Perry Mason (2020) s01e04 Episode Script

We wanted Sister to know
how much she's in our thoughts.
We've rented a pew for, gosh,
how many years now?
- Since before Gloria was born.
- Row 14.
There's 50 of us that chip in.
We're all big tithers.
Sister's heart will be warmed.
"Each one must give as he has decided
in his heart,
"for God loves a cheerful giver."
- Second Corinthians.
- Memorized the whole thing.
Remarkable.
Sister, some visitors
to brighten your day.
Nice of you folks to look in on me.
We're lost without you, Sister,
and we miss you.
Well, I'll be back on my feet
in no time. That's a promise.
What have you got there, sweetheart?
Don't be shy.
Do you like sweets, Sister?
I would eat them for breakfast,
lunch and dinner if I could.
Me too.
Maybe we split some? Right now?
What do you say?
- The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
- Oh, God!
Pride and arrogance
and perverted speech!
- Sister, come. Come.
- The Lord rebukes you.
The God of Peace will crush you.
Today of all days.
Shit.
And now, we're bringing people
back from the dead.
Perhaps I should announce
my love of communism
to finish the icing on this lovely cake.
At least you're not the one on trial.
I am 100% the one on trial.
That's what it means
to be a defense attorney in this town.
- When did you leave Emily?
- 6:00 this morning.
She was too scared to sleep,
and certainly bruised enough
to press charges on those bastards.
What's my day?
Writing time, promotions on discovery,
suppression of statements,
and 1:00 p.m. interview
- with the Beverly Hills Post
- First things first.
Let's see Judge Wright
for bail reduction.
Great. And we can follow that
by filing a formal complaint
with the police commissioner.
Cops investigating cops?
That's a trip for biscuits.
Well, then, we can file a civil suit
for excessive force, police misconduct
Della, the actions of the police
are a golden arrow in my quiver.
They brutalized her, E.B.
My goal, our goal, remains
securing Emily's release, pending trial.
Now, there are several avenues
that I can pursue to achieve that end.
But police thuggery,
we save for a judge and jury.
They smacked her around like a ragdoll.
Mr. Jonathan's secretary
has an imagination.
Bring Emily in, Your Honor.
See for yourself.
It's jail.
Maybe the girl got roughed up,
but it wasn't by my detectives.
Detectives? Those men are savages.
If you want a bail change, you need
to show me a change in circumstances.
My client is in imminent danger.
They tried to beat a confession
out of her.
Because your case is a bar of hand soap
shrinking into nothing every hour.
My case against Emily Dodson is stronger
today than it was just a few days ago.
- Soap.
- Matthew Dodson is cooperating with us.
What?
He's waiving spousal privilege,
and is prepared to testify against her.
Tha that's news to me.
Well, Mr. Dodson contacted us
just this morning.
You'll have his cooperation agreement
by this afternoon.
I'm ordering the DA to move
Mrs. Dodson to protective custody.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Only E.B. and his people
are allowed near her. And Maynard,
if I hear your detectives are trying
any shenanigans with that girl,
you're gonna have a big problem with me.
- Bail stays the same.
- No.
I'll make sure the baby killer
is comfortable.
If you'll excuse me,
I have a case to prepare.
Oliver, is it me?
Or was there a time when Fred here
wouldn't stand for this type of show
from the district attorney?
Young man's game, E.B.
Even the great Mr. Holmes
is retiring next week.
He's 90. I've got 16 years on him.
- This was you guys?
- Sure was.
Should I show him Chubby's shoe?
- His shoe?
- Show him the shoe.
Wow, that is some shoe.
Hit me right in the noggin.
Have another pull there, Verge.
Here you go.
You guys have all the good stories.
When I tell stories about work,
folks wanna run out of the room.
Not us. We love your stories.
Private detective, that's adventure
and danger, excitement.
- What'd I say?
- You don't wanna know.
Secret password.
Wow.
Watch out for planes.
- Welcome.
- There are planes out there.
I thought you lived on a farm.
- It is a farm.
- Hey, sit down.
- Where are the chickens?
- Chickens is a good idea.
You get eggs, you get meat. Sit.
So, Verge, there's something
I wanna show you.
Is it, um, pornography?
No.
It's just that you guys
tell all these stories about
clandestine meetings
and tailing dames and cheating wives.
Well, I could go get some
if you want, Verge.
Pale formaldehyde.
Dead, putrid bodies
and the monotony of existence.
It does a number on a man's virility.
You know, I can relate
to Mr. Carmichael.
You know, for him, it's food.
For others, it could be
imagining you're just a few inches tall,
and the woman
hides you away in her purse.
