The Alienist (2018) s01e03 Episode Script
Silver Smile
1 A toast.
To the beginning of a fruitful partnership.
We found this.
A bloody finger mark.
I've read about this.
And what is my role to be in all of this? Perhaps you've already played it.
May I assume you have an interest? It wouldn't be fair to assume anything about me, Doctor.
I'm seeking information.
What was his name? The one with the silver smile? [GASPING.]
BYRNES: Mr.
Van Bergen.
Sir? You may bring the dessert now.
Yes, sir.
Mr.
Van Bergen, there's been an incident.
- An incident? - Yes.
It involves a boy, a rather young boy.
Does this have something to do with Willem? [SNIFFS.]
Um The police aren't entirely certain, Mrs.
Van Bergen, but um inquiries have been made by persons outside the department that could be cause for concern.
There was a young street urchin killed up on the bridge.
Your son is known to have frequented the disorderly house where the boy worked, and it is said that they were fond of one another.
- Enough! - [CLEARS THROAT.]
What's this? Steamed treacle pudding, sir.
Mmm! I am terribly sorry to have disturbed your lunch.
But it seems as though Willem has got himself in water a bit hotter than usual.
I thought you should know now.
There's no later.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[HORSE WHINNIES IN DISTANCE.]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
PAUL: I don't like it, Tom.
I don't like it one bit.
None of us like it.
Willem's been warned before.
No rough stuff, not with Biff's girls.
I've had a meeting with the family, gave due notice.
We won't let it happen again.
Paulie, don't worry.
Goddamn sodomites.
What about the Moore fella? I don't think he's gonna be talking to nobody about his little visit to Paresis Hall.
Not if he cares about his good standing in the community.
Well, you're right about his standing.
He won't be sitting down for a week.
[CHUCKLES.]
[THUNDER CRASHES.]
[SIGHS.]
[PIANO PLAYS "DAISY BELL".]
Sally? [MUSIC DISTORTS.]
[GASPS.]
Aw! John.
How do you feel? How did I get here? You have young Stevie to thank for that.
He found you wandering about in an alley down in the Tenderloin.
[SIGHS.]
You were missing your trousers.
Christ.
Don't worry.
It can happen to the best of us.
Can I get something a little stronger, please? What's all this? What's going on? We need someplace where the walls have no ears.
It will be a gathering point, a place where revelations - may slip through.
- Revelations of what? Well, let's start with what you did last night.
[SIGHS.]
You went down to new Paresis Hall.
Stevie told us that much.
I-I met Sally.
They were friends, the two of them.
Gloria Giorgio was well-liked, she said.
Especially by the wealthier clients.
That may be the reason the police were pressuring the Santorelli family to keep quiet.
The rich will always choose dead children over social scandal.
What else? Honestly, I-I can recall very little.
[SIGHS.]
It's not what you think! What do we think? You think I I told you! I don't remember! It is my honor and my privilege to present these brave men with the Meritorious Service Medal.
Their honesty and devotion to duty make them examples to every member of the New York Police Department, as well as to every citizen.
[APPLAUSE.]
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
Captain Connor, at long last, the city has policemen it can be proud of.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
You think sticking medals in roundsmen with nary a hair on their ball sack is gonna earn the respect of the department? You want to give out medals, Commissioner, I know men who are deserving.
Sir.
Commissioner? A photograph, please? Captain Connor please join us.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[APPLAUSE.]
Well done.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
My father loves to shoot, but we're never allowed to touch a gun unless he's there.
Can you shoot? My father taught me when I was just about your age.
Did your mother object? She died long before.
Keep up the good work.
They were friends, my father and yours.
Is that how you got the job, then? I'd like to think not.
[DOOR CLOSES, KEYS JANGLE.]
Is that you, John? Morning, Gran.
When you didn't come home last night, I called your father, and I should have let you know my whereabouts.
I'm sorry.
You're irresponsible, John, but you aren't cruel.
Had you been drinking again? I'm merely seeing myself through a rough patch.
Oh? [LAUGHS.]
You and your rough patches.
You need to meet a nice girl.
Marry her.
Have little Moores.
I am in a position to introduce you to the right young lady.
- [TELEPHONE RINGS.]
- Oh! Loathsome machine.
[SIGHS.]
Quite a maze.
And our killer has to be found somewhere in the midst of it.
Ancient cultures believed fingerprints revealed the secrets of the soul.
Just like palmistry.
As scientists, what does it tell us, gentlemen? Nothing for now, but if we find a second print, it may tell us whether it belongs to the same man.
What about this spot here? It's only a partial print.
Some of the friction ridges won't show up.
Here.
And over here.
They could be cuts or abrasions.
Belonging to a manual laborer, perhaps.
Or some skin disease.
We need a clearer print to do a proper analysis.
What about the Santorelli boy? Could the killer have left prints on his body or clothing? With the amount of blood he shed, it's highly likely.
We have his fingerprint.
We know the kind of knife he uses.
I need you to go to the morgue to check the body.
[BOOK SLAMS.]
[ALL SHOUTING, LAUGHTER.]
You! You were here this morning.
