08x10 - Salome in Manhattan

[bunniefuu]

- In new york city's w*r on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued by the detectives of the major case squad.

These are their stories.

[Crowd shouting]

[Hip-hop music]

- Cooking, like music, is an art.

So remember, for lamb, metal's a little too long.

Country music is just nauseating.

Jazz well, now, jazz--it's good for everything.

But hip-hop is perfec for moroccan lamb-- ooh-- with a shiraz honey glaze.

And until tomorrow morning, I am max goodwin reminding you that the best meals are meals with max.

- And cut.

- Yes.

[Applauds]

Very good, max.

Don't worry about that other stuff.

We'll cut around it.

- Hey.

- May i?

- "Revel and feast I at my house today.

" It's shakespeare, sweetheart.

- Okay.

Ugh.

[Grunts]

- I got to tell you, I'm feeling really good about tonight.

- I wouldn't hold my breath.

- Your genius, my charm, peter wellsley's checkbook.

You'll be back on the cover of gourmand magazine in no time.

Endymion 2, baby.

- All right.

- A restaurant might be fun, sweetie.

- Fun.

You can't imagine how much fun.

- It is intriguing.

- You should have your people run the numbers, peter.

- Larry would be more than happy to sit down with them.

- We don't really spend that much time in the city any more.

- Well, then we'll find somebody else to work the cash register.

[Laughs]

Seriously, peter, I can come by your office in the morning.

What do you say?

- Larry thank you again.

- You know, it wouldn't hur if you asked her to talk to her stepfather.

- It's not going to happen, okay?

I'm going to head downtown.

- I'm working my ass off here.

- Hey, he turned me down too, buddy.

- On a scale of 1 to 10, tonight's a 2.

- It's this place, li.

It's these people.

They're not your friends.

[Glass clinks on counter]

- Hi.

- I bet you brought home stray kittens when you were a kid.

[Dance music]

- Hey.

- Don't say the rxo ain't never gave you nothing.

- You've got to tell larry sooner or later.

- In the meantime so that's a yes, right?

- Listen, we talked about this.

[Hip-hop music]

- Excuse me.

What happened to you?

- Shh.

Go home.

Go home, larry.

- Well, no sexual as*ault.

Petechial hemorrhaging says probable c.

O.

D.

Is strangulation.

It'll be some time before I can ge to a complete autopsy.

- Okay.

- Sorry.

Sorry I'm late.

.

Nothing like a, uh, five-hour german opera to make you really appreciate a m*rder scene.

Gee, this is a-- this is a nice place.

- Yeah, it should be.

Lisa wellsley.

21 Years old.

Lisa wellsley.

That's why the news crew downstairs.

- The neighbors heard something and called the super.

Imagine his surprise.

He comes in and sees this mess.

- What's become of romance?

- These are all rxo wear.

They don't even look worn.

- Reginald x.

Oldman?

From attica to mogul?

The american dream?

- Oh, from wagner to hip-hop.

I'm impressed.

- From glamour magazine to, uh, wagner.

So am i.

You know, I have these same chairs.

- Oh, well, there's our motive.

No taste.

- They happen to be very tasteful.

But only if you're a middle-aged civil servan with nobody to impress.

No, you're right.

A lot of this stuff looks like it might have come out of a catalogue.

Maybe the super rich aren't as, uh, different as we thought.

- They just have better dr*gs.

- Oh, clonazepam.

Lorazepam, 1 mil.

Looks like, uh, benzodiazepine.

My mom's been known to use them.

- Well, I guess it's true-- youth, beauty, mega money doesn't buy happiness.

- Mm.

- There's no pill bottle.

I bet there's no doctor involved.

- Video game exclusively geared for adolescent males.

What's that tell us?

- Well, she likes younger men or younger men like her.

- An engagement ring?

Why would she leave I in the box?

- Now you're talking motive.

- I begged her to ge a real job.

To go to school.

Anything.

- When was the last time you spoke with lisa?

