The Calling (2022) s01e01 Episode Script
He's Gone
1
[SIREN WAILING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Thanks, Officer. Excuse me.
Some kind of altercation.
The hot dog got into a
dispute with the victim.
Did anybody witness it?
Patrons heard a commotion.
They came over and they
found him like this.
- Security cameras?
- Nothing so far.
- Interview all the patrons.
- Okay.
Collect the footage
from surrounding vendors.
Okay.
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
Sir, I'm Detective Avraham.
He went berserk, he
I just pushed him off of me, I swear.
I need you to come with
us to the police station.
He just attacked me.
We can talk about it at the station.
Is he dead?
It appears so.
Keep him in the costume.
- Really?
- Please.
Okay.
Officer, just load him in the front RMP.
[CAR HORNS BEEPING]
[SIRENS WHOOPING]
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[PRAYING IN HEBREW]
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
I'm here to report my son is missing.
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
♪
- Let's put him in the box.
- See, I'll be with you shortly.
- We know what happened?
- He'll tell me.
Oh, we just got a
walk-up, if you don't mind.
She's in the break room. She's a mother.
Avi, you're good with the mothers.
♪
Hello. Detective Avraham.
Joel Hamlin.
- I miss anything?
- No, he just started.
Oh, okay. Good.
God help me, I love watching Avi work.
Do I need a lawyer?
I wouldn't think so.
Can you tell me how
the altercation began?
He made a comment about this,
It wasn't even that clever.
I sniped back.
Next thing, he's attacking
me. So I pushed him off,
and he fell, and
hit his head.
What was his comment?
Do you remember?
Do you remember what he said?
Something about "wiener dick."
Like I said, not even that clever.
You get that a lot?
Comments like this?
I do.
How long have you been working as
Mr. Footlong? Is that your actual title?
It is.
How long have you been
working as Mr. Footlong?
Almost six months.
And before that?
Before that, I was COO at Stake Side,
which closed down COVID.
You have family, children?
Three kids.
- A wife?
- We're divorced.
When did you divorce?
Recently. It's been a difficult year.
What did you say that
caused him to attack you?
I don't really remember.
No one does passive-aggressive like Avi.
You remember what he said,
but you don't remember what you said?
I don't really remember.
It all happened so fast.
All I know is that he just came at me.
- And you pushed him off?
- That's right.
Did you punch him?
No I just pushed him, I
you know, shoved him.
I noticed he had blood
on the back of his head,
a laceration, a gash,
as if he had been
struck with great force.
Is it possible, sir, that
after he made his remark,
he turned to walk away,
and you just swung
and hit him in the back of the head?
No, no.
Sometimes people snap,
not because they're criminals,
but in fact because they're human.
People can only take so much.
I can't imagine the abasement
of having to dress up as a hot dog,
to be ridiculed by people on the street,
losing your career, your wife,
seeing yourself in that costume
through your children's eyes.
We can only take so much.
I know you didn't mean for
this to happen, Mr. Hamlin,
- but it did happen.
- [SOBBING]
And the best thing now
for you, your children,
would be for you to be forthcoming.
♪
[EXHALES]
Wow.
- Is he always that good?
- Always.
Just not usually that fast.
It must be some kind of damn record.
- [LAUGHS]
- Keeping him in the costume
it's almost not fair.
Hello. My name is Detective Avraham.
Nora Conte.
This is my son, Vincent.
He's missing.
He didn't come home from school today.
He didn't call. He's
not picking up his phone,
and it's almost 10:00.
How old is your son?
You're sure he was at school today?
I spoke to his friend. He was there.
But school lets out at
3:30, and he's missing.
Well, 16-year-old boys can
sometimes choose to be missing,
often with 16-year-old girls.
He's not having sex
with a 16-year-old girl.
He's he's missing.
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
I'm sorry. Hello.
No.
I'm with the police now.
Okay.
- My husband.
- Where is he?
Austin, Texas.
He left this morning
for a business trip.
Is he also convinced something
has happened to Vincent?
Yes.
Please. He's my heart.
Next week's class assignment,
I want it all in the narrative.
Sense of place, no dialogue.
And I beg you, please,
no more than three pages
'cause I'm only human.
And prose only, Julia. No rhyming.
I double beg you.
Zack, hang back, would you?
Sit a sec, will you?
Uh-oh, being held after class.
I finished the manuscript.
Oh. And?
Oh, I did that much, huh? [CHUCKLES]
This is a very difficult
thing for me to say.
It'll be more so for you to hear.
I don't think you were
meant to be a writer,
at least not a novelist.
There are ways to make a living
utilizing your writing skills, but
What does that mean? I am a writer.
Fiction is not your calling.
That's not true.
No, that's not true.
Just because you didn't
respond to something doesn't
you're the one that said,
"Don't let anyone tell
you you can't write."
Those were your words.
Yes, they were.
Well, I'll get better.
[DISTANT SIREN WAILING]
That's all. I'll just get better.
You'll remember I made
an admission early on
that I did not think this
craft could really be taught.
Plot, convention, story structure, sure.
But at the end of the day,
either a person can write or he cannot.
You cannot.
[DOOR BELL JINGLES]
[DARK MUSIC]
♪
[CAR HORN HONKING]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
♪
How do you do that?
I'm sorry?
It's almost like he wanted to confess.
Many do.
People tend to be burdened
by their wrongdoing.
That's what you picked
up on, his burden?
What did you see?
I saw a man who had
been utterly reduced,
and you valued him,
but we all do that.
We're all taught that trick.
Perhaps it shouldn't be a trick.
The Talmud teaches us to
see a single human being
as the whole world,
that each person is entitled
to infinite respect and concern.
Everyone is precious.
I believe that, Janine.
Mr. Hamlin saw and felt as much.
This job
it would be easy to
lose faith in humanity.
It would be a mistake.
Hey, I'm home.
I'm in the tub.
Wow.
Look at you.
- Living the life.
- Mm-hmm.
It took me over an hour
to put him down tonight,
so I earned every last bubble.
How was class?
Good. Good, yeah, he, um
liked the book.
Oh, my God, that's fantastic.
Yep.
I am so proud of you.
What's wrong?
Nothing. I'm just looking at you.
A man can still
objectify his wife, right?
