(laughs)

Russ actually looks happy.

There's our miracle.