- Last night around 9:00 before we lef for the diabetes association benefit.

- But she left us a voicemail at 11:00 asking us how it went.

- The benefit?

- Maxwell goodwin.

He sat at our table.

- Max goodwin.

Well, if it's the same max goodwin I'm thinking about, I see him on the-- on the treadmill every morning.

Hequotespoetry.

He's the--he's the chef.

- Was the chef.

Two years and one bankruptcy ago.

Now he and his clown partner are looking for backing to open a new restaurant.

- Why would lisa care about that?

- Another place to party.

Excuse me.

- I got you.

If you could just give us the name of, uh, lisa's fiance.

- Fiance?

N--no, lisa wasn't engaged.

- What about friends?

- Check page six.

- It wasn't a party unless lisa was there.

It was a fairy tale life.

The daughter of a ravishing beauty, and the stepdaughter of an international jet-setter of noble birth.

Her life was a non-stop party.

- I guess the conven was out of the question.

- She was 16 then.

A star was born.

- But the party ended in tragedy early this morning.

- What do we know about lisa wellsley that hasn't been on access hollywood?

- Well, she spent a year at the university of california, santa barbara.

- Probably flunked suntan.

- She didn't have a chance.

- Yeah, it's really hard being brought up on the wrong side of the tracks.

What with her supermodel mom and her royal stepdad.

- No, no.

He's not royal.

He--he's the, uh, governor of lancaster cay.

It's a--an island in the caribbean.

It's a playground-- a tax shelter for the filthy rich.

[Phone rings]

- You're breaking my heart.

Ross.

Thank you.

Harris tracked down the ring.

It was purchased by a maxwell goodwin.

- Small world.

- Yes.

I gave her an engagement ring.

- But she didn't wear it?

- Is that supposed to mean something?

Why don't you guys save us some time and go back to cop school.

[Exhales]

I'm sorry.

- What happened to your hand?

- Look around you.

I'm a chef, okay?

I-i work with lots of sharp knives.

- Um, hey, you know, I went into, uh, endymion the very first week it opened.

And I ordered the scallops with pomegranate.

So good.

- Thank you.

- Hey, uh, you're going to open a new-- new place I hear.

- No.

I don't know.

The truth is that maybe lisa wanted it more than I did.

Maybe lisa wanted more than a local cable cooking show for me.

- This isn't the best time for a meeting of the fan club.

- No.

These are the police.

They think I k*lled lisa.

- Well, I'm max's business partner larry clay.

And I was with him last night.

Maybe if I didn't drag him to that charity function-- but the investors want to meet him.

He's the star.

Really.

Sure.

And you?

What are--what are you?

- I turn on the spotlights, sell tickets.

- And what about after the benefit?

- We, uh-- - went across the street, had a couple of drinks, and to strategize.

- And we just called I an early night.

- By any chance, do you know who lisa was partying with last night?

- No.

She usually made several stops in a night.

- Once again, we're so sorry, uh, about miss wellsley.

- [Chopping]

- Well, I for one feel sorry for that chicken.

- Um, it--it was a duck.

And, um, anger is the first stage of grief.

The man's an artist.

- He's a condescending jerk.

And you don't need to be raised by shrinks to see that he has a problem with rejection.

- You shouldn't talk to anybody without an attorney present.

- They're the police.

- Lisa d*ed last night.

They're here this morning.

That means they think you're guilty.

- But we know that I am not.

Okay.

Give me a break.

- Okay.

Of course I don't--i don't think that you're a m*rder*r.

- Then why did you lie to them?

- Okay.

All right.

The hand.

What--what conclusion do you think they're going to draw from that?

- Tox screen found a pretty good concentration of alcohol and lorazepam, typically prescribed for anxiety.

Young, beautiful, and rich.

What does she have to be anxious about?

- Nothing other than being young, beautiful, and rich.

- And having someone wan to strangle her.

- He was an angry one too.

Heavy bleeding in all the neck muscles.

The greater cornu and the hyoid bone literally crushed.

