- Detectives.
- Yup.
I got a Jessica Guimond here to see you.
Who?
I'm making a documentary on Ethan Goodwin.
Little busy here today.
Uh, send her over to DCPI.
I have a source that says he's innocent.
Uh, is that source named Ethan Goodwin?
No.
Did that source tell you that Ethan Goodwin confessed to the m*rder himself?
Yes, and that the confession was a lie.
Ethan's son was k*lled in a dispute over a basketball game.
Ethan got revenge.
He confessed to the crime.
It's an open- and-shut case.
I didn't come here to debate.
Good.
Then good-bye.
I came 'cause my life is being threatened.
By who?
I don't know.
Well, that makes two of us.
Ever since I started working on this project, I've been receiving messages to back off.
Do you have any evidence of a crime?
No, just the threats.
Then I can't help you.
I'm not...
I'm not asking any favors.
Okay, I just wanted you to know.
You wanted me to know what?
That you've been threatened or that you're making a documentary questioning the integrity of my case?
I wanted you to know because if something happens to me, you'll connect it to Ethan Goodwin's case.
I'll be sure to do that.
Or maybe I'll just make a documentary about it.
Good-bye.
- Let's go.
I was hoping that you would lend your name and support to our initiative, to speak out and tell the public why we need to rethink the way we deal with addicts.
Let me get this straight.
You want to prescreen which drug addicts you incarcerate and which you don't?
Some low-level offenders need rehab and not prison.
Your father's a compelling example, which is why I'm asking you to share your family's story.
Yes, my dad should've gone to rehab.
He was a doctor, a father and husband, a contributing member of society...
He was also using and prescribing opiates illegally.
Until he got into heroin in that cell you put him in.
I'm here to try to change the way we do business, so we can prevent people like your father from just being dumped into the system.
Only I'm having a hard time finding him.
You and me both.
Oh, I-I thought he was practicing again, and he was clean and sober for the past two years.
You thought wrong.
He started using again six months ago.
I'm sorry.
I clearly have outdated information.
You really want to help?
Find my father.
I am not the Missing Persons bureau.
I think you owe us that, Ms.
Reagan.
Wherever my father is, it's at least partly your responsibility.
I fully support the D.A.'s initiative to separate out those offenders whose profiles meet a standard for rehabilitation instead of incarceration.
But, in my opinion, it does not go far enough.
Today, I am challenging our lawmakers and our justice system to decriminalize possession and use of all narcotics, across the board, to dismantle the nanny state once and for all and give the right to choose back to the people, which is just, which is the American way.
Son of a bitch.
I just saw it, but I can't believe my eyes.
Or ears.
This is out there?
How'd they do it?
There's technology out there that allows for audio and video manipulation.
All they need's 20 minutes of recordings, and they can manipulate any footage they have on you.
Sounds like science fiction.
Who has these capabilities?
Probably all the players... including us, obviously.
Boss?
Sir?
We have a suspect in custody?
Computer Crime Squad's all over it.
This just broke less than an hour ago.
When we do, hopefully before the next one, I want to be there.
Be where?
To make the arrest.
I want to look him in the eye.
I worked my whole life to earn the trust of the people I serve.
I can see you're shook up, but...
I know you're gonna make a statement.
I know it is gonna be called out as fake; I got that.
But this?
This is personal.
She came to you for help, Danny.
What if she really needs it?
I already told you, I didn't screw up that case.
You can't ignore what she has to say just because she set you off.
I'm not set off.
I know you.
The minute she said she was looking into an old case of yours, she became the enemy.
I'm here, aren't I?
Jessica Guimond!
Police!
* You said she'd been receiving threats.
She say by who?
No.
As in, she didn't know or you didn't ask?
Uh, I didn't have a chance to ask.
And would you please stop guilting me about it?
Thank you.
You think she was right?
That Goodwin was innocent?
Well, that wouldn't explain a kidnapping, would it?