- Out! - That wasn't me! You know the rules! Out! [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
DR.
TUTHILL: I do wish he had stayed in Washington.
His return to the city has brought nothing but acrimony to its inhabitants.
Who would that be, Mr.
Tuthill? Roosevelt.
Closing down the saloons on Sunday.
Who the hell does he think he is? I'd call him a man thirsty for reform.
A bunch of hooey is what I say.
This won't take long, Mr.
Tuthill.
[SIGHS.]
Let me see Santorelli, Giorgio.
Here we are.
[GROANS.]
Now Well, I'll be damned.
SARA: The body of the Santorelli child has been taken from the morgue.
Dr.
Kreizler, this is evidence of corruption within the police department.
Indeed.
I've convinced Commissioner Roosevelt that he now must trust you more than his own men.
The unwillingness to pursue the killer on the part of the police only highlights Mr.
Roosevelt's isolation within the department.
They don't have the appetite to approach matters from this new perspective of yours the "why" rather than the "what.
" Every new thinker is at first condemned by those for whom change is far more terrifying than a murderer of children.
We are quite alone in searching for this killer.
But I imagine that will suit you well enough to be quite alone.
Your appearance would suggest a social engagement.
I have a Vassar reunion.
Quite frankly, I'd prefer to continue working on the Santorelli case.
Because you require answers, or you wish to keep the world at bay? Goodnight, Dr.
Kreizler.
Someone is the murderer, and if you've been winked at, it means you've been killed and you're out of the game.
[LAUGHS.]
The object is to catch the murderer before he winks at you.
Are we all ready? [ALL EXCLAIM.]
[RAGTIME MUSIC PLAYING.]
Are we two the only old maids in the entire class? Please, Miss Howard.
Speak for yourself.
Sara meet Milton.
Milton, Sara's my old college roommate.
Pleased to meet you.
Sara works for the police department.
Oh.
My uncle is a policeman in Poughkeepsie.
He says it's challenging work.
Yes, I suppose it can be.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
[MAN GROANS.]
[CROWD SHOUTS.]
[LAUGHS.]
[APPLAUSE.]
You must wait by the punch bowl when you're dead.
[LAUGHTER.]
I've been dying to tell you I was engaged, but I was afraid you wouldn't approve.
Why should I not prove? If that's what you want.
I only want what any girl wants.
[WHISPERING.]
And here's something else.
We've done it.
Oh? [GROANS.]
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE.]
You'll know what I'm talking about one day.
Oh, but I'm being presumptuous.
Perhaps you've got a beau.
[SIGHS.]
Well there is someone, but it's only just begun.
Who is it? Somebody at the police department? Oh, God, no.
[CHUCKLES.]
He's, um He's a doctor.
ABIGAIL: I used to play bridge with your father.
I regretted profiting on his misplays, of course, but he insisted on wagering.
He was a most proficient loser, Mrs.
Bell.
There's no denying that.
And how is your father? Oh, he's very well, thank you.
We seldom speak my father and I.
I wrote him a note when your poor brother was drowned.
I am terribly frightened of the sea.
It is so unpredictable.
The water was innocent, Madeline.
It wasn't rough seas so much as an unsteady sailor.
It's Caroline.
[SIGHS.]
[INDISTINCT TALKING.]
[GLASSES CLINK.]
[LIQUID POURS.]
[SIGHS DEEPLY.]
[WINGS FLUTTERING.]
[BIRD COOING.]
Laszlo! I remembered something.
He never left the room that night.
Sally said they waited for her, but when he didn't come out, they broke the lock and found it empty! Who never left what room? Giorgio, the brothel.
There was a window I saw it from across the street.
It's too high to jump.
There was no fire escape.
But Sally said that even though Giorgio didn't have wings, he flew away.
He also said Giorgio had a rich client who made a pet of him and was there the night he was killed.
And this client did you discover a name? No.
But he has a silver smile.
A silver smile? A man who has the power of flight, who can disappear at will.
These incoherent ramblings, distractions that show us nothing of the nature of the man, of of what he desires, of of how he behaves.
I must talk to the boy myself.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE.]
[CHATTER CONTINUES.]
That's him.
Here! You! Boy! Come here! Oh, no, no.
You remember me.
And I'm quite certain you remember the contents of my billfold! Let go of me, - or I'll scream! - Don't mind my friend.
All we want is to speak with you.
I already told your friend everything.
Giorgio disappeared, and I didn't see him with anyone.
Either you're lying, or there was a hidden panel in the room the kind you boys use to rob clients.
You clients rob yourselves when you walk through that door.
Tell me, Sally Why do you work out here on the streets tonight, not at Paresis Hall? In the brothel, we have to pay most of what we earn to Kelly and Biff.
In return for what? Protection from rough stuff.
Do your clients always expect you to dress as girls? We do things real girls don't do.
When you work out here, how do you know which ones won't hurt you? When you've been working in this business as long as I have, you know who to trust.
Thank you, Sally.
You have been a great help.
See you around.
[SCOFFS.]
But we still don't know how he vanished from that room.
Forget for a moment how he vanished, but why.