[CHUCKLES]
A man certainly can.
You just looked a little
sad there for a second.
Puppy doggy.
It's actually nice to be objectified.
It's been a while.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
- Let me get out of the tub.
- Mm.
Have I ever told you
how much I love bubbles?
[LAUGHS] Zackary.
Should I stop?
- Mm!
- You okay?
Yeah, I just maybe it
makes a little more sense to
[LAUGHS]
Oh.
- [MOANING]
- [WATER SPLASHING]
[DARK MUSIC]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
♪
[BEEP] [PRINTER WHIRS]
- [EXHALES]
- [DOOR OPENS]
[SIGHS]
I hear breathing.
I'd like to partner with Avi.
- No.
- You want me to learn,
so who better to teach me?
You can't learn what he does.
Yes, I can.
Wouldn't it be great
to have two detectives
with that skill set?
No.
Okay.
Um, open or closed?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Zack.
You're up.
Yeah, I got up to feed Luke. You
didn't hear him crying?
I guess I didn't. [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
♪
What's going on?
What what do you mean?
I'm a little freaked out
about what happened in the tub.
What?
Well, I asked to get out of the tub,
and then I slipped.
Then you were on top of me
in a nanosecond, then inside me.
And I'm not saying that
I wouldn't have consented,
- but there wasn't time.
- Wait, what are you saying?
It was a little aggressive for my taste.
Aggressive? We were making love.
You imposed yourself.
Are you serious?
I will not be fucked like that, Zack.
♪
[PRAYING INAUDIBLY]
♪
I'm retired detective Sgt. Wally Zeitz,
and this is "Breaking the Case,"
a podcast series written and produced
by the New York City Police Department.
We're going to take you back
to a case from August 2006.
This is the story of how one individual
terrorized the roadways
of Queens for seven hours.
We'll hear from
officers who crisscrossed
the highways that night on
the lookout for a green car.
♪
- You pour it so slowly.
- [SCOFFS]
You got rituals, I got rituals.
I like to pretend I'm
in Europe somewhere,
one of those cafés with
the French press thingies.
Makes this shit taste better.
My wife gave me an
article about attitude
and outlook and whatnot.
Avi, I've decided to partner
you with Janine for a while.
- Because?
- Well, because she asked,
and the more I thought
on it, it makes sense.
I prefer to work alone.
Well, who was it that said you don't
always get what you want?
Janine's cool. You
might actually like her.
I won't intrude, promise.
You already have.
Well, the Talmud says it's
forbidden for a teacher
to reject a student.
So, I mean, Halakahkly speaking,
if I ask you, you kind
of have to teach me.
[LAUGHS]
[TENSE TONE]
♪
He's still missing.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey, hey.
Are you seeing this?
Vincent's missing.
- What?
- Evidently,
he didn't come home
from school yesterday.
- Wait, are you serious?
- Yeah.
A detective knocked on the door.
There were two. They
said they'd be back.
They knocked on our door?
Yeah, all the neighbors.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
The last time I saw him was
Excuse me, sir?
Can I help you?
Um, yeah, sorry. I'm
one of the neighbors.
I live on the floor below. Zack Miller.
I was told that the police
wanted to speak with me and my wife.
Can you tell me what happened?
We'll be right down
after we finish up here.
Okay, but is Vincent all right?
We'll be right down, Mr. Miller.
Yeah, of course.
Okay.
We were arguing for
- Something bad's happened.
- Like what?
I don't know. I was shooed away.
I mean, it's like a crime scene.
Oh, my God. What do you suppose?
[BABY CRYING]
They were interviewing a lady.
- Mr. Miller?
- Yes, Zack.
Please, come on in.
This is my wife, Dania.
Yes. I'm Detective Avraham.
This is Detective Harris.
Could we speak with
you both for a moment?
- Yeah, of course.
- What's happened to Vincent?
We don't know. We only
know that he's missing.
When did you last see Vincent?
Um, that would be Monday.
I'm his tutor. Or, I I was his tutor.
I would tutor Vincent
about twice a week.
I was helping him with
his writing skills.
Zack's a writer.
You last saw him Monday?
In the evening, yes.
We passed on the stairs.
I was going down, he was going up.
Did you notice anything
unusual about his behavior?
No, he seemed like normal,
which was quiet, polite.
Yeah, he's a lovely young man.
What about his family?
What do you mean?
Are they close-knit?
I have no reason to
think that they're not.
A few of the neighbors
said they heard fighting
from upstairs on Monday night.
I heard something, uh, yelling.
I couldn't tell who it was,
but it was definitely
an argument of some sort.
Were the voices male or female?
I think it was they
were both male voices.
Do you think he did something
to Vincent, the father?
I wasn't expecting that question.
Do you have reason to believe the father
- did something to Vincent?
- No, no, no, no, no.
He's just a mercurial man,
you know, a little aggressive.
Did Vincent ever talk
to you about his father?
Not much, no.
Did you and he ever talk about things
going on in his life?
Sometimes students
confide in their tutors.
Nah, we mostly just
talked about his writing.
He never mentioned plans to run away?
Problems at school, maybe?
Uh, no.
Any suicidal ideation?
Suicide?
- In his writings, maybe?
- No, no, never.
Is that what you think happened?
We have no idea what's happened to him.
Quite possibly nothing at all.
Sorry, is is there a reason
you're looking at me like that?
Like what?
Like I'm a suspect or something.
People tell me I do that sometimes.
It's not my intent.
Yeah.
You were looking at him kind of funny.
Funny how?
Well, your eyebrows kinda bulge.
Like, they bulge, like like that.
- No, I don't do that.
- Yeah, you do.
You're doing it right now,
and you did it to the tutor.
And that's why he asked you
why you were looking at him funny.
I was looking at him curious
because he's withholding something.
Okay.
[EERIE MUSIC]
What are you looking at now?
Avi, you still out there?
Just leaving.
We've got a 10-10. Shots
fired at Art's Deli.
I know Art.
[SIREN WAILING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
We've got eyes on them
through the security cameras.
Looks to be about ten hostages.
We've called for a negotiator.
[GUNSHOT]
The ceiling again.
He shot the roof twice
and the register once.
Is he making demands?
He's just screaming.
Schizophrenia, drugs, maybe both.