Unless she got too close to the real m*rder*r.
Or maybe somebody just didn't want her sticking her nose in where it didn't belong.
How about that?
You find something?
It's her schedule book.
She's pretty OCD.
She writes everything down.
Here's her meeting with me.
Now, she did have a lunch scheduled with a Jason Bevan afterwards.
Maybe he's the last to seen her.
I need a favor.
Only reason you ever come down to my closet.
I need you to find someone, a Dr.
Lee McByrne.
Doesn't ring a bell.
I prosecuted him for illegally prescribing himself meds.
Seems he might be using again.
Yeah, him and half of New York City.
That'll be like finding a needle in a syringe stack.
What's he to you?
His son blames me for what happened.
You didn't put the needle in his arm.
No, but I recommended the judge send him to prison, where he got into heroin.
He chose that path, not you.
Maybe I helped him along.
Can you find him?
I'll work my magic.
But no blaming me for what I find, okay?
I promise.
His name is Colin Taylor.
31, ex-Navy, worked Intelligence there.
He pops as a partner in a company that's been developing technologies in digital manipulation.
Anything go to motive?
Nothing so far.
No flags on his discharge or on the firm he's with.
Do we know where he is?
We're working on that.
Is this one of those Internet things where the guy's working above a bakery in Eastern Europe?
A car registered to him made a round trip through the Midtown Tunnel two days ago, so I doubt it.
Okay, can anyone give me a why?
Maybe it's a publicity stunt to prove their tech actually works.
And I'm the guinea pig?
Not saying that.
Or he's one of them disruptors.
But what's he disrupting, putting words in my mouth?
Boss, have you even heard of this guy before just now?
No, I have not.
Then let's assume it isn't personal.
Turn that flame down.
I can't.
Maybe some could.
I can't.
May I try?
Was it your face, your voice?
No.
Then no.
Boss, can I say one thing?
The idea of you being at the arrest, I think it sends the wrong signal.
We got murderers, rapists, arsonists, all kinds of bad guys.
And I don't show up at any of those collars.
Exactly.
Okay.
I'm sorry I'm right.
You need to come out loud and clear about the D.A.'s Diversion and Treatment Program.
Okay, I'm against it.
Press conference or select interviews?
Neither.
I just said it.
I'm against it.
Copy that.
And, boss, I'm gonna bring you the head of Colin Taylor.
You can count on me.
I saw Jessica yesterday at our weekly status meeting.
She seem nervous or express any concern for her safety?
No, she was totally normal.
She say if she was going somewhere after?
I think to talk to one of her mysterious sources.
Is everything all right?
Did Jessica do something?
Did she mention she'd been receiving threats?
Threats We don't know.
Possibly somebody who wants to screw a lid on her project about Ethan Goodwin.
We all want her to put an end to it, but no, I don't know anyone who would thr*aten her.
You've told her to stop the project?
Yeah, it's a dead story.
Dead how?
Ethan Goodwin still maintains he's guilty.
The whole Goodwin family wants nothing to do with this.
So her source isn't somebody inside the Goodwin family?
Nope.
And if they don't want a part in it, it's got to be bogus.
Maybe so.
We'll be in touch.
Uh...
You're interrupting visiting hours with my daughter, Detectives.
We were hoping we could've met with you in private.
We hardly get to see each other as it is.
Fair enough.
We'll make it quick.
Did you get a visit from Jessica Guimond?
Yeah, a few times, yeah.
She tell you she was convinced that you were innocent?
I told her she got it wrong.
Why would she think otherwise?
Seemed like she was just...
fishing for one of them stories.
One of...
"them stories"?
Yeah.
Black man gets railroaded.
Put a tear in your eye.
Well, I told her that I'm not one of those stories.
- I did what I'm in for.
- What do you care what kind of story she was telling if the whole point of it was to get you out of here?
A man in prison can still care about the truth.