Why don't I show you that thing
I was gonna show you?
Ta-da!
- That's a dead body.
- Told you he was an expert.
- Holy cow. That's
- Meet George Gannon.
- But you stole a body.
- Hmm, just this one.
Look,
I can't be here.
Verge. Virgil. Virgil.
George Gannon didn't ice
those stiffs on Central Ave,
and he didn't run home
and blow his own head off.
- Nope.
- Well, how do you know?
- Show him.
- Because of this.
This denture was found in an alleyway
behind that apartment building.
It fits perfectly
in Mr. Gannon's mouth here.
And I'm no expert like you are,
but that's a bullet hole in his shoulder
and a hip that don't look right.
We think George was murdered
that night with the others.
You guys are breaking
so many laws right now.
That's how you get
all the good stories, Verge.
We need you to give George here
a proper autopsy,
'cause the police report is a fairytale,
and you're gonna help me prove that.
But you stole his body
from the county coroner.
I can't just write another autopsy
in your pioneer root cellar.
And Jesus Christ,
you stole a body from Frank A. Nance.
I mean, who does that?
Frank Nance fucked up.
He fucked up, Verge.
He was told to fuck up.
Now, I need you to be the hero
that makes this right.
- No, I don't wanna be a hero.
- Yes, you do.
Oh, God. Mason, please.
Don't do this to me.
- You guys said we were gonna have fun.
- Well
- Ain't we having fun, Verge?
- Right?
Let's go upstairs.
We'll get a bottle.
And you can tell us more
about you being in a lady's purse.
Hmm?
When we study law, we are studying
not a mystery, but a profession.
The reason why it is a profession is
Della, did you get a hold
of National City?
- 4:00 p.m.
- And it is Howard Brown?
A Mr. Tod Robbins.
Howard Brown wasn't available.
Who the hell is Tod Robbins?
"The reason it is a profession,"
Oliver Wendell Holmes?
I came to this little pueblo
about a year
before he ascended to the Supreme Court.
Since that time, Justice Holmes
has distinguished himself
as the nation's foremost jurist,
and Los Angeles has disgraced itself
as a Gomorrah,
where truth is bought and sold
like the head of a rutabaga.
What are you waving about?
He just wants me
out of the picture, Chief.
This is why I have taken up
the cause of Emily Dodson.
When a state aims its annihilating power
against a mere individual,
who will stand up against it?
Who will defend the defenseless?
Who will fight for justice
against a heartless expediency?
This is what your readers
need to know.
Yes, of course. Something else
our readers would like to know
Where do you go to eat
when you have a night out?
I am fond of the French dip
at Phillipe's.
From a medical perspective,
what occurred on stage
was an epileptic seizure.
The Sister has a history
of these episodes.
And they can be treated
with a program of bromides or Luminal.
But they won't do much good
without rest and relaxation.
Otherwise, you're asking
for a recurrence.
How long before she can return to work?
Several weeks.
I cannot allow her to resume
the schedule she was on.
Dr. Bundy, you do not have
that authority.
- We appreciate your observation
- Her schedule is what brought about
Sister has had these episodes before,
and she's risen stronger each time.
In the meantime, we need
to tighten security around the mansion.
And I will lead the temple in worship.
No offense, Birdy, but you're not
the orator your daughter is.
Nor are you the one to walk back
the heresy that went out on the wire.
Heresy?
We're not running
a tent revival anymore.
We've scaled back the speaking
in tongues and miracle healings.
Let's leave raising the dead
to Christ our Father.
The ramifications
of this latest message,
the Sister's unavailability,
threatens the financial health
of the assembly,
and every elder in this room.
- Wouldn't you agree, Herman?
- No one has lost more than me.
$100,000 burned in a chimney
by conspirators,
one of which our church
publicly supports.
Brother Herman, it has not
escaped my notice
that you vacated your seat
on stage for the pews.
It's a wonder I'm still in the building.
I know it's been
a challenging time.
- But a faith untested is a
- You do not know.
Offense is taken every time the Sister
speaks for my Matthew's harlot wife.
I won't go on playing the rube.
This church can no longer afford
to teeter on the whims
of hysterical women.
We need to prepare
a statement
renouncing what the Sister
promised under her seizure.
Sister receives messages from God.
Those messages are the bedrock
of our church.
Absurdity.
The cruelty of suggesting that she could
bring the child back from the dead.
You cannot pick and choose
which messages to believe
based on your convenience.
We decided this as a group.
Away from hysterical women.
You will censor the Sister,
or the spigot will be turned off.