I pulled epithelials from under her fingernails.

Dna's being tested.

- Hmm.

Here's an interesting tidbit.

The crib-- that's the club that lisa wellsley had been partying a the night of her m*rder-- is owned by reginald x.

Oldman: your favorite clothing designer and felon turned hip-hop mogul.

- Rxo has certainly lived the life.

Born bed-stuy.

First arrested for armed robbery when he was 14.

as*ault at 16.

Possession with intent.

- Wasn't that the name of his last platinum album?

I'm not arguing with you.

He probably is a bad guy.

But currently, he's a bad guy with business interests worth over $20 million.

- 30.

- Yes, lisa wellsley was in his club.

Yes, she liked his clothes.

No, it isn't enough for us to risk a harassment suit.

- He did four years in attica for domestic abuse.

He broke his live-in's ribs.

- We just got a match on rxo's dna under lisa's fingernails.

- Try not to dirty his carpet.

- It's a shame what happened to lisa.

I liked her.

Everyone did.

- Yeah.

Was she, uh, was she alone last night?

- I got work to do.

- It's okay.

We'll wait.

- Jackie, lisa wellsley spent her last seconds of life staring into the eyes of a vicious animal while he choked the life out of her.

Odds are you served that animal a drink last night.

- Why are you doing this to me?

If you wan to know about lisa, talk to rxo, okay?

- Rxo?

They were-- they were close?

- Damn shame.

Lot of other people I would've rather seen on the front page of the ledger.

I liked lisa.

- Is that why you gave her a rack full of clothes?

- No.

I paid her for that.

- I'm sorry.

Uh, you lost me.

- This is my clothing line.

Lisa gets photographed in it, it only helps my brand.

- You mean your company?

- I mean me, the brand.

- So your relationship with her was strictly business?

- [Laughs]

Whoo! My brand is my life.

- In other words, you're sleeping with her?

- Would you have passed up on that?

- And last night-- how about last night?

- You haven't been listening to me, have you?

Why would I hurt lisa?

- And your dna under her fingernails?

- We danced.

How many witnesses do you need?

You.

Bitch.

In my office.

What did I tell you about talking to police?

- I didn't tell them nothing.

- I said never.

- They already knew she was here last night.

What was I supposed to do?

- What are cops?

- The enemy.

- That's right.

And anyone who helps the enemy?

- A traitor.

- That's right.

- Rxo.

What a piece of work.

Brutality.

Ambition.

With a substratum of pure being.

- You say "tomahto.

" Bottom line, he's a violent felon.

- Part of his job description.

- Yeah, well, I'm telling you, that bartender, she wanted to talk to us.

- Well, with any luck, she's not in rxo's purview at this time in the morning.

- Lisa was always good to me.

Sometimes when my mom was tied up, she'd baby-sit ceci.

That's my daughter.

She taught her this dance.

I always told lisa she'd be a great mom when the time came.

- Oh.

See, i-- except, i-i wouldn' have thought that lisa would've been so into having kids.

We had a visi with the, uh, parents.

I got the impression anyway.

- We want you to tell us about the night lisa was k*lled.

- Jackie.

Hey, why are you so scared of rxo?

- You're kidding, right?

That man's gangster isn't an act.

You should look into this kid, jason something.

He's weird.

- How so?

- I don't know.

He's possessive in a pitiful kind of way.

He sits at the bar and stares daggers at anybody near lisa on the dance floor.

- Was he at the crib the night lisa was m*rder*d?

- If li's there, jason's there.

I don't know what was going on with them two.

He's really young.

- No kidding.

Like, uh, how old is he?

- 16.

17.

- The target audience for those sh**t-'em-up video games.

[Grunting and crying]

- Lady down the hall noticed the seal on the door was broken.

- When was the last time she saw it intact?

- Couldn't say.

Yesterday maybe.

- Thank you, officer boyle.

- Hey, zack.

Hey, boyle, did you go near this chair?

- No.

- There was a dress on it before.