Was he forced, or did he go of his own accord? We've always assumed he was killed, then left on the bridge.
What if he was alive when he was arrived there? But why would he willingly go to his death? Because he went with someone he trusted.
[MUFFLED LAUGHTER.]
Thank you, Cyrus.
Night, sir.
Please, sit down.
[SIGHS.]
There is nothing in these books that gives me an insight into what it means to take another life.
Do you remember what I said when I testified at your trial? Yes, sir.
I do.
Every word.
I told the jury that, when you saw that woman beaten, it brought back the memories of how your own mother was killed.
That set off an uncontrollable rage in you.
I had the theory at the time.
Did you not agree? I would agree to anything that would keep that rope from 'round my neck.
I mean God created life, but God also created murder.
And if you're trying to figure out a reason why, you're gonna drive yourself mad.
[CHUCKLES.]
Is that all? Please, doctor, don't.
Tell me.
You want to know what it feels like to murder a man? 'Cause I remember every moment.
I remember the blood.
I remember the broken teeth.
I remember the feeling of that warm flesh of his neck in my hand.
Yeah.
And you know something else, doctor something I ain't never told nobody? The thing I remember the most is the feeling of pleasure that it gave me.
There's blood on your shirt, doctor.
It's ink.
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
I'm afraid I've ruined it.
Dr.
Kreizler! There's been another one.
CYRUS: Stevie, take that calash around back.
What is this place? It's the old immigration station.
They're turning it into an aquarium.
A roundsman from the precinct has already been here.
[STRAINING.]
There's not a lot of time.
[DOORS BANG.]
Where is the body? [CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[BIRDS CAWING.]
All the doors were locked.
There's no way in or out.
I checked.
And the locker here No keys are missing.
ROOSEVELT: I've already instructed the dispatcher at headquarters to hold back the information for one hour.
If you can hold it back for one hour, you can hold it for three.
Laszlo I do not believe this argument helps your cause our cause.
The Commissioner has already compromised himself [SOUND FADES.]
[GASPS.]
[SQUELCHING.]
[INHALES SHAKILY.]
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[TELEPHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE.]
[KNOCKS ON DOOR.]
Captain! Sir! Roundsman Barclay, can't you see I'm busy? Yes, sir.
Mrs.
Lamb's boarding house, $18.
- Sir - Holy mother of God, Barclay.
You were not awarded a medal for being irritating, were you? No, sir.
I'm just wondering why you're still here.
[CHUCKLES.]
Where should I be? There's a murder down the Battery got called in.
Who took it? BARCLAY: Grady was on the desk.
[SIGHS.]
Who's gone and died now? It's another boy whore.
Why wasn't I told? Grady told the commissioner, and then the commissioner left with them two sheeny detectives.
- Raise the horses! - Yes, sir.
- Doyle, get the men.
- Yes, sir! Bloody hell! Come on! [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
CONNOR: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
- Doyle! - Sir? Summon Byrnes.
He's already here, sir.
MAN: Come on, men! Over here! Come on! Men! Let's see some movement! - [WHISTLE BLOWS.]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[DOGS BARKING.]
[HORSE NEIGHS.]
I see bad news travels fast.
Why can't this fiend do his work at a more reasonable hour? Let's go, let's go! [HORSES NEIGHS.]
Move it out! [HORSES NEIGH.]
MAN: Get out the way! The man is appointed! As a favor.
And now he acts as if he's a 30-year veteran of the force! He'll be caught with his willy in the ringer this time, Chief.
Impeding a murder investigation, and a particularly salacious one at that.
I've tipped the boys off already.
Roosevelt From stalwart reformer to a torchbearer of corruption.
The papers will eat that up with a spoon.
MAN: Can you tell us what's going on up there, commissioner? Word has it, it's another boy's been killed.
I'd like to know where you get your information from, Mr.
Steffens.
You and your colleagues seem to be one step ahead of the police in the matter.
So it's true, then? [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
CYRUS: Stevie! Get yourself around front, boy.
If you see the police, you hightail inside.
- You let me know, okay?! - Okay! - Hightail it, boy! - Okay! [CAMERA FLASH POPS.]
[BUOY DINGS IN DISTANCE.]
LUCIUS: I can feel serrations on the zygomatic bone around both eyes as well as the supraorbital ridge.
Identical to what we found with the Zweig boy.
Probably used the same knife to take the eyes of both boys.
The same hand at work.
[CREAKING.]
Careful where you step.
[SQUELCHING.]
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
I'm sorry you had to see such a thing.
I've seen death before, but never like that.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
I fail to see a way he might have gotten up here.
Or down, for that matter.
The Zweig children They were found in a water tank.
Up on a roof.
That's what Kreizler said.
And Aaron Morton the paper stated his body was hidden on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Heights He's attracted to heights.
A roof-top water tank, two bridges, and now Yes! Yes, that's good.
What else do the details of the crime suggest to you? [BREATHING HEAVILY.]
Might water play a role, as well? Yes.
Water seems important.
Perhaps a view of water.
The Zweigs were hidden.
The Morton boy, too.
These last two, however, were left in plain sight.