I just want to serve my time and get out.
We're trying to get my father moved to a prison closer to home.
That's all we're about right now.
So, why are you here?
Jessica Guimond is missing.
She's missing?
Mm-hmm.
We think kidnapped, maybe.
And you think I had something to do with it?
Look around.
I don't got no way to do nothing.
Daddy.
Are you sure you don't know anything?
No!
I got to ask.
No.
She was just trying to help you.
I don't know nothing about it.
Okay.
Anyone thr*aten you?
thr*aten me?
What are you talking about?
No.
It's conceivable you were threatened, too.
You know anything about that?
The one thing I know, Mr.
Reagan, is that you put me in here, and there's nothing more you can do to me or make me do.
Now get out and leave us be.
Okay.
Enjoy your visit.
Dr.
McByrne?
Used to be.
Erin Reagan.
What are you doing here?
Your son asked me to find you.
He's worried about you.
You bought that?
He wants you to get help.
And I want to be left alone.
So give me that one victory, would you?
This don't smell like victory.
To each his own, big man.
How'd you stay clean for a year and a half?
With great difficulty.
Well, if you did it once...
I've been in rehab four times.
Nothing sticks.
Apparently Jesus helps, but...
I never believed in ghosts.
Oh, you have this down pat, huh?
Had a lot of time to take personal stock.
Prison'll do that to you.
You care about your son?
I care that he moves on.
That I'm not a burden to him, that he takes responsibility for his life the same way that I've taken for mine.
You call this responsibility?
Yes, I do, and you, Miss Reagan, you don't get to lecture me about responsibility, not until you're ready to cop to your place in all this.
She didn't do this to you.
It's okay, Anthony.
No, she didn't.
I did, but she made sure that I got a head start down this road.
Well, if I did, I'm sorry.
Apology accepted.
Now, please, just let me be.
Please.
We found your father.
Was he scrubbing up for surgery?
No.
Kidding.
Yeah, funny.
You got a parent who's an addict, you make jokes to stay sane.
We tried to get him help.
He wouldn't listen.
Saw that coming.
Because it was coming from me.
He blames me for the shape he's in.
What did you expect?
That a doctor would be smarter than that.
Hold on.
You have no right.
No.
A guy comes in here all busted up because he was hit by a truck, do you operate or do you tell him, "It's the truck driver's fault, so go find him and have him operate." Close, but no cigar.
Pretty damn close.
Why ask her to find him in the first place when you're standing on the sidelines?
Because I wanted her to see what she did to him.
Well, I did, and it sucks, and we can sit here and debate whether or not I'm the truck driver here, but in the meantime, the patient is still busted up.
So what are you gonna do, Doc?
What do you want me to do?
Your job.
A man is in pain and there's only one doctor in the house.
You think Ethan is lying?
No.
I think maybe I might've been a little quick to take his confession back then.
He admitted to committing a homicide.
No one would blame you for not looking further.
Right, and if I did happen to miss something...
which is a big if...
it's the kind of thing you wouldn't even know to look for.
Look at this.
The night Jessica disappeared.
This is the last time we see her entering or exiting the building.
And he leaves later without her.
Okay.
We got any video of her coming back out again?
The camera in the back is busted; this is all we've got.
Hold on, look at that.
The-the earrings.
I've seen that before.
It's, um...
it's a mark, the Hellians, a g*ng, the Hellians.
That's the Hellians marker.
Hellians?
They were a g*ng that was active in the neighborhood back in the day around the time of the m*rder.
Can't be a coincidence.
Do you think this guy did it?
I think I want to speak to him.
Let's call g*ng Unit and see if they can put a name to the face.
He's here.
Hey, Dad.
A.D.A. Reagan.
Oh, it's one of those.
Afraid so.
Good afternoon, Commissioner.
Thanks for coming in.
Did you see it?
I did.
I'm sorry.
Your office behind it?