He's a vet, name is Kyle Henderson.
That's about all we know.
- Has anyone been hurt?
- Not yet.
He's got everyone lying down now.
- Janine.
- Yeah?
- Stay here. Hold this.
- What?
No, no, no.
- Avi!
- What's he doing?
[SIREN WAILING]
No more medicine, no more hospitals.
It didn't have to be this way!
It's your fault! Your
fault! Stop moving!
You made me do it.
- Stop moving!
- [HOSTAGES CRYING]
[LAUGHING]
I'm just following orders.
[PANTING]
Hello.
What the hell?
What the hell is this?
What's happening?
What's happening? What's happening?
What the fuck do you think is happening?
[WOMAN SCREAMS]
Don't look at me.
You just walked into the
wrong place at the wrong time.
- Please, sir.
- Please, sir?
[COCKS GUN, FIRES]
Kyle.
How do you know my name?
How do you know my name?
[HOSTAGES CRYING]
[GRUNTS]
[SCREAMING]
[PAINED GROANS]
[PANTING LOUDLY]
You'll be okay.
You'll be okay.
You're not a hostage negotiator.
It didn't feel like it could wait.
Yeah, it could wait, Avi.
It could wait for a hostage negotiator.
It didn't feel like an option.
You are not here to save humankind.
I just need you to solve crimes
who did what to whom and why.
Those are the questions that you tackle.
For you to walk into a
hostage situation, for which
- you are not trained
- I'm trained.
I grew up in Crown Heights.
Seriously, Avi?
[MOUSE CLICKING]
- I mean, not to overstep
- 'Cause you would never.
But it did strike me as
a little self-destructive.
I mean, like, not just
saving other people's lives,
but maybe risking your own.
You pretend to be a psychologist.
Oh, what? Like you don't.
Avi, we are not trained
to disarm terrorists,
unless maybe you are.
Oh, my God, are you a spy? CIA? Mossad?
You can tell me.
You just made a face. Hm.
It's not a superpower.
The screen reflects.
There he is.
- Who?
- His name is John Wentworth.
He used to teach
philosophy at Rockefeller,
and was discharged six
years ago for teaching Mark 9
with a little too much vigor.
He's homeless now.
I saw him on the street this morning,
and video surveillance placed
him there yesterday morning.
He walks that street a lot.
He sees and he hears. He
might have some information.
Whoa, you really have that
eyebrow thing going on.
Did you feel anything in the
Conte house? Sense anything?
- Sometimes, places talk.
- Okay.
What did it feel like to you?
Not good.
I need to go back.
Right.
[SOFT SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Who the fuck are you to
tell me I can't write?
- You are wrong.
- Zack
That's what I came to tell you.
I came to tell you you are so, so wrong.
I can write. I am a writer.
You're the one that's a realtor.
Have a seat.
I don't wanna sit.
- Okay. Yes, I have a job.
- Mm-hmm.
I have a life, which helps
me to write with authenticity.
Do you think it's a
coincidence that my best stories
are about real estate?
Look, maybe it's the only world I know,
but what's the world you know, Zack?
I have no idea.
It certainly isn't
evident in your material.
It's the whole point of class.
You're the teacher.
Maybe that's your problem.
Aren't you supposed to
be giving me something?
You need to dig your guts out, Zack.
It's why we all write
at the end of the day,
to reveal ourselves,
to be heard.
Who are you?
I have no fucking idea.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I wonder if I might see
Vincent's room again?
And you say it's always this neat?
Yes. I think it gives him
a sense of calm and order.
He can get anxiety sometimes.
No. I know this.
The luggage.
My mother gave me this very set.
In my youth, I had big
plans to travel the world.
That's Vincent's class schedule.
He laminated it.
Before he left the house for school,
did anything seem different?
No.
It was like any other day.
He ate his breakfast,
loaded up his backpack,
and then he was out the door.
But that's his old backpack.
He actually just got
a new one, actually.
Here. Yep.
And that's the coat he was wearing, too.
When was this?
Just a few weeks ago.
But that's his backpack and his coat.
That's him.
I'm told that your husband and
Vincent argued Monday night.
The neighbors heard.
Certainly, you must have.
No, actually, I didn't.
Leonard and I met some
friends for a drink,
and he came home early.
I returned an hour later.
But if they did argue, I
can guess what it was about.
Tell me.
Well, just Vincent is a
disappointment to his father.
Because?
Because his father is the way he is.
As far as I'm concerned, the
wrong person went missing.
Would you mind if I just
sit here for a moment?
Yeah.
I do that sometimes
too, when he's at school.
He can be a stranger to us. [CHUCKLES]
♪
Are you a good detective?
It would depend on who you talk to.
I'm talking to you.
I'm a very good detective.
May I hold your hand?
It can help me to feel him.
[EXHALES]
[PHONE BUZZES]
Oh, my God, that's Vincent's phone.
Hello? Hello?
[SIGHS] Sh
He must have left it.
Why would he leave the
house without his phone?
- No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't.
- Do you know the password?
No, I don't. He changed it.
- It used to be his birthday.
- I'll need to take it.
This might explain why he hasn't called.
No, he could've just borrowed
somebody else's phone.
It's possible your son
doesn't want to be found
and he left his phone to
avoid cellular tracking.
No, look, I know that
it makes sense to you
that he would run away,
but he would never do that.
Why not? What separates him
from other 16-year-old boys
in an unhappy household?
This is not an unhappy household.
It's very unhappy, Mrs. Conte.
If we're to find your son,
you must never lie to me.
Your son has been
unhappy for a long time.
You seriously held her hand?
Is that even allowed?
You wanna learn or
you wanna critique me?
Okay, you can't just touch
people like that, Avi.
- Why not?
- Uh, because you can't.
The human fingertip is a
profoundly perceptive organ.
Oh, my God. Okay, so what did she do?
- Who?
- The mother.
The female human woman
mother whom you fingertipped?
This is why I don't like partners.
No, mm-mm. This is
why you need a partner,
so that they can follow you
around and say, "Don't touch."
Oh, so we'll make you
my female woman mother.
Oh, okay. Did you learn anything,
from the room or the luggage,
or, I don't know, your finger organs?
I mean, I do realize that
you did not walk out of there
empty-handed, but I'm just wondering
if you learned anything.