The edges are all uneven and frayed.

This wasn't cut.

It was ripped.

- Somebody had a tantrum.

- Tried to clean it up.

- Maybe somebody, uh, who's possessive in a pitiful kind of way.

- Yeah, a lost puppy from the neighborhood who liked to play his video games.

- No, no, no, no.

- No, no, no.

No.

- I got him.

- Impressive, jason.

Six years in custody before your 18th birthday.

He pummeled his fifth grade teacher.

Did you have a thing for her too?

And look at this.

When you were released from crossroads juvenile, your mother didn't even come pick you up.

You were given bus fare home.

- I didn't hurt lisa.

She had trouble sleeping.

I told her not to mix the pills.

- You know as well as I do that the pills didn't k*ll her.

Right?

Every bone in her neck was broken.

Now that's real hate.

Okay, jason, this is no looking good for you and I'm going to tell you why.

The broken vase, the pills, the table, the video games.

We're going to find your prints, jason, and we're going to put you in lisa's loft.

- Jason.

Jason.

When my mom d*ed, I got this photograph out that I had of her [clears throat]

That we'd taken at, uh, atlantic city on the boardwalk when we were kids.

And I took that picture and I ripped it up.

I-i tore that thing up.

I tore that picture up into, like, a million pieces.

[Breathing heavily]

You're mad, aren't you?

Just like I was.

But listen, jason, it's okay.

There's nothing to be ashamed of.

It feels like she left you.

I know.

And, listen, it sucks, I know, but she's gone.

I'm so sorry, but there's nothing you can do to change that.

You can't deny it.

You can't pretend it didn't happen.

- [Crying]

- That--that anger, at some point, isn't going to be there.

It's just going to become sorrow.

And at some point, the sorrow will become a kind of swee spaciousness, if you can imagine what I mean.

If that's a seed that can grow.

- We talked all the time.

She told me about her problems.

I told her about-- about mine.

- What kind of problems?

- About my mom and hers.

She treated lisa like a sister.

Lisa hated that.

But mostly she listened.

She was a good listener.

- Did you talk to lisa the night she was m*rder*d?

- At the crib.

- Okay.

When you and lisa left the club-- - no.

I left first.

Rxo kicked me ou 'cause he said I was bothering him and getting in the way of his business with lisa.

- So she stayed with max?

- No.

He was already gone.

Him and lisa got in a figh or something.

His accountant, larry, he stayed to try and patch things up with lisa for him.

- So how did you end up at lisa's loft?

- Well, she would let me crash on her couch.

When I got there, she was laying on the floor.

- Be right back.

I believe him.

- What's that say about lisa wellsley?

- That, uh, she had found a twin soul?

Or maybe that she felt the need to be taken care of and projected that need onto already needy jason.

She adopted him like a pet.

- Maybe her mom was right.

The rags had her all wrong.

- I never though I'd hear myself say this, but I'm glad I wasn't born rich and/or famous.

Your mom's not dead.

- I had my fingers crossed.

- All right, well, max lied to us in the first place about going to the club.

And he forgot to tell us about the fight he had with lisa.

- See if his partner ever managed to patch things up between them.

- Lovers have spats.

- Yeah.

And sometimes they kiss and make up.

And sometimes, uh, one of them ends up dead on the living room floor.

- I'm just guessing here, but I bet max didn't appreciate all the attention rxo was paying lisa.

- Look, even if max was guilty-- and there's no way that I think that he is-- but even if he was, I would do whatever it took to protect him.

- You're a good partner.

- I'm a good friend.

I count myself lucky to even know him.

See, guys like me-- business guys-- we're a dime a dozen.

But max, it's not often you're in the presence of genius.

- Yeah.

Steak broiled with grenadine and black olives.

- I'm being serious.

- No, so am i.

That's--that's yummy.

Hey, i-i didn't realize you guys went to emerson academy.

You know what, me too.

I did too.

Long--long before these guys, but yeah.

- Actually, max and I started our first catering business when we were-- when we were seniors.