Is that a real question?
No.
It's just the whole idea of "real" seems up for grabs.
Well, it's one thing when you read about it.
It's a whole 'nother when you're the...
Puppet?
You okay?
Actually, I'm being a big baby about it.
I know it, but I can't seem to shake it.
It's completely understandable.
Well, I'm supposed to be tougher than the rest.
Look, I never liked the camera when I was a cop.
I used to make myself scarce when the news trucks came around, but this job, I got to, so I bite a b*llet.
But that's all an act.
I don't know.
I guess when you work so hard to overcome something and it gets turned against you...
You feel violated.
No, that's a word real victims own.
I'm just feeling...
Vulnerable?
Your secret's safe with me.
Thank you.
Okay.
I wanted to give you fair warning.
You're coming out against my office.
Well, I have to clear it up, state my real opinion now that the fake one's gone viral.
Which is the same as saying you're going to torpedo the program.
No, I'm not gonna sh**t you down.
But that's what it will amount to.
The initiative's a good thing, Dad.
It leans in on normalizing drug use.
It's not normalizing anything.
It's getting people the help they need when they need it.
It could change the stigma of dr*gs in general.
Well, that stigma is a useful tool.
I don't want to lose it.
I'm sorry.
If you could've seen what I just saw, a doctor that we put away for...
Erin.
That's not gonna change my mind.
You know what?
The fake you in that tape made some good points the real you should pay attention to.
Looking for a Mason Grant.
Heard he hangs out here.
You seen him around?
Never heard of him.
Never seen him.
"Never heard of him.
Never seen him." Sure you haven't.
Anybody here know a Mason Grant?
Don't know who that is.
We're not looking for any problems here.
We just need to ask him a few questions.
Sorry, man.
Hey!
Police!
Get out of the way!
Turn around!
Hands on the table!
Jack, hey.
Listen, I'm gonna be home late again, all right?
You're gonna miss the game?
I'm not gonna miss the game, but I'm probably gonna miss dinner, so why don't you pick up a pizza, okay?
Sounds like a silver lining to me.
Ha-ha, very funny.
You guys do your homework?
- Yeah.
We're done.
- All right.
And make sure Sean starts his project, okay?
I'll see you in a while.
You sure you don't recognize this woman?
Never seen her.
Not even with Mason?
I barely even see him.
How do you two know each other?
We were both members of the Hellians back in the day.
And you still are?
Nah.
g*ng got broken up a long time ago.
Oh, right.
So you just stay in touch with each other and hang out from time to time, is that it?
Yeah, from time to time.
Sounds like consorting.
Yeah, sure sounds like consorting to me, too.
Come on.
You got nothing on me.
Hmm.
Actually, we've got you on obstructing governmental administration.
Quite literally obstructing it.
Don't look at me.
Don't look at me, either.
You're the one that bumped into me.
I had a few drinks.
Mm-hmm.
Didn't mean to bump into the detective.
Yeah, I'm sure you didn't.
And it's fortunate for you that I care more about getting home to my kids than seeing your lying ass end up in jail tonight.
Now, just tell us where Mason is, we'll issue a D.A.T.
and you'll be on your way.
What's that mean?
It means tell us where we can find Mason and you can get the hell out of here!
Otherwise, it's into the system.
I don't know where he lives or anything like that.
Well, you said you still stay in touch, right?
So you must have his phone number.
We'll take that.
Give us his phone number so we can get the hell out of here and go home, tonight!
I can't snitch like that.
Okay, well, don't think of it as snitching.
All right?
Think of it as avoiding another charge, because we already got you on obstructing, and we're about to get you on hindering prosecution!
Now give us the damn phone number!
Come on, Sean, you got to start your project or you're never gonna finish.
I'll do it first thing in the morning tomorrow.
All right, you're getting up earlier than me then.
But that's like 5:00 a.m.
Yeah, you want to watch the game, you get up earlier than me.