Not as much as I'm learning now.
[SIGHS HEAVILY]
Do you have a girlfriend?
I'm not hitting on you at all.
I'm just trying to gauge how far out
you are on the loner spectrum.
- Where do you think I am?
- Oh, I don't know.
Halfway between interesting and weird.
You like that?
- I like that.
- Hm.
- I like candor.
- Hm.
But in small doses.
[CABINET CLOSES]
Wow, I see somebody's feeling creative.
Finally.
What do you mean, finally?
I need to
I need to tell you something.
I lied
about Michael Rosen liking the book.
He, uh
told me I can't write.
Excuse me?
That's what he said.
Well, he's wrong, Zack.
- He's wrong.
- Is he?
I mean, I can't get an agent.
I can't get even a sniff
from any publishers.
I mean,
who am I to think I
have anything to say?
Well, you do have something to say.
You have a voice.
I have been feeling just such inadequacy
as a writer, as a husband.
I think that's why I
I think that's why I,
like, acted out in the tub.
I mean, I was
I don't even know what
happened in there, I'm
- [SIGHS]
- Honey.
I can't just work at a
bookstore the rest of my life.
I don't wanna write articles
for "Popular Mechanics."
Zack, listen to me. You can write.
And I've heard this song before.
You know where?
Stephen King right
before he sold "Carrie."
Right. [CHUCKLES]
Your day is coming, I promise you.
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC]
♪
- Hey, John.
- Detective.
Out a bit late, are we?
Am I? I live here.
Here, there, and everywhere.
To lead a better life.
But you need your love to be here.
Look, I'm kind of busy.
Can I help you?
What makes you think I need your help?
Well, the boy who lives in
that building is missing.
You wanna know if I've seen him.
- Have you?
- Many times.
He's full of melancholy.
Have you spoken to him?
Never.
And yet you know he's sad.
I can spot them.
When I was a professor, it was simple.
The lecture hall used to be filled
with bright eyes and idealism.
It was easy to spot the disenfranchised.
But out here is just
a sea of blank faces,
people staring into their
gadgets or their black holes.
When you do that,
it's called dysthymia.
It's the feeling that life's not enough.
- [PHONE BUZZING]
- Something's missing.
You feel it, and so does this boy.
This is Avi.
Hey, did you see him yesterday morning?
I did not.
I'll have to talk to you again.
I'm on my way.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Is there a reason I can't
talk to Leonard Conte?
He's the missing boy's father.
- It's Avi's case.
- And it's mine now, too,
and I'm here and he's not.
Janine, you say you
wanna learn from Avi.
Well, his greatest skill is his capacity
and willingness to observe.
What's that saying?
Leap and the net shall appear.
Yeah, and I'll tell
you when you can leap.
Oh, Avi, interrogation C.
He's been there almost 20 minutes.
Okay.
I'm very sorry for this.
Yeah, well, you should be fuckin' sorry.
Now, I noticed you got
ears and eyeballs in here.
I can see the cameras,
so I'm just gonna get
this out on the open.
I am very displeased with you people.
But my wife came to you yesterday
and you sent her home.
Now, I know the statistics
on missing children.
The first 24 hours are crucial,
and you sent my wife home.
That is a fuckin' disgrace.
She told you something had happened.
She goddamn told you. [SCOFFS]
Were you as convinced as your wife
yesterday that something had happened?
Yeah, I was.
And yet, you didn't return home from
your business trip until tonight.
Ooh, fuck you.
You imply that a father isn't concerned
about his missing son?
That gets you a "Fuck you."
I apologize if I offended.
Well, he's tougher than
your average hot dog.
- Mm-hmm.
- Now, I'll admit,
I'm very confused by
your son's disappearance.
Confusion can be such an oppression.
I can't imagine yours.
- And we're off.
- Shh!
You argued with your son Monday night.
That perhaps gives you hope
that he simply ran away.
It's a common reaction to conflict.
But it perhaps fills you with guilt
in that you caused your
only son to run away.
What was the argument about?
Yeah, like a fuckin' boa constrictor.
- Shh! Shut up.
- Sorry.
[CLEARS THROAT]
We we were arguing about college.
He wants to go to NYU.
He was telling me about all
the cool shit they have
their student exchange program,
a chance to study abroad.
Nora said you saw his suitcases, right?
That's Vincent.
He wants a life to match his luggage.
Anyway, I asked him what
he would bring to the school
because that's what these universities,
these admissions people are looking for,
what a person is gonna
contribute to the community.
And he'd have to answer for that.
And so I asked him what
would he contribute?
Because so far in high school,
he hasn't contributed squat.
He doesn't play sports, no chess club,
no student council, nothing.
This kid gives back nothing.
And all the top colleges
were gonna take note of that.
And I was pointing that
out to him constructively,
and he told me to fuck off.
From what I know of your son,
that seems out of character.
[CHUCKLES] Yeah, exactly.
How did you react?
Loudly, angrily.
Like a human.
Look, my son is a very
[SIGHS] Weak person, detective.
I take no pleasure in that.
And for him to have said that to me,
"fuck off," to his father,
that must come from hate.
So, yeah, maybe I am responsible
for him running away,
but this notion that he's
out there on his own
he is ill-equipped,
that much I know.
- No one's home.
- Oh [SNICKERS]
Okay, um, he doesn't
have a criminal record,
and the rest of the neighbors
describe him the same.
He's just a bit of misanthrope.
What's with the fish?
I don't know.
I I just
I like to draw them.
[LAUGHS]
Okay.
Um,
why did you ask to partner?
Why me?
I told you, I wanna learn.
And I like missing person cases.
They were always my
favorite on "Law & Order."
And yeah, I don't wanna
become a missing person,
which, I guess, everyone
kind of is in a way
Vincent, the hot dog man,
that vet you took out
in the grocery store,
the father just now,
and cops, especially cops.
We deal with such depravity
and despair on a daily basis.
And sometimes, it
feels like the only way
that we can survive this job
is to wall off our emotions.
But once we do that, we
go missing from ourselves.
And that hasn't happened to you.
I don't want it to happen to me.
Yeah, so that's why you.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Detective Avraham.
We gotta go.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I caught his name on the Amber Alert,
so I called it in.