- Oh, yeah?

- Love to hear that fight song.

- Oh, yeah.

- [Laughs]

- Go potatoes, go tomatoes oh, your--your, uh, pleats are facing down.

- What?

- Your cummerbund.

The pleats are supposed to be facing up.

- Yeah.

Truth is, I'll be glad when I can stop going to these things.

One day, somebody will be knocking on my door for handouts.

- Yeah.

I'll bet max was disappointed when he found out that lisa's stepdad turned you down.

- No, he wasn't worried.

He knows I'll find other backers.

- This is--this is-- - here you go.

I got it.

Just not--it's not done.

[Chuckles]

- Um, honestly, all he talked abou was giving lisa the ring and living happily ever after.

- That was after the charity benefi when you went downtown?

That's right.

Yeah.

- Even though the last time we spoke, you said that you had wen across the street, had drinks, strategizing.

- Thanks.

- Remember, you told us, uh, early--early to bed.

- I, uh, I'd do anything for max.

And I knew what you guys were thinking.

I also knew that max did not k*ll her.

Sorry, but, uh, I'm already late for this benefit.

- Okeydokey.

Hands to shake, money to raise, huh?

- That's the way it works.

- Look at you.

- Why is I'm hearing stories about your partner walking around with his hands out?

- That's what larry does, okay?

He finds money.

- What I want to know is why is he trying to raise money for my restaurant?

That's ou and out dumb, max.

What I'm thinking is you never told him he's out.

- I have known this guy for years, okay?

He's good at what he does.

- He took one of the mos successful restaurant openings in 20 years and drove it in the ground.

He's a poison pill.

And he ain't taking me down with him.

- There will be plenty of money to go around for all of us.

It doesn't matter to me.

I'll take care of larry out of my end.

- I said no.

This time no co-own, no part-own.

It's a no-own.

Lisa knew this.

She hated larry.

She didn't want him near the joint.

And she said you agreed to it too.

- Actually, she said it was up for discussion.

- Well, she was wrong.

- This is my money.

This is my brand.

So it makes it my rules.

And larry gets nothing.

- Fine.

- I'm old school.

Who gains?

Who loses?

Start with motive.

Work backwards.

- Well, lisa's stepdad wouldn't back max's new restaurant.

Add to that a possible rejection to his proposal, the cut on his hand, his lies.

- On the other hand, uh, maybe lisa didn't reject max and rxo has a jealous side that we don't know about.

- Oh, that's right.

Jason did say that rxo though that he was getting in the way of his business with lisa.

- Talk to him.

- Okay.

Uh, I'm going to-- going to - wander aimlessly?

- Keeps me from getting lost.

[Piano music]

- Endymion 2.

Moving on up, baby.

- Well, I don't get it.

If lisa's stepfather was loaded, why would she come to you for money?

- It was important for her to do something on her own.

- So in the end, it all worked ou pretty well for you.

- You're kidding me, right?

- Well, with lisa gone, her 2% is a big number.

Could be pretty big.

- And five points is even better.

Look, I'll send over a guy with endymion 2 corporate documents.

You read them close and you'll see the week before she passed, I upped her ownership interest.

[Piano playing]

- There you have it.

Have your pasta.

Fresh.

[Sighs]

- Hey! What the hell is that?

- Max.

Wait, max.

- You got to calm down, pal.

It's tough.

I feel for you.

You know that I do.

But the world, it keeps on spinning.

- Look, I go to tell you something.

- No, you don't.

So I've been thinking about the new menu and I definitely think that we should keep the crab cioppino, the salmon en papillotes, and the roast chicken provencal.

I know that's your department, but I know what sold the bes last time.

You don't want the chicken, that's-- that's fine with me-- - you shut up for a minute! - Okay.

It's fine.

You--you're in mourning.

Whatever.

But I'm not going to le our dream die with her, buddy.

- Hey! - Okay.

It's okay.

I mean, m--maybe you should tell me what i-i can and can't say.