That's the deal.
Where the hell's your brother?
He should've been back by now.
I don't know, but I'm hungry.
Jack, that you?
What the hell happened, Jack?
Hey, what happened to you?
I tried stopping them.
They drove away.
Get the first aid kit.
No, it's in the bathroom.
Who Who did this?
Dad, I'm fine.
You're not fine!
You're all b*at up, your glasses are broken.
What the hell happened?
They were leaving this.
Jack saw them walking away from our door.
He went after them, but they sucker punched him before he could do anything.
Is he all right?
Yeah, he's fine.
He's tougher than he lets on.
I'm sorry, Danny.
Don't be sorry for me.
Be sorry for the son of a bitch who did this when I get my hands on him.
Did he see their face?
No, he said they had on a cap and a hoodie.
It was too dark to see anything else.
You know, whoever did this, they knew who we were.
I mean, they had to have been tipped off.
Maybe someone recognized you from the initial case.
Maybe.
What else do we got on this Mason Grant?
TARU called just before you got here.
They got the location on his phone.
Well, what the hell are we waiting for?
Let's go.
Get out of here.
Come on, b*at it.
Hey, you in a hurry?
Yeah, I am actually, if you don't mind.
We do.
You're gonna tell us everything you know about Jessica Guimond.
Jessica?
Yeah.
What are you talking about?
She was last seen with you.
What do you mean "last seen"?
Don't play stupid.
She's been missing 48 hours.
I'll tell you everything you want to know.
Good.
Let's take a walk.
Come on.
As far as my guys on the street know, he's in the wind.
How many guys we talking about?
Enough.
Anthony.
You're wasting resources, including me.
How can you say I'm wasting resources?
Because you're looking for a guy who doesn't want to be found, for his son who doesn't care about finding him.
Pretty much defines wasting resources.
There's a Brian McByrne here to see you.
Oh.
Okay, send him in.
A.D.A.
Reagan, Detective ABETEMARCO.
We got nothing for you, Brian.
Sorry.
Uh, I didn't come here for results.
What then?
My father always said to me, "There's nothing you're gonna go through that I haven't been through already, so come to me." But now he's not there anymore?
It's that...
what he's going through, no one in our family has been through.
Maybe that's how I can pay him back.
How?
By giving him one more try.
A real try.
Do you know where we could find him?
I think so.
When he first got out of prison, he was in a halfway house in Queens.
He liked the neighborhood, made some friends, got some traction.
I'm kind of hoping maybe he made his way back there.
Can you hope without getting your hopes up?
Will you help me find him?
Please?
Sir?
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Well, I was thinking.
I can only imagine.
Can you, now?
If I found myself, watching myself, saying things I'd never say, but for all the world it looked like it was me saying them?
Hell yeah.
Thank you.
Lieutenant GORMLEY asked to see you in his office.
Commissioner Reagan.
Colin Taylor.
But you already know who I am.
Yes.
Obviously.
Yes.
Do you know why you were brought here?
Not so much.
Because I wanted to look you in the eye.
You got a beef with cops?
No.
Just me, then?
Not you, directly, but this idea that drug addicts should have some kind of safe space touchy-feely treatment...
That's propaganda.
That's not what that program is.
That's the way the wars are being fought.
Who'd you lose?
What do you mean, who'd I lose?
Who'd you lose?
Some drug addict did what to who?
My little brother got his throat slit for his wallet.
So you made the leap...
and framed me.
That's how the wars are being fought.
Upping the stakes, whatever it takes, however you can.
Ex-Naval Intelligence.
You learn this there?
Some of the techniques, yeah.
Could make a case for treason.
I got a lot of friends at the D.A.'s office.
I never ask them for favors.
I'm gonna make an exception in your case.
I got good lawyers.
They'll sell this as a prank.
I'm gonna come at you with everything I have.
That's how this w*r is being fought.