I'm afraid it's not
a discussion, Mother McKeegan.
Elder Brown will lead worship.
I'll advise Sister
of your recommendations
when she's regained her strength.
I've reviewed your situation,
taking into consideration
the entirety of your holdings.
That's your savings, stocks and bonds.
Didn't fare too poorly
in the crash, considering.
No, sir. Not at all.
We also looked at your income,
income sources, potential collateral.
- Meaning my house?
- Three mortgages on it, yes.
Your car, all of that.
It is my unfortunate duty to inform you
that 25,000 is simply not a number
we would be comfortable with.
I'm sorry?
You see, the numbers here do not add up
nearly close enough
I asked to meet with Howard Brown.
As I mentioned,
Howard is no longer with us.
He and his wife moved to Carpinteria.
For the air, I think.
Son, I've got a lot of years
with this bank. Put in a call to Howard.
I spoke with the branch manager, sir.
- And he also regrets to inform you
- Are you saying I'm not good for it?
That my loyalty, that my word,
my relationship with this institution,
with Howard
I'm only asking
for a goddamn measly loan.
- A four-month loan.
- I understand that, Mr. Jonathan.
I've got my savings.
Your savings are propping up
your law office, and your mortgages
Why didn't you tell me
the office was underwater?
Mind your damn business.
Warner Bros. Studios.
And now, to draw to a close, a very
stirring number with a dazzling
Have you considered
where your eternal remains
will be laid to rest, Miss Prystock?
Not terribly much, Mr. Fogg.
Then allow me to extoll
the sylvan virtues of Forest Lawn,
set amidst the undisturbed
nature of Glendale.
Sylvan virtues, he says.
Three hundred acres, forever tranquil,
with very reasonable monthly payments
and headstones carved
in red Italian marble.
Hmm, someone looks ready
for burial right now.
Long day.
Locking lips
with Chubby Carmichael, were you?
No. Goodness.
He's a married man, Della.
You should know better.
What's a dead man want
with red marble, Mr. Fogg?
To memorialize
a life well lived, of course.
Is this
Cod, from the genus Gadus,
creamed beyond recognition.
When you check yourself
into the Biltmore,
you can make your food requests known.
He didn't mean anything
by it, June. See?
You get your Mrs. Emily out?
Take a load off, Dell.
I'm gonna take it upstairs,
pretend I'm still a kid back home
and anything is possible.
- It's the Santa Ana.
- There's no Santa Ana.
- You feel it, don't you?
- Leave the kid out of it.
Go spot the ball, huh?
Five bucks says I could bean him
from here.
- Hey, cut it out now.
- Man, that guy.
See those pictures in the paper?
Is it me or does printing a black bar
over your jimmy make it look worse?
What the hell's up now?
Hey, kid,
those are Tommy Armour specials.
Kid.
Oh, God.
Whoa! Smells like someone had
quite a night.
Unless you're working on
Old Overholt himself.
I wish I could pull my own brain out.
It's killing me.
I'd offer you an eye-opener,
but they tell me drink's illegal.
God love you.
Someone has to.
What do we got here?
John Doe, found him in a sand trap
with his head blown off.
Naked.
Those fuckers.
Golf course?
We had to make sure it was
the right place so that he would end up
on Virgil's slab.
So, what it means, E.B.,
is that you now get
a second official autopsy
on the same body,
but this one
will have a shattered left hip,
and a bullet wound in the shoulder.
And that means what, again?
You try shifting gears
in New Year's traffic
with a bum arm and no left hip.
I got a client who wants
to tell the whole world she's guilty.
I went from Herman Baggerly
to working pro bono.
- And now this.
- This is a huge, huge break.
Drake gave us the denture.
He told us the blood trail
went up the fire escape, not down.
We figured George got plugged
with the two Polacks,
tried to escape via the hallway,
via the roof
And then got the heave-ho
off the building by the actual killer.
- You're saying there's a fourth man?
- There was a fourth man in the room.
It was the two Polacks, George
- And who?
- I don't know that yet.
And this Drake,
he's gonna testify to all this?
Not a chance. Police already made
their evidence fit the story.
Which pins it all on Gannon.
But we know he was
already dead in the alleyway.
How am I gonna get this into evidence?
That's what you're so good at.
And it's the truth.
The truth won't move wind chimes.
I need more than this.
We'll get you more.
All right.
With the caveat that we never
had this conversation,
tell it to me one more time.
Load my lips.
George Gannon did not kill himself.
There was a fourth man.
There's a fourth man.
A baby-killer on the loose.
How's that for a headline?