He's no longer hiding his victims.
He's moved on.
He evolved.
Evolved to what? [CAMERA BULB POPS.]
Have you determined what might have been the cause of death? LUCIUS: There is bruising to the neck, front and back, which indicates strangulation.
I see no defensive wounds.
You're not suggesting he didn't put up a fight.
Maybe not.
I come here willingly with someone I believe I can trust.
And even as I'm being strangled, I don't struggle, because asphyxiation is an expected part of the act.
What kind of act? A sexual act.
Look here a finger mark.
Do you think it can be captured with a photograph? I'm afraid we're unable to reproduce something so small, Dr.
Kreizler, not without sufficient light.
But we must try.
That fingerprint could prove invaluable.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[HOOFBEATS APPROACHING.]
[HORSES NEIGH.]
STEVIE: Watch out! Out of my way! [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
Do you see a pattern developing with the number of boys killed? Excuse me, gentlemen.
Sir! [ALL SHOUTING.]
[HORSES NEIGH.]
Okay, lads! Everybody out! Line up and look sharp! Come on! Move your bloody asses! Now, lads.
File up! The police They're here! - One more.
- LUCIUS: We need more light.
If we could only wait for daylight.
Laszlo, we must go! We have to go now.
Roosevelt will be held accountable if you're found here! Laszlo, please.
Come on.
[CROWD SHOUTING.]
- Sergeant.
- Commissioner.
Captain Connor, good thing you've finally arrived.
Why wasn't I informed about this? The investigation is well in hand, captain.
The Isaacsons are already present.
Your men are to assist them in every possible way.
[PANTING.]
[DOOR CLANGS.]
Young Commissioner Roosevelt are you well? STEFFENS: For a man who is retired, Chief, we're certainly seeing a lot of you.
Once a servant of the people, always a servant of the people.
We need to secure these premises, Commissioner.
Of course, Captain.
Do your duty.
- Okay, you heard the captain.
- [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
[KEYS JANGLING.]
[SHOUTING CONTINUES.]
[PANTING.]
STEVIE: It's about time! CYRUS: Come on! Come on, you! Come on! KREIZLER: Forensic science is no use to us without more time.
You must make Roosevelt understa What are you doing here? I gave no such instruction for you to come here.
Have Cyrus take you.
Thank you, Mary.
We've been up all night, Laszlo.
I would prefer the opportunity to sleep and collect my thoughts.
While the impression is fresh, we must take advantage.
I assure you, the impression of a poor boy slaughtered like an animal will remain fresh, if not indelible.
Yes.
It is slaughter.
They have been led to slaughter.
Those last few moments must have been terrorizing.
Is the child's terror essential to the killer's experience? Laszlo, please.
Only on the assumption that there's some meaning - to his actions.
- Yes.
Certainly, a beggar is motivated to steal a piece of bread because he's hungry.
But why does our killer do what he does? We all must be held accountable, regardless of our misfortunes.
I'm not speaking about accountability.
I'm speaking about empathy, about understanding.
Understanding? The man murders children for pleasure.
[CUP SLAMS.]
This might help you to put yourself in his place.
The very notion fills me with loathing.
I am quite sure a book will not change my mind.
Then ask yourself why you seek the companionship of strangers.
'Cause you enjoy it? Or are you salving a wound? Your broken engagement, your father's disapproval, your brother's death.
Whatever I'm doing, I'm not butchering children! This fixation on boys perhaps he's reliving a physical or emotional trauma.
Miss Howard how did you cope with your father's suicide? Sara, that does not require a response.
John indulges himself with drink.
What do you do? Kreizler, that's quite enough! Miss Howard, if she wants to be of aid here, must confront her feelings, because we all, in some manner, protect ourselves from psychological and emotional pain by taking action to craft fantasies of revenge, of power, of sexual gratification.
So, what is it, Miss Howard? What is your opiate? This is insufferable.
Come on, Sara.
We don't have to listen to this.
Go on, then.
Both of you.
And come back when you're able to look inside yourselves.
[CUP CLATTERS.]
[DOOR OPENS, SLAMS.]
[CHALK CLATTERS.]
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
Damn superiority.
We're not free to ask questions, but he's free to go mucking around in our personal lives.
[SIGHS.]
He asked about your father.
I simply told him the truth.
It was very personal, wasn't it? Hm.
But I'm afraid what he said might be right.
Even if it is, it it does not excuse his impertinence.
Tell me about Mary.
That was more than reprimanding a servant.
Oh, Mary.
She was taken in by Kreizler when she was still quite young.
Dare I ask why? She burned her father to death.
You're not serious.
On the contrary.
It took her several attempts to set him alight.
He wants to shield her from this, but it was more than that.
He was embarrassed to show his concern in front of us.
It caused him to become angry.
My God.
You're beginning to sound just like him.
Am I? [SCOFFS.]
I'm afraid the both of us are.
You can be quite amusing when you want to be, John.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH.]
[KNIVES CLATTERING.]
[HOOFBEATS CLATTERING.]
[HEART BEATING.]
[MAN BREATHING HEAVILY.]