Sound to us like you've been consorting with fellow g*ng members.
Former g*ng members.
Right.
I'm out of that life.
I put it behind me.
Right, and that's why you run every time you see cops, huh?
I don't trust cops.
Never have.
That's good.
'Cause I don't trust scumbags.
Never will.
Now, what the hell were you doing with Jessica Guimond the day she went missing?
We went out to dinner to talk.
I walked her home after.
That's very interesting, because I took a pretty good look at her calendar book, which she keeps very detailed records in, and I didn't see your name anywhere in there.
Did you see it?
Didn't see your name.
She was keeping our meetings secret.
Sounds convenient.
We were at Donnie's Diner.
They got cameras; you can check.
Hold on, so you're trying to tell us that you were the source for her documentary?
Yes.
And she's protecting you?
Yes.
'Cause I told her the truth about Ethan Goodwin.
And what's that?
That he's innocent.
Oh, boy.
Here we go again with the conspiracy theories.
You know what?
15 years!
15 years, and Ethan Goodwin's never said anyone committed that m*rder except him!
Now you're gonna sit up here and tell us it was someone else?!
Man, I'm telling you, I went to the same high school as Robbie.
So what?
I was around when the whole thing went down.
So the Hellians did have something to do with their murders.
No!
It was a neighborhood beef, but Ethan Goodwin didn't k*ll anybody.
Then who did?
His daughter.
Lauren.
Day after Robbie k*lled her brother.
You got any other ideas?
We hit every bar and all the parks.
No.
I was hoping he...
Yeah, but like I said?
I don't have my hopes up.
Thank you for...
Nothing, as it turns out.
Not nothing.
Thank you.
Robbery in progress on 37th Avenue and 76th Street.
Respond.
Some of this is my fault.
I could've done more.
There's a robbery in progress.
Uh, pharmacy nearby.
Suspect's description fits your dad.
What do you want to do?
What I should've done a long time ago.
Let's go.
What's going on?
Suspect is behind the car by the pharmacy door.
Was on his way out with a bag of dr*gs.
He's armed.
Any hostages?
Alone.
That's Lee, all right.
You know him?
Yeah, we do.
This is his son.
You think you can you talk to him, get him to come out safely?
Yeah, I can.
Absolutely not.
Our negotiator is handling it.
Well, it don't look like he's getting anywhere.
We only bring family in as a last resort.
Do you want someone to get k*lled or do you want this to stop?
We know him.
Brian can talk him down.
Please.
He's not gonna hurt anybody.
He's my dad; let me talk to him.
It's gonna be okay.
Go ahead.
Stand down.
Civilian coming in.
Stand down.
Dad.
Brian!
No!
Go away, son!
Put the g*n down, Dad!
Put the g*n down.
You are not supposed to be here.
Neither are you, so let's both walk away.
I can't.
Yeah, you can.
We'll both walk away together.
Brian, please.
I'm walking right at you.
You don't have to do this.
Yeah, I do.
Brian, please...
There.
It's okay.
There.
It's okay.
I'm here.
I'm here.
Hands behind your back!
Okay, take it easy.
I'm sorry, Brian.
Give me your hands.
I'm sorry.
Take it easy on him.
I'm the one in prison.
Why would I make this up?
To protect your daughter.
- That's ridiculous.
- Come on, Ethan.
You've been lying for 15 years, all right?
It's time to start telling the truth.
You got it wrong, Detective.
So does Jessica.
Jessica could lose her life over this.
Now, your daughter's off the grid.
Just tell us where the hell she is.
Lauren wouldn't hurt anybody.
She wouldn't hurt anyone?
No!
Like when she came to my house and assaulted my son?!
Lauren wouldn't do that.
She did that!
Now where the hell is she?
Do you know what you're asking me to do?
Yeah.
I'm asking you to save a life.
She's all I got.
I know.
And you're never gonna see her again, unless you tell us where she is.