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
♪
We better call the parents.
[SIREN WAILING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Thanks, Officer. Excuse me.
Some kind of altercation.
The hot dog got into a
dispute with the victim.
Did anybody witness it?
Patrons heard a commotion.
They came over and they
found him like this.
- Security cameras?
- Nothing so far.
- Interview all the patrons.
- Okay.
Collect the footage
from surrounding vendors.
Okay.
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
Sir, I'm Detective Avraham.
He went berserk, he
I just pushed him off of me, I swear.
I need you to come with
us to the police station.
He just attacked me.
We can talk about it at the station.
Is he dead?
It appears so.
Keep him in the costume.
- Really?
- Please.
Okay.
Officer, just load him in the front RMP.
[CAR HORNS BEEPING]
[SIRENS WHOOPING]
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[PRAYING IN HEBREW]
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
I'm here to report my son is missing.
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
♪
- Let's put him in the box.
- See, I'll be with you shortly.
- We know what happened?
- He'll tell me.
Oh, we just got a
walk-up, if you don't mind.
She's in the break room. She's a mother.
Avi, you're good with the mothers.
♪
Hello. Detective Avraham.
Joel Hamlin.
- I miss anything?
- No, he just started.
Oh, okay. Good.
God help me, I love watching Avi work.
Do I need a lawyer?
I wouldn't think so.
Can you tell me how
the altercation began?
He made a comment about this,
It wasn't even that clever.
I sniped back.
Next thing, he's attacking
me. So I pushed him off,
and he fell, and
hit his head.
What was his comment?
Do you remember?
Do you remember what he said?
Something about "wiener dick."
Like I said, not even that clever.
You get that a lot?
Comments like this?
I do.
How long have you been working as
Mr. Footlong? Is that your actual title?
It is.
How long have you been
working as Mr. Footlong?
Almost six months.
And before that?
Before that, I was COO at Stake Side,
which closed down COVID.
You have family, children?
Three kids.
- A wife?
- We're divorced.
When did you divorce?
Recently. It's been a difficult year.
What did you say that
caused him to attack you?
I don't really remember.
No one does passive-aggressive like Avi.
You remember what he said,
but you don't remember what you said?
I don't really remember.
It all happened so fast.
All I know is that he just came at me.
- And you pushed him off?
- That's right.
Did you punch him?
No I just pushed him, I
you know, shoved him.
I noticed he had blood
on the back of his head,
a laceration, a gash,
as if he had been
struck with great force.
Is it possible, sir, that
after he made his remark,
he turned to walk away,
and you just swung
and hit him in the back of the head?
No, no.
Sometimes people snap,
not because they're criminals,
but in fact because they're human.
People can only take so much.
I can't imagine the abasement
of having to dress up as a hot dog,
to be ridiculed by people on the street,
losing your career, your wife,
seeing yourself in that costume
through your children's eyes.
We can only take so much.
I know you didn't mean for
this to happen, Mr. Hamlin,
- but it did happen.
- [SOBBING]
And the best thing now
for you, your children,
would be for you to be forthcoming.
♪
[EXHALES]
Wow.
- Is he always that good?
- Always.
Just not usually that fast.
It must be some kind of damn record.
- [LAUGHS]
- Keeping him in the costume
it's almost not fair.
Hello. My name is Detective Avraham.
Nora Conte.
This is my son, Vincent.
He's missing.
He didn't come home from school today.
He didn't call. He's
not picking up his phone,
and it's almost 10:00.
How old is your son?
You're sure he was at school today?
I spoke to his friend. He was there.
But school lets out at
3:30, and he's missing.
Well, 16-year-old boys can
sometimes choose to be missing,
often with 16-year-old girls.
He's not having sex
with a 16-year-old girl.
He's he's missing.
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
I'm sorry. Hello.
No.
I'm with the police now.
Okay.
- My husband.
- Where is he?
Austin, Texas.
He left this morning
for a business trip.
Is he also convinced something
has happened to Vincent?
Yes.
Please. He's my heart.
Next week's class assignment,
I want it all in the narrative.
Sense of place, no dialogue.
And I beg you, please,
no more than three pages
'cause I'm only human.
And prose only, Julia. No rhyming.
I double beg you.
Zack, hang back, would you?
Sit a sec, will you?
Uh-oh, being held after class.
I finished the manuscript.
Oh. And?
Oh, I did that much, huh? [CHUCKLES]
This is a very difficult
thing for me to say.
It'll be more so for you to hear.
I don't think you were
meant to be a writer,
at least not a novelist.
There are ways to make a living
utilizing your writing skills, but
What does that mean? I am a writer.
Fiction is not your calling.
That's not true.
No, that's not true.
Just because you didn't
respond to something doesn't
you're the one that said,
"Don't let anyone tell
you you can't write."
Those were your words.
Yes, they were.
Well, I'll get better.
[DISTANT SIREN WAILING]
That's all. I'll just get better.
You'll remember I made
an admission early on
that I did not think this
craft could really be taught.
Plot, convention, story structure, sure.
But at the end of the day,
either a person can write or he cannot.
You cannot.
[DOOR BELL JINGLES]
[DARK MUSIC]
♪
[CAR HORN HONKING]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
♪
How do you do that?
I'm sorry?
It's almost like he wanted to confess.
Many do.
People tend to be burdened
by their wrongdoing.
That's what you picked
up on, his burden?
What did you see?
I saw a man who had
been utterly reduced,
and you valued him,
but we all do that.
We're all taught that trick.
Perhaps it shouldn't be a trick.
The Talmud teaches us to
see a single human being
as the whole world,
that each person is entitled
to infinite respect and concern.
Everyone is precious.
I believe that, Janine.
Mr. Hamlin saw and felt as much.
This job
it would be easy to
lose faith in humanity.
It would be a mistake.
Hey, I'm home.
I'm in the tub.
Wow.
Look at you.
- Living the life.
- Mm-hmm.
It took me over an hour
to put him down tonight,
so I earned every last bubble.
How was class?
Good. Good, yeah, he, um
liked the book.
Oh, my God, that's fantastic.
Yep.
I am so proud of you.
What's wrong?
Nothing. I'm just looking at you.
A man can still
objectify his wife, right?
[CHUCKLES]
A man certainly can.