- Enough.

- Yeah, that's right, pal.

Go ahead, hit me.

It's not like it'll be the first time.

- The sad thing is I don't know how I'm going to get through a dinner party when you shut down.

- Guess who's still chasing their tail.

- No.

Actually, um, I was-- I'm talking abou what's going to happen with the show when you open the new restaurant.

- What did you think he was talking about?

- [Exhales]

- You know, I'll be he thought we were here to arrest max.

- Wait.

Do you know something about lisa?

- I know that the people in her life thought they knew her.

But really, they only knew what they needed or wanted.

To her mom, she was youth lost.

To rxo, a brand.

Jason, mommy.

- And to you, she was a muse.

- And to you, sir, she was a hurdle.

- What the hell's that supposed to mean?

- Lisa was taking your meal ticket away from you.

Your last best sho to stop being a, um-- how did he put it?

- A dime a dozen business guy, knocking on doors, looking for handouts.

- This is crazy.

Max would've never cut me out.

Tell him, max.

- Oh, yeah, the true emerson man.

And I know 'cause I've, uh, seen I up close and personal.

Has the unique ability to brush the dead wood aside like, uh, lint off a sports coat.

- What are you talking about?

I went to emerson.

- But you weren' of emerson.

I'm guessing you were a scholarship kid.

The real deal knows how to wear a cummerbund from the time he's ten.

We used to laugh at guys like this.

- You are way off base.

- What did the bard call it?

The double blessed.

The double blessed.

Talent and status.

You missed ou on both counts.

In which case, we don't let him into the sandbox, do we, max?

You can look, but you can't play.

- And the first time we spoke to you, you were about to tell us that you went to the club after the benefit.

But then larry changed the story.

- Because I was trying to protect him.

- Or frame him.

- There was no way he was going to let you move on without him.

- I k*lled myself for this business.

- So what?

He is necessary.

You're, uh, sufficient, which means expendable-- piece of lint in the breeze.

And you, you want it so bad you can taste it.

- This is stupid.

- From the first momen you ever put on that emerson blue blazer, you got that hunger in you.

And today, worse, worse.

"I'm in sales.

I'm not creative.

Max is the artist.

I'm the suit.

" - No.

Me and max, we're a team.

- Right.

He's the star.

You, uh, turn on the spotlight, hoping one day, uh, some of that shine will reflect back on you.

But it won't ever.

Oh, it's unfair.

It's frustrating.

Infuriating.

- I know what I am.

- I'm sure you do.

Always have.

Especially at nigh when you're alone.

- Let's go, max.

- Or first thing when you wake up and look in the mirror.

Poor kid in a rich kid's school suit.

Can't get any worse than that.

But then it did when you found ou that max and lisa were making I so you couldn't get near enough the sandbox to even watch.

- You wouldn't even-- you wouldn't even-- wouldn't even ask her.

I mean, like, it's-- it's like everything else.

It's just, with larry, "you let him do the dirty work.

" What difference would it have made to her?

One phone call to her stepfather.

One phone call.

- Is that why you wen to her loft?

- To talk.

- To beg?

- N--for--for us.

For and she just laughed at me.

Oh, my god, she was she was so beautiful and she was-- she was laughing at me! He was good enough, but not me.

He was good enough, but not me! And she said that max knew-- that--that-- that her stepfather knew-- rxo knew-- everyone knew that I was this-- this joke! This stupid joke! And that it was all done and over.

Then she told me to get out.

And then she looked righ through me.

Well, if I'm out, buddy, so are you! - Was revenge sweet?

- You're damn right it was.

You're damn right it was! - No! [Indistinct yelling]

- What'd you do to her?

What did you do?

- You cut me out! You cut me out! - What did you do to her?

- Calm down.

- You cut me out, huh?

You cut me out.

You cut me out.

- God, I'm glad I wen to public school.

- Friends, sometimes you jus need to let 'em go.

- They were never friends.

They just served each other's needs.

- Friends.

Mm-hmm.