Of course,
I'm not going in that direction,
but I did think that I owe you
a taste of what we've dug up.
Just so that you have a chance
to save some face.
- Professional courtesy.
- Always the gentleman, E.B.
George Gannon did not commit suicide.
The suicide note was donkey dust.
The crime scene was staged.
- By this fourth man.
- Fourth man.
That's right.
Not sure of his identity yet.
But with the information
I have right here
and the investigative powers
of your office,
we'll get to the bottom
of this mess forthwith.
Hmm. And in return for this courtesy?
Drop the charges against my client.
- What do you got in there?
- Drop the charges, I'll lift the latch.
Short of that, the particulars
need to stay with me.
I have a legal duty
to my client, Emily Dodson.
Are you enjoying this, E.B.?
- I am, Mr. District Attorney.
- Let's relish it then.
Let's remember this feeling of victory.
Now, what are your legal duties
to Quentin Bates?
- Quentin Bates?
- Or Birch Corp, or Walter Thompson.
- Let's see. Foster's Tool and Dye.
- Who?
What about your legal duties
to Stella Chrome?
You know former clients
of mine. Congratulations.
You stole from those clients
to keep from going under.
- That's an outright lie.
- You sure you wanna stand by that?
It's all right here,
with the particulars, as you put it.
I never stole from my clients.
I paid back every penny.
Misappropriated client escrow funds.
That's grand larceny under the law.
We all hit hard times before the war.
Everyone's moved a little something.
Oh, come on.
Let's hope the bar association footnotes
that fact in your disbarment order.
There's no way you'd be
dredging up old ghosts
if you had a solid case.
No way. My boy Mason's right.
You got three options here.
Plead Emily Dodson out,
tank the case at trial,
or get yourself disbarred,
and that's the kind of news that makes
the cover of the Law Journal, kid.
She's innocent.
This goes out on Friday, noon.
You let me know.
There's the door.
Every time I feel this feeling
Moving in my heart
- That's enough.
- No.
You're not on the pulpit now.
It's enough when I say it's enough.
- Come on. Don't be a brat.
- You don't listen.
No, that's your problem, daughter.
- Sister.
- Daughter.
We had an agreement about Emily Dodson.
- God thought otherwise.
- Oh, stop with that.
I sent everyone downstairs.
It's just us.
Do you hear that singing?
Yes. It's your audience,
come to keep vigil.
Half of them wanna kiss your feet.
The other half wanna kill you.
We've got bodyguards in the living room.
Reporters climbing in windows.
Elder Brown licking his chops.
- How am I to make this right?
- That's not your job.
That's all my job is.
Letting you run wild on our stage.
And I run myself sick
chasing your revelations.
What was true in the Bible
will be true again.
Oh, come on. I came up with that.
- You had an episode. You misspoke.
- I did not.
- It was real, Mama.
- You misheard.
Did I mishear him in Oklahoma?
He speaks, we do. You said that.
You think I want this, Mama?
- Do you think I want God in my head?
- You have a gift.
You have a spirit that moves people,
changes people, saves people.
Don't let your vanity squander it.
And if you truly believe God
told you to do this,
then you get his attention back.
And you tell him it can't be done.
- But it was
- No, because it can't.
A box full of snakes
from our own people.
You have to let me protect you.
You have to let me be your mother. Hmm?
- He's a what?
- Civil rights attorney.
He's suing the police department
for joining a vigilante mob
that dragged him out of his hotel.
Write it up and bother me later.
- Frank.
- Hey, Maynard.
- Get the fuck out.
- I'm peeing.
Pinch it off, stand outside,
make sure no one comes in. Now.
- Frank.
- Yeah.
Did you wash your hands?
What level of fuck-up am I looking at
on People v. Dodson?
Detective Holcomb, is it some
standard ground-floor form?
You and junior here
give a little help with the crime scene?
All respect, sir, I got no idea
what you're talking about.
Who killed Charlie Dodson?
Uh, hard to say.
George Gannon,
one of the other two mugs.
If you want us to get specific,
we can do that.
Yeah. I want you to be specific,
'cause I got Oliver Wendell Jonathan
blowing some fourth man smoke
in my face.
- Why would he do that?
- 'Cause he's desperate and got no case.
If we'd had another 30 minutes,
you'd have a confession.
Thirty minutes? You had
three fucking days, Detective!
Couldn't break a fucking housewife.
You arrested
the wrong fucking guy.
It was your office, sir, that pushed us
to arrest Matthew Dodson. That's on you.
Detective Holcomb here
has done some ace work.
Dodson's lawyer ain't got shit.
Says his guy knows different.