Go left.
You okay?
Yeah.
Where's Lauren?
She went down to the car.
She'll be back any minute.
Over here!
She's got a g*n, Detectives.
All right, I'll go.
You stay with her.
Drop it!
Drop it!
Stay there!
Stop right there.
Don't do it.
Hold it!
Wait, wait!
It opens.
What can I do for you?
Be nice, for starters.
I don't feel nice.
You want me to fake it?
No.
What happened?
A man I sent to prison, who should have been sent to rehab in the first place, is now going back to prison, for another stint.
Circle of life.
I'm sorry.
Well, it's not your fault.
It is the fault, in part, of a policy that needs changing.
I think you know the one.
I canceled my presser denouncing your program.
Yeah No one showed up?
Be nice.
Okay.
Why?
I heard one side called fascist and cruel, the other called fairy tales for snowflakes.
Neither is true.
The middle ground's gone missing.
How do you get it back?
I don't know.
She's gone?
Yeah.
This is your fault.
This is on you.
She's been trying to help you from the beginning.
If it wasn't for her, my daughter would still be alive.
And she'd be looking at spending the rest of her life in prison instead of you.
Why are you even here?!
For the same reason I got into this case in the first place: to get you out of prison.
She's got all the facts to prove you innocent.
Truth is, I missed something that...
led to you being here.
And no matter how good your intentions, I cannot let that stand.
What's the point?
You've got a lot of years left, Ethan.
My life was for my kids.
What good is it now?
It's better than here.
We talked to your lawyer.
He's been in touch with the D.A., and they are working on throwing out your conviction.
Look, Ethan, we can get you out of here in time for your daughter's funeral.
Go say bye the right way.
Wait a minute.
Are you saying that the mother called the cops - on her own son?
- Yeah.
Said she was certain he was dealing weed out of his room.
Weed?
That's some tough love.
That's one bad mom.
I would never do that.
I would, in a heartbeat.
- Wait, let me finish.
- Like we don't know that.
Let me finish.
Good.
So we go into his room, we go into the kid's room, he's not there, and lying out on the bed is a big Ziploc.
And so I take one sniff, and I'm hungry for chicken cutlets all of a sudden.
Like, munchies?
Munchies?
Munchies?
What do you know about the munchies?
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, not munchies, like, uh, Italian seasoning.
So she must've taken, like, a vat of Italian seasoning, put it in a Ziploc, laid it out on the kid's bed and said it's weed.
Oh, planting evidence on your own kid?
That's really tough love.
So what'd you say?
I said, "Ma'am," giving her one of these, and she burst into tears.
Oh, now, are these real tears or fake tears?
No, the tears are real.
She starts hyperventilating.
Eddie goes to get her a glass of water...
Is this story going somewhere?
Yeah.
She gets a grip and she spills her guts.
Said she loves him, but living with him has become like a life sentence.
How old is this woman?
Mid-50s.
Then the front door slams.
Our cruiser's parked out front, and the kid comes tear-assing up the stairs, yelling, "Mom, Mom, are you okay?" And the kid, he's not a kid.
What?
He's, like, late 30s.
Oh, my gosh.
And here's what he's wearing: sneakers and shorts and a Mets cap on backwards.
Okay, I'm with the mom.
And this isn't the first time she's done this?
No, or even the tenth.
Wow.
They start going at it.
We got to separate them.
I take the kid...
I mean, the son...
outside.
I go, "Dude, when your own mom" "is trying to frame you for possession just to get you out of the house..." I'm assuming he didn't get the message.
I wouldn't put money on it.
But the point is...
What is the point?
For us, is there a line for what you'll do for family?
No.
No.
Huh.
No.
Nope.
Seriously?
'Cause that sounds a little less than honest.
Well, suppose we just make a deal, amongst ourselves, never to test where that line exits.
All in favor?
Aye.
Aye.
Hear, hear.