You just looked a little
sad there for a second.
Puppy doggy.
It's actually nice to be objectified.
It's been a while.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
- Let me get out of the tub.
- Mm.
Have I ever told you
how much I love bubbles?
[LAUGHS] Zackary.
Should I stop?
- Mm!
- You okay?
Yeah, I just maybe it
makes a little more sense to
[LAUGHS]
Oh.
- [MOANING]
- [WATER SPLASHING]
[DARK MUSIC]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
♪
[BEEP] [PRINTER WHIRS]
- [EXHALES]
- [DOOR OPENS]
[SIGHS]
I hear breathing.
I'd like to partner with Avi.
- No.
- You want me to learn,
so who better to teach me?
You can't learn what he does.
Yes, I can.
Wouldn't it be great
to have two detectives
with that skill set?
No.
Okay.
Um, open or closed?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Zack.
You're up.
Yeah, I got up to feed Luke. You
didn't hear him crying?
I guess I didn't. [CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
♪
What's going on?
What what do you mean?
I'm a little freaked out
about what happened in the tub.
What?
Well, I asked to get out of the tub,
and then I slipped.
Then you were on top of me
in a nanosecond, then inside me.
And I'm not saying that
I wouldn't have consented,
- but there wasn't time.
- Wait, what are you saying?
It was a little aggressive for my taste.
Aggressive? We were making love.
You imposed yourself.
Are you serious?
I will not be fucked like that, Zack.
♪
[PRAYING INAUDIBLY]
♪
I'm retired detective Sgt. Wally Zeitz,
and this is "Breaking the Case,"
a podcast series written and produced
by the New York City Police Department.
We're going to take you back
to a case from August 2006.
This is the story of how one individual
terrorized the roadways
of Queens for seven hours.
We'll hear from
officers who crisscrossed
the highways that night on
the lookout for a green car.
♪
- You pour it so slowly.
- [SCOFFS]
You got rituals, I got rituals.
I like to pretend I'm
in Europe somewhere,
one of those cafés with
the French press thingies.
Makes this shit taste better.
My wife gave me an
article about attitude
and outlook and whatnot.
Avi, I've decided to partner
you with Janine for a while.
- Because?
- Well, because she asked,
and the more I thought
on it, it makes sense.
I prefer to work alone.
Well, who was it that said you don't
always get what you want?
Janine's cool. You
might actually like her.
I won't intrude, promise.
You already have.
Well, the Talmud says it's
forbidden for a teacher
to reject a student.
So, I mean, Halakahkly speaking,
if I ask you, you kind
of have to teach me.
[LAUGHS]
[TENSE TONE]
♪
He's still missing.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Hey, hey.
Are you seeing this?
Vincent's missing.
- What?
- Evidently,
he didn't come home
from school yesterday.
- Wait, are you serious?
- Yeah.
A detective knocked on the door.
There were two. They
said they'd be back.
They knocked on our door?
Yeah, all the neighbors.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
The last time I saw him was
Excuse me, sir?
Can I help you?
Um, yeah, sorry. I'm
one of the neighbors.
I live on the floor below. Zack Miller.
I was told that the police
wanted to speak with me and my wife.
Can you tell me what happened?
We'll be right down
after we finish up here.
Okay, but is Vincent all right?
We'll be right down, Mr. Miller.
Yeah, of course.
Okay.
We were arguing for
- Something bad's happened.
- Like what?
I don't know. I was shooed away.
I mean, it's like a crime scene.
Oh, my God. What do you suppose?
[BABY CRYING]
They were interviewing a lady.
- Mr. Miller?
- Yes, Zack.
Please, come on in.
This is my wife, Dania.
Yes. I'm Detective Avraham.
This is Detective Harris.
Could we speak with
you both for a moment?
- Yeah, of course.
- What's happened to Vincent?
We don't know. We only
know that he's missing.
When did you last see Vincent?
Um, that would be Monday.
I'm his tutor. Or, I I was his tutor.
I would tutor Vincent
about twice a week.
I was helping him with
his writing skills.
Zack's a writer.
You last saw him Monday?
In the evening, yes.
We passed on the stairs.
I was going down, he was going up.
Did you notice anything
unusual about his behavior?
No, he seemed like normal,
which was quiet, polite.
Yeah, he's a lovely young man.
What about his family?
What do you mean?
Are they close-knit?
I have no reason to
think that they're not.
A few of the neighbors
said they heard fighting
from upstairs on Monday night.
I heard something, uh, yelling.
I couldn't tell who it was,
but it was definitely
an argument of some sort.
Were the voices male or female?
I think it was they
were both male voices.
Do you think he did something
to Vincent, the father?
I wasn't expecting that question.
Do you have reason to believe the father
- did something to Vincent?
- No, no, no, no, no.
He's just a mercurial man,
you know, a little aggressive.
Did Vincent ever talk
to you about his father?
Not much, no.
Did you and he ever talk about things
going on in his life?
Sometimes students
confide in their tutors.
Nah, we mostly just
talked about his writing.
He never mentioned plans to run away?
Problems at school, maybe?
Uh, no.
Any suicidal ideation?
Suicide?
- In his writings, maybe?
- No, no, never.
Is that what you think happened?
We have no idea what's happened to him.
Quite possibly nothing at all.
Sorry, is is there a reason
you're looking at me like that?
Like what?
Like I'm a suspect or something.
People tell me I do that sometimes.
It's not my intent.
Yeah.
You were looking at him kind of funny.
Funny how?
Well, your eyebrows kinda bulge.
Like, they bulge, like like that.
- No, I don't do that.
- Yeah, you do.
You're doing it right now,
and you did it to the tutor.
And that's why he asked you
why you were looking at him funny.
I was looking at him curious
because he's withholding something.
Okay.
[EERIE MUSIC]
What are you looking at now?
Avi, you still out there?
Just leaving.
We've got a 10-10. Shots
fired at Art's Deli.
I know Art.
[SIREN WAILING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
We've got eyes on them
through the security cameras.
Looks to be about ten hostages.
We've called for a negotiator.
[GUNSHOT]
The ceiling again.
He shot the roof twice
and the register once.
Is he making demands?
He's just screaming.
Schizophrenia, drugs, maybe both.
He's a vet, name is Kyle Henderson.