To the beginning of a fruitful partnership.
We found this.
A bloody finger mark.
I've read about this.
And what is my role to be in all of this? Perhaps you've already played it.
May I assume you have an interest? It wouldn't be fair to assume anything about me, Doctor.
I'm seeking information.
What was his name? The one with the silver smile? [GASPING.]
BYRNES: Mr.
Van Bergen.
Sir? You may bring the dessert now.
Yes, sir.
Mr.
Van Bergen, there's been an incident.
- An incident? - Yes.
It involves a boy, a rather young boy.
Does this have something to do with Willem? [SNIFFS.]
Um The police aren't entirely certain, Mrs.
Van Bergen, but um inquiries have been made by persons outside the department that could be cause for concern.
There was a young street urchin killed up on the bridge.
Your son is known to have frequented the disorderly house where the boy worked, and it is said that they were fond of one another.
- Enough! - [CLEARS THROAT.]
What's this? Steamed treacle pudding, sir.
Mmm! I am terribly sorry to have disturbed your lunch.
But it seems as though Willem has got himself in water a bit hotter than usual.
I thought you should know now.
There's no later.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[HORSE WHINNIES IN DISTANCE.]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
PAUL: I don't like it, Tom.
I don't like it one bit.
None of us like it.
Willem's been warned before.
No rough stuff, not with Biff's girls.
I've had a meeting with the family, gave due notice.
We won't let it happen again.
Paulie, don't worry.
Goddamn sodomites.
What about the Moore fella? I don't think he's gonna be talking to nobody about his little visit to Paresis Hall.
Not if he cares about his good standing in the community.
Well, you're right about his standing.
He won't be sitting down for a week.
[CHUCKLES.]
[THUNDER CRASHES.]
[SIGHS.]
[PIANO PLAYS "DAISY BELL".]
Sally? [MUSIC DISTORTS.]
[GASPS.]
Aw! John.
How do you feel? How did I get here? You have young Stevie to thank for that.
He found you wandering about in an alley down in the Tenderloin.
[SIGHS.]
You were missing your trousers.
Christ.
Don't worry.
It can happen to the best of us.
Can I get something a little stronger, please? What's all this? What's going on? We need someplace where the walls have no ears.
It will be a gathering point, a place where revelations - may slip through.
- Revelations of what? Well, let's start with what you did last night.
[SIGHS.]
You went down to new Paresis Hall.
Stevie told us that much.
I-I met Sally.
They were friends, the two of them.
Gloria Giorgio was well-liked, she said.
Especially by the wealthier clients.
That may be the reason the police were pressuring the Santorelli family to keep quiet.
The rich will always choose dead children over social scandal.
What else? Honestly, I-I can recall very little.
[SIGHS.]
It's not what you think! What do we think? You think I I told you! I don't remember! It is my honor and my privilege to present these brave men with the Meritorious Service Medal.
Their honesty and devotion to duty make them examples to every member of the New York Police Department, as well as to every citizen.
[APPLAUSE.]
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
Captain Connor, at long last, the city has policemen it can be proud of.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
You think sticking medals in roundsmen with nary a hair on their ball sack is gonna earn the respect of the department? You want to give out medals, Commissioner, I know men who are deserving.
Sir.
Commissioner? A photograph, please? Captain Connor please join us.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[APPLAUSE.]
Well done.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
My father loves to shoot, but we're never allowed to touch a gun unless he's there.
Can you shoot? My father taught me when I was just about your age.
Did your mother object? She died long before.
Keep up the good work.
They were friends, my father and yours.
Is that how you got the job, then? I'd like to think not.
[DOOR CLOSES, KEYS JANGLE.]
Is that you, John? Morning, Gran.
When you didn't come home last night, I called your father, and I should have let you know my whereabouts.
I'm sorry.
You're irresponsible, John, but you aren't cruel.
Had you been drinking again? I'm merely seeing myself through a rough patch.
Oh? [LAUGHS.]
You and your rough patches.
You need to meet a nice girl.
Marry her.
Have little Moores.
I am in a position to introduce you to the right young lady.
- [TELEPHONE RINGS.]
- Oh! Loathsome machine.
[SIGHS.]
Quite a maze.
And our killer has to be found somewhere in the midst of it.
Ancient cultures believed fingerprints revealed the secrets of the soul.
Just like palmistry.
As scientists, what does it tell us, gentlemen? Nothing for now, but if we find a second print, it may tell us whether it belongs to the same man.
What about this spot here? It's only a partial print.
Some of the friction ridges won't show up.
Here.
And over here.
They could be cuts or abrasions.
Belonging to a manual laborer, perhaps.
Or some skin disease.
We need a clearer print to do a proper analysis.
What about the Santorelli boy? Could the killer have left prints on his body or clothing? With the amount of blood he shed, it's highly likely.
We have his fingerprint.
We know the kind of knife he uses.
I need you to go to the morgue to check the body.
[BOOK SLAMS.]
[ALL SHOUTING, LAUGHTER.]
You! You were here this morning.
- Out! - That wasn't me! You know the rules! Out! [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
DR.
TUTHILL: I do wish he had stayed in Washington.
His return to the city has brought nothing but acrimony to its inhabitants.
Who would that be, Mr.
Tuthill? Roosevelt.
Closing down the saloons on Sunday.
Who the hell does he think he is? I'd call him a man thirsty for reform.
A bunch of hooey is what I say.
This won't take long, Mr.
Tuthill.
[SIGHS.]
Let me see Santorelli, Giorgio.
Here we are.
[GROANS.]
Now Well, I'll be damned.
SARA: The body of the Santorelli child has been taken from the morgue.
Dr.
Kreizler, this is evidence of corruption within the police department.
Indeed.
I've convinced Commissioner Roosevelt that he now must trust you more than his own men.
The unwillingness to pursue the killer on the part of the police only highlights Mr.
Roosevelt's isolation within the department.
They don't have the appetite to approach matters from this new perspective of yours the "why" rather than the "what.
" Every new thinker is at first condemned by those for whom change is far more terrifying than a murderer of children.
We are quite alone in searching for this killer.
But I imagine that will suit you well enough to be quite alone.
Your appearance would suggest a social engagement.
I have a Vassar reunion.
Quite frankly, I'd prefer to continue working on the Santorelli case.
Because you require answers, or you wish to keep the world at bay? Goodnight, Dr.
Kreizler.
Someone is the murderer, and if you've been winked at, it means you've been killed and you're out of the game.
[LAUGHS.]
The object is to catch the murderer before he winks at you.
Are we all ready? [ALL EXCLAIM.]
[RAGTIME MUSIC PLAYING.]
Are we two the only old maids in the entire class? Please, Miss Howard.
Speak for yourself.
Sara meet Milton.
Milton, Sara's my old college roommate.
Pleased to meet you.
Sara works for the police department.
Oh.
My uncle is a policeman in Poughkeepsie.
He says it's challenging work.
Yes, I suppose it can be.
[CLEARS THROAT.]
[MAN GROANS.]
[CROWD SHOUTS.]
[LAUGHS.]
[APPLAUSE.]
You must wait by the punch bowl when you're dead.
[LAUGHTER.]
I've been dying to tell you I was engaged, but I was afraid you wouldn't approve.
Why should I not prove? If that's what you want.
I only want what any girl wants.
[WHISPERING.]
And here's something else.
We've done it.
Oh? [GROANS.]
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE.]
You'll know what I'm talking about one day.
Oh, but I'm being presumptuous.
Perhaps you've got a beau.
[SIGHS.]
Well there is someone, but it's only just begun.
Who is it? Somebody at the police department? Oh, God, no.
[CHUCKLES.]
He's, um He's a doctor.
ABIGAIL: I used to play bridge with your father.
I regretted profiting on his misplays, of course, but he insisted on wagering.
He was a most proficient loser, Mrs.
Bell.
There's no denying that.
And how is your father? Oh, he's very well, thank you.
We seldom speak my father and I.
I wrote him a note when your poor brother was drowned.
I am terribly frightened of the sea.
It is so unpredictable.
The water was innocent, Madeline.
It wasn't rough seas so much as an unsteady sailor.
It's Caroline.
[SIGHS.]
[INDISTINCT TALKING.]
[GLASSES CLINK.]
[LIQUID POURS.]
[SIGHS DEEPLY.]
[WINGS FLUTTERING.]
[BIRD COOING.]
Laszlo! I remembered something.
He never left the room that night.
Sally said they waited for her, but when he didn't come out, they broke the lock and found it empty! Who never left what room? Giorgio, the brothel.
There was a window I saw it from across the street.
It's too high to jump.
There was no fire escape.
But Sally said that even though Giorgio didn't have wings, he flew away.
He also said Giorgio had a rich client who made a pet of him and was there the night he was killed.
And this client did you discover a name? No.
But he has a silver smile.
A silver smile? A man who has the power of flight, who can disappear at will.
These incoherent ramblings, distractions that show us nothing of the nature of the man, of of what he desires, of of how he behaves.
I must talk to the boy myself.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE.]
[CHATTER CONTINUES.]
That's him.
Here! You! Boy! Come here! Oh, no, no.
You remember me.
And I'm quite certain you remember the contents of my billfold! Let go of me, - or I'll scream! - Don't mind my friend.
All we want is to speak with you.
I already told your friend everything.
Giorgio disappeared, and I didn't see him with anyone.
Either you're lying, or there was a hidden panel in the room the kind you boys use to rob clients.
You clients rob yourselves when you walk through that door.
Tell me, Sally Why do you work out here on the streets tonight, not at Paresis Hall? In the brothel, we have to pay most of what we earn to Kelly and Biff.
In return for what? Protection from rough stuff.
Do your clients always expect you to dress as girls? We do things real girls don't do.
When you work out here, how do you know which ones won't hurt you? When you've been working in this business as long as I have, you know who to trust.
Thank you, Sally.
You have been a great help.
See you around.
[SCOFFS.]
But we still don't know how he vanished from that room.
Forget for a moment how he vanished, but why.
Was he forced, or did he go of his own accord? We've always assumed he was killed, then left on the bridge.