That's about all we know.
- Has anyone been hurt?
- Not yet.
He's got everyone lying down now.
- Janine.
- Yeah?
- Stay here. Hold this.
- What?
No, no, no.
- Avi!
- What's he doing?
[SIREN WAILING]
No more medicine, no more hospitals.
It didn't have to be this way!
It's your fault! Your
fault! Stop moving!
You made me do it.
- Stop moving!
- [HOSTAGES CRYING]
[LAUGHING]
I'm just following orders.
[PANTING]
Hello.
What the hell?
What the hell is this?
What's happening?
What's happening? What's happening?
What the fuck do you think is happening?
[WOMAN SCREAMS]
Don't look at me.
You just walked into the
wrong place at the wrong time.
- Please, sir.
- Please, sir?
[COCKS GUN, FIRES]
Kyle.
How do you know my name?
How do you know my name?
[HOSTAGES CRYING]
[GRUNTS]
[SCREAMING]
[PAINED GROANS]
[PANTING LOUDLY]
You'll be okay.
You'll be okay.
You're not a hostage negotiator.
It didn't feel like it could wait.
Yeah, it could wait, Avi.
It could wait for a hostage negotiator.
It didn't feel like an option.
You are not here to save humankind.
I just need you to solve crimes
who did what to whom and why.
Those are the questions that you tackle.
For you to walk into a
hostage situation, for which
- you are not trained
- I'm trained.
I grew up in Crown Heights.
Seriously, Avi?
[MOUSE CLICKING]
- I mean, not to overstep
- 'Cause you would never.
But it did strike me as
a little self-destructive.
I mean, like, not just
saving other people's lives,
but maybe risking your own.
You pretend to be a psychologist.
Oh, what? Like you don't.
Avi, we are not trained
to disarm terrorists,
unless maybe you are.
Oh, my God, are you a spy? CIA? Mossad?
You can tell me.
You just made a face. Hm.
It's not a superpower.
The screen reflects.
There he is.
- Who?
- His name is John Wentworth.
He used to teach
philosophy at Rockefeller,
and was discharged six
years ago for teaching Mark 9
with a little too much vigor.
He's homeless now.
I saw him on the street this morning,
and video surveillance placed
him there yesterday morning.
He walks that street a lot.
He sees and he hears. He
might have some information.
Whoa, you really have that
eyebrow thing going on.
Did you feel anything in the
Conte house? Sense anything?
- Sometimes, places talk.
- Okay.
What did it feel like to you?
Not good.
I need to go back.
Right.
[SOFT SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Who the fuck are you to
tell me I can't write?
- You are wrong.
- Zack
That's what I came to tell you.
I came to tell you you are so, so wrong.
I can write. I am a writer.
You're the one that's a realtor.
Have a seat.
I don't wanna sit.
- Okay. Yes, I have a job.
- Mm-hmm.
I have a life, which helps
me to write with authenticity.
Do you think it's a
coincidence that my best stories
are about real estate?
Look, maybe it's the only world I know,
but what's the world you know, Zack?
I have no idea.
It certainly isn't
evident in your material.
It's the whole point of class.
You're the teacher.
Maybe that's your problem.
Aren't you supposed to
be giving me something?
You need to dig your guts out, Zack.
It's why we all write
at the end of the day,
to reveal ourselves,
to be heard.
Who are you?
I have no fucking idea.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I wonder if I might see
Vincent's room again?
And you say it's always this neat?
Yes. I think it gives him
a sense of calm and order.
He can get anxiety sometimes.
No. I know this.
The luggage.
My mother gave me this very set.
In my youth, I had big
plans to travel the world.
That's Vincent's class schedule.
He laminated it.
Before he left the house for school,
did anything seem different?
No.
It was like any other day.
He ate his breakfast,
loaded up his backpack,
and then he was out the door.
But that's his old backpack.
He actually just got
a new one, actually.
Here. Yep.
And that's the coat he was wearing, too.
When was this?
Just a few weeks ago.
But that's his backpack and his coat.
That's him.
I'm told that your husband and
Vincent argued Monday night.
The neighbors heard.
Certainly, you must have.
No, actually, I didn't.
Leonard and I met some
friends for a drink,
and he came home early.
I returned an hour later.
But if they did argue, I
can guess what it was about.
Tell me.
Well, just Vincent is a
disappointment to his father.
Because?
Because his father is the way he is.
As far as I'm concerned, the
wrong person went missing.
Would you mind if I just
sit here for a moment?
Yeah.
I do that sometimes
too, when he's at school.
He can be a stranger to us. [CHUCKLES]
♪
Are you a good detective?
It would depend on who you talk to.
I'm talking to you.
I'm a very good detective.
May I hold your hand?
It can help me to feel him.
[EXHALES]
[PHONE BUZZES]
Oh, my God, that's Vincent's phone.
Hello? Hello?
[SIGHS] Sh
He must have left it.
Why would he leave the
house without his phone?
- No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't.
- Do you know the password?
No, I don't. He changed it.
- It used to be his birthday.
- I'll need to take it.
This might explain why he hasn't called.
No, he could've just borrowed
somebody else's phone.
It's possible your son
doesn't want to be found
and he left his phone to
avoid cellular tracking.
No, look, I know that
it makes sense to you
that he would run away,
but he would never do that.
Why not? What separates him
from other 16-year-old boys
in an unhappy household?
This is not an unhappy household.
It's very unhappy, Mrs. Conte.
If we're to find your son,
you must never lie to me.
Your son has been
unhappy for a long time.
You seriously held her hand?
Is that even allowed?
You wanna learn or
you wanna critique me?
Okay, you can't just touch
people like that, Avi.
- Why not?
- Uh, because you can't.
The human fingertip is a
profoundly perceptive organ.
Oh, my God. Okay, so what did she do?
- Who?
- The mother.
The female human woman
mother whom you fingertipped?
This is why I don't like partners.
No, mm-mm. This is
why you need a partner,
so that they can follow you
around and say, "Don't touch."
Oh, so we'll make you
my female woman mother.
Oh, okay. Did you learn anything,
from the room or the luggage,
or, I don't know, your finger organs?
I mean, I do realize that
you did not walk out of there
empty-handed, but I'm just wondering
if you learned anything.
Not as much as I'm learning now.
[SIGHS HEAVILY]
Do you have a girlfriend?
I'm not hitting on you at all.
I'm just trying to gauge how far out
you are on the loner spectrum.
- Where do you think I am?
- Oh, I don't know.
Halfway between interesting and weird.
You like that?
- I like that.
- Hm.
- I like candor.
- Hm.
But in small doses.
[CABINET CLOSES]
Wow, I see somebody's feeling creative.
Finally.
What do you mean, finally?
I need to
I need to tell you something.
I lied
about Michael Rosen liking the book.
He, uh
told me I can't write.
Excuse me?
That's what he said.
Well, he's wrong, Zack.
- He's wrong.
- Is he?
I mean, I can't get an agent.
I can't get even a sniff
from any publishers.
I mean,
who am I to think I
have anything to say?
Well, you do have something to say.
You have a voice.
I have been feeling just such inadequacy
as a writer, as a husband.
I think that's why I
I think that's why I,
like, acted out in the tub.
I mean, I was
I don't even know what
happened in there, I'm
- [SIGHS]
- Honey.
I can't just work at a
bookstore the rest of my life.
I don't wanna write articles
for "Popular Mechanics."
Zack, listen to me. You can write.
And I've heard this song before.
You know where?
Stephen King right
before he sold "Carrie."
Right. [CHUCKLES]
Your day is coming, I promise you.
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC]
♪
- Hey, John.
- Detective.
Out a bit late, are we?
Am I? I live here.
Here, there, and everywhere.
To lead a better life.
But you need your love to be here.
Look, I'm kind of busy.
Can I help you?
What makes you think I need your help?
Well, the boy who lives in
that building is missing.
You wanna know if I've seen him.
- Have you?
- Many times.
He's full of melancholy.
Have you spoken to him?
Never.
And yet you know he's sad.
I can spot them.
When I was a professor, it was simple.
The lecture hall used to be filled
with bright eyes and idealism.
It was easy to spot the disenfranchised.
But out here is just
a sea of blank faces,
people staring into their
gadgets or their black holes.
When you do that,
it's called dysthymia.
It's the feeling that life's not enough.
- [PHONE BUZZING]
- Something's missing.
You feel it, and so does this boy.
This is Avi.
Hey, did you see him yesterday morning?
I did not.
I'll have to talk to you again.
I'm on my way.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Is there a reason I can't
talk to Leonard Conte?
He's the missing boy's father.
- It's Avi's case.
- And it's mine now, too,
and I'm here and he's not.
Janine, you say you
wanna learn from Avi.
Well, his greatest skill is his capacity
and willingness to observe.
What's that saying?
Leap and the net shall appear.
Yeah, and I'll tell
you when you can leap.
Oh, Avi, interrogation C.
He's been there almost 20 minutes.
Okay.
I'm very sorry for this.
Yeah, well, you should be fuckin' sorry.
Now, I noticed you got
ears and eyeballs in here.
I can see the cameras,
so I'm just gonna get
this out on the open.
I am very displeased with you people.
But my wife came to you yesterday
and you sent her home.
Now, I know the statistics
on missing children.
The first 24 hours are crucial,
and you sent my wife home.
That is a fuckin' disgrace.
She told you something had happened.
She goddamn told you. [SCOFFS]
Were you as convinced as your wife
yesterday that something had happened?
Yeah, I was.
And yet, you didn't return home from
your business trip until tonight.
Ooh, fuck you.
You imply that a father isn't concerned
about his missing son?
That gets you a "Fuck you."
I apologize if I offended.
Well, he's tougher than
your average hot dog.
- Mm-hmm.
- Now, I'll admit,
I'm very confused by
your son's disappearance.
Confusion can be such an oppression.
I can't imagine yours.
- And we're off.
- Shh!
You argued with your son Monday night.
That perhaps gives you hope
that he simply ran away.
It's a common reaction to conflict.
But it perhaps fills you with guilt
in that you caused your
only son to run away.
What was the argument about?
Yeah, like a fuckin' boa constrictor.
- Shh! Shut up.
- Sorry.
[CLEARS THROAT]
We we were arguing about college.
He wants to go to NYU.
He was telling me about all
the cool shit they have
their student exchange program,
a chance to study abroad.
Nora said you saw his suitcases, right?
That's Vincent.
He wants a life to match his luggage.
Anyway, I asked him what
he would bring to the school
because that's what these universities,
these admissions people are looking for,
what a person is gonna
contribute to the community.
And he'd have to answer for that.
And so I asked him what
would he contribute?
Because so far in high school,
he hasn't contributed squat.
He doesn't play sports, no chess club,
no student council, nothing.
This kid gives back nothing.
And all the top colleges
were gonna take note of that.
And I was pointing that
out to him constructively,
and he told me to fuck off.
From what I know of your son,
that seems out of character.
[CHUCKLES] Yeah, exactly.
How did you react?
Loudly, angrily.
Like a human.
Look, my son is a very
[SIGHS] Weak person, detective.
I take no pleasure in that.
And for him to have said that to me,
"fuck off," to his father,
that must come from hate.
So, yeah, maybe I am responsible
for him running away,
but this notion that he's
out there on his own
he is ill-equipped,
that much I know.
- No one's home.
- Oh [SNICKERS]
Okay, um, he doesn't
have a criminal record,
and the rest of the neighbors
describe him the same.
He's just a bit of misanthrope.
What's with the fish?
I don't know.
I I just
I like to draw them.
[LAUGHS]
Okay.
Um,
why did you ask to partner?
Why me?
I told you, I wanna learn.
And I like missing person cases.
They were always my
favorite on "Law & Order."
And yeah, I don't wanna
become a missing person,
which, I guess, everyone
kind of is in a way
Vincent, the hot dog man,
that vet you took out
in the grocery store,
the father just now,
and cops, especially cops.
We deal with such depravity
and despair on a daily basis.
And sometimes, it
feels like the only way
that we can survive this job
is to wall off our emotions.
But once we do that, we
go missing from ourselves.
And that hasn't happened to you.
I don't want it to happen to me.
Yeah, so that's why you.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Detective Avraham.
We gotta go.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I caught his name on the Amber Alert,
so I called it in.
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
♪
We better call the parents.