What if he was alive when he was arrived there? But why would he willingly go to his death? Because he went with someone he trusted.
[MUFFLED LAUGHTER.]
Thank you, Cyrus.
Night, sir.
Please, sit down.
[SIGHS.]
There is nothing in these books that gives me an insight into what it means to take another life.
Do you remember what I said when I testified at your trial? Yes, sir.
I do.
Every word.
I told the jury that, when you saw that woman beaten, it brought back the memories of how your own mother was killed.
That set off an uncontrollable rage in you.
I had the theory at the time.
Did you not agree? I would agree to anything that would keep that rope from 'round my neck.
I mean God created life, but God also created murder.
And if you're trying to figure out a reason why, you're gonna drive yourself mad.
[CHUCKLES.]
Is that all? Please, doctor, don't.
Tell me.
You want to know what it feels like to murder a man? 'Cause I remember every moment.
I remember the blood.
I remember the broken teeth.
I remember the feeling of that warm flesh of his neck in my hand.
Yeah.
And you know something else, doctor something I ain't never told nobody? The thing I remember the most is the feeling of pleasure that it gave me.
There's blood on your shirt, doctor.
It's ink.
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
I'm afraid I've ruined it.
Dr.
Kreizler! There's been another one.
CYRUS: Stevie, take that calash around back.
What is this place? It's the old immigration station.
They're turning it into an aquarium.
A roundsman from the precinct has already been here.
[STRAINING.]
There's not a lot of time.
[DOORS BANG.]
Where is the body? [CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[BIRDS CAWING.]
All the doors were locked.
There's no way in or out.
I checked.
And the locker here No keys are missing.
ROOSEVELT: I've already instructed the dispatcher at headquarters to hold back the information for one hour.
If you can hold it back for one hour, you can hold it for three.
Laszlo I do not believe this argument helps your cause our cause.
The Commissioner has already compromised himself [SOUND FADES.]
[GASPS.]
[SQUELCHING.]
[INHALES SHAKILY.]
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[TELEPHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE.]
[KNOCKS ON DOOR.]
Captain! Sir! Roundsman Barclay, can't you see I'm busy? Yes, sir.
Mrs.
Lamb's boarding house, $18.
- Sir - Holy mother of God, Barclay.
You were not awarded a medal for being irritating, were you? No, sir.
I'm just wondering why you're still here.
[CHUCKLES.]
Where should I be? There's a murder down the Battery got called in.
Who took it? BARCLAY: Grady was on the desk.
[SIGHS.]
Who's gone and died now? It's another boy whore.
Why wasn't I told? Grady told the commissioner, and then the commissioner left with them two sheeny detectives.
- Raise the horses! - Yes, sir.
- Doyle, get the men.
- Yes, sir! Bloody hell! Come on! [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
CONNOR: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
- Doyle! - Sir? Summon Byrnes.
He's already here, sir.
MAN: Come on, men! Over here! Come on! Men! Let's see some movement! - [WHISTLE BLOWS.]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[DOGS BARKING.]
[HORSE NEIGHS.]
I see bad news travels fast.
Why can't this fiend do his work at a more reasonable hour? Let's go, let's go! [HORSES NEIGHS.]
Move it out! [HORSES NEIGH.]
MAN: Get out the way! The man is appointed! As a favor.
And now he acts as if he's a 30-year veteran of the force! He'll be caught with his willy in the ringer this time, Chief.
Impeding a murder investigation, and a particularly salacious one at that.
I've tipped the boys off already.
Roosevelt From stalwart reformer to a torchbearer of corruption.
The papers will eat that up with a spoon.
MAN: Can you tell us what's going on up there, commissioner? Word has it, it's another boy's been killed.
I'd like to know where you get your information from, Mr.
Steffens.
You and your colleagues seem to be one step ahead of the police in the matter.
So it's true, then? [INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
CYRUS: Stevie! Get yourself around front, boy.
If you see the police, you hightail inside.
- You let me know, okay?! - Okay! - Hightail it, boy! - Okay! [CAMERA FLASH POPS.]
[BUOY DINGS IN DISTANCE.]
LUCIUS: I can feel serrations on the zygomatic bone around both eyes as well as the supraorbital ridge.
Identical to what we found with the Zweig boy.
Probably used the same knife to take the eyes of both boys.
The same hand at work.
[CREAKING.]
Careful where you step.
[SQUELCHING.]
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
I'm sorry you had to see such a thing.
I've seen death before, but never like that.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
I fail to see a way he might have gotten up here.
Or down, for that matter.
The Zweig children They were found in a water tank.
Up on a roof.
That's what Kreizler said.
And Aaron Morton the paper stated his body was hidden on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Heights He's attracted to heights.
A roof-top water tank, two bridges, and now Yes! Yes, that's good.
What else do the details of the crime suggest to you? [BREATHING HEAVILY.]
Might water play a role, as well? Yes.
Water seems important.
Perhaps a view of water.
The Zweigs were hidden.
The Morton boy, too.
These last two, however, were left in plain sight.
He's no longer hiding his victims.
He's moved on.
He evolved.
Evolved to what? [CAMERA BULB POPS.]
Have you determined what might have been the cause of death? LUCIUS: There is bruising to the neck, front and back, which indicates strangulation.
I see no defensive wounds.
You're not suggesting he didn't put up a fight.
Maybe not.
I come here willingly with someone I believe I can trust.
And even as I'm being strangled, I don't struggle, because asphyxiation is an expected part of the act.
What kind of act? A sexual act.
Look here a finger mark.
Do you think it can be captured with a photograph? I'm afraid we're unable to reproduce something so small, Dr.
Kreizler, not without sufficient light.
But we must try.
That fingerprint could prove invaluable.
[CAMERA BULB POPS.]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER.]
[HOOFBEATS APPROACHING.]
[HORSES NEIGH.]
STEVIE: Watch out! Out of my way! [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
Do you see a pattern developing with the number of boys killed? Excuse me, gentlemen.
Sir! [ALL SHOUTING.]
[HORSES NEIGH.]
Okay, lads! Everybody out! Line up and look sharp! Come on! Move your bloody asses! Now, lads.
File up! The police They're here! - One more.
- LUCIUS: We need more light.
If we could only wait for daylight.
Laszlo, we must go! We have to go now.
Roosevelt will be held accountable if you're found here! Laszlo, please.
Come on.
[CROWD SHOUTING.]
- Sergeant.
- Commissioner.
Captain Connor, good thing you've finally arrived.
Why wasn't I informed about this? The investigation is well in hand, captain.
The Isaacsons are already present.
Your men are to assist them in every possible way.
[PANTING.]
[DOOR CLANGS.]
Young Commissioner Roosevelt are you well? STEFFENS: For a man who is retired, Chief, we're certainly seeing a lot of you.
Once a servant of the people, always a servant of the people.
We need to secure these premises, Commissioner.
Of course, Captain.
Do your duty.
- Okay, you heard the captain.
- [INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
[KEYS JANGLING.]
[SHOUTING CONTINUES.]
[PANTING.]
STEVIE: It's about time! CYRUS: Come on! Come on, you! Come on! KREIZLER: Forensic science is no use to us without more time.
You must make Roosevelt understa What are you doing here? I gave no such instruction for you to come here.
Have Cyrus take you.
Thank you, Mary.
We've been up all night, Laszlo.
I would prefer the opportunity to sleep and collect my thoughts.
While the impression is fresh, we must take advantage.
I assure you, the impression of a poor boy slaughtered like an animal will remain fresh, if not indelible.
Yes.
It is slaughter.
They have been led to slaughter.
Those last few moments must have been terrorizing.
Is the child's terror essential to the killer's experience? Laszlo, please.
Only on the assumption that there's some meaning - to his actions.
- Yes.
Certainly, a beggar is motivated to steal a piece of bread because he's hungry.
But why does our killer do what he does? We all must be held accountable, regardless of our misfortunes.
I'm not speaking about accountability.
I'm speaking about empathy, about understanding.
Understanding? The man murders children for pleasure.
[CUP SLAMS.]
This might help you to put yourself in his place.
The very notion fills me with loathing.
I am quite sure a book will not change my mind.
Then ask yourself why you seek the companionship of strangers.
'Cause you enjoy it? Or are you salving a wound? Your broken engagement, your father's disapproval, your brother's death.
Whatever I'm doing, I'm not butchering children! This fixation on boys perhaps he's reliving a physical or emotional trauma.
Miss Howard how did you cope with your father's suicide? Sara, that does not require a response.
John indulges himself with drink.
What do you do? Kreizler, that's quite enough! Miss Howard, if she wants to be of aid here, must confront her feelings, because we all, in some manner, protect ourselves from psychological and emotional pain by taking action to craft fantasies of revenge, of power, of sexual gratification.
So, what is it, Miss Howard? What is your opiate? This is insufferable.
Come on, Sara.
We don't have to listen to this.
Go on, then.
Both of you.
And come back when you're able to look inside yourselves.
[CUP CLATTERS.]
[DOOR OPENS, SLAMS.]
[CHALK CLATTERS.]
[BREATHING SHAKILY.]
Damn superiority.
We're not free to ask questions, but he's free to go mucking around in our personal lives.
[SIGHS.]
He asked about your father.
I simply told him the truth.
It was very personal, wasn't it? Hm.
But I'm afraid what he said might be right.
Even if it is, it it does not excuse his impertinence.
Tell me about Mary.
That was more than reprimanding a servant.
Oh, Mary.
She was taken in by Kreizler when she was still quite young.
Dare I ask why? She burned her father to death.
You're not serious.
On the contrary.
It took her several attempts to set him alight.
He wants to shield her from this, but it was more than that.
He was embarrassed to show his concern in front of us.
It caused him to become angry.
My God.
You're beginning to sound just like him.
Am I? [SCOFFS.]
I'm afraid the both of us are.
You can be quite amusing when you want to be, John.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH.]
[KNIVES CLATTERING.]
[HOOFBEATS CLATTERING.]
[HEART BEATING.]
[MAN BREATHING HEAVILY.]