- Who, Perry Mason? He's a bum.
- Hmm. Yeah.
Only a bum would hire him.
There's no fourth man,
and the housewife, she knew plenty.
It's tight, sir.
Yeah. It ain't that tight,
and it sure as fuck ain't "ace work."
You better pray E.B.'s bum
ain't playing this better than you are.
Linda, you're right.
You're absolutely in the right again.
I shouldn't have yelled.
But if you had just paid
the two cents, he could have
- Don't start that again, okay, Perry?
- I'm not. I'm absolutely not.
I'm Look, I am so sorry.
He just walked in.
You wanna talk to him?
- Yes, please. Thank you, Linda.
- Honey, your dad's on the phone.
- Hi, Dad.
- Hey, Theodore.
- Come on, Dad.
- I know. I know. It's Teddy.
Hey, did you get the truck?
I am so sorry that
it came after Christmas.
I didn't put enough stamps on it.
You know how dumb I can be sometimes.
- That's okay.
- Did you like it?
No one really plays trucks anymore.
What I really want is a ball glove,
the Eddie Collins one.
- Eddie Collins, huh?
- He plays second base, just like me.
Okay. Well, you know, I'll
You like pictures of my cock,
you son of a bitch?
You like sneaking around,
shitting on people's lives?
I'll knock your fucking balls
out of your ears.
- Dad? Are you there?
- Fucking louse.
Are you still there?
And you owe me a wingtip.
Fucking milkmaid.
Dad? Hello? You still there?
Filed those motions, Chief.
Clerk said he'd have them
in front of the judge in the morning.
Newshawks were camped
I need every file we've got
from '15 through '18.
- What are you looking for?
- Just get them all. They're not here.
Well, we moved some of our older records
to your basement.
My basement?
That's your idea of a filing system?
My filing system started in 1924,
and it's pristine.
And you can stop yelling,
'cause I'm six feet away from you
and my ears are working just fine.
- I just need you to do your job.
- And how do you figure I'm not?
I figure that if you spent less time
sharpening that caustic attitude
you've mistaken for attractive,
and more time organizing, then we
wouldn't be having this conversation.
Maybe you didn't hear me
when I first came in.
The motions I prepared for you, that you
signed unread, those were filed.
The precedent that you couldn't
find for Emily, here it is.
I'll mark it with this dry-cleaning
receipt for your court suits,
which are hanging in your closet.
I hope it helps. 'Cause what won't help
the only client you currently have,
a client who is rotting
in jail right now
- I know quite well what's going on.
- is the file for
- Foster's Tool and Dye
- Did you see the name on that door?
- signed in 1916.
- I'm the lawyer here.
Then act like one, God damn it.
And that may be your name,
but those associates, that's me.
Drive yourself home.
Hand me a cigarette, would you?
This hurt?
Mmm-hmm.
- What about this?
- Yeah.
And this?
Why you do that job, papi?
- Maybe you're not so good at it anymore.
- Fat-ass snuck up on me.
Sell me the house, papi,
give your face a vacation.
Seven thousand?
This is my parents' house.
I was born here.
This is the room
I shared with my brother.
We're actually on his bed.
One night he snuck out of that door,
and he never came back.
I lived in that little
boarded-up house outside with my wife.
My son was born there.
I'm the only one left.
Everyone else is gone.
And I never even liked it all that much.
So?
So, I sell you this house
and you plow it under
Hmm.
Well, who's gonna know
the Masons even existed?
Once you're gone, you're gone.
Whoever you are.
- Sister Alice McKeegan would disagree.
- Who? Crazy preacher lady?
Mmm-hmm.
No, no. Nobody's bringing me
back from the grave.
- Why not?
- Mmm-mmm.
Just means more screwing,
flying and drinking.
- What's wrong with that?
- Not the same thing.
They know things
you shouldn't know about.
Like who killed them?
This case is getting to you.
You have a little dark halo
around your head.
You don't see it. I see it.
I'm just gonna put my head here
for a minute, then I go.
These floorboards,
they do squeak something awful.
You had a day, did you? The Dodson girl?
Who needs proof she even did anything?
They'd stone her at the edge
of town tomorrow if they could.
Papers say she had a thing
with one of the kidnappers.
Well, imagine where we'd all be
if they could hang you for who you fuck.
Oh, my stars.
Such language, Miss Street.
I am so angry.
I don't know where to put it.
- Do I get you till sun up?
- I'm taking the day off.
Son of a bitch can see
how things go without me.
- How are Myrna's hands?
- Oh.
Better than the rest of me.
- What?
- It's just me.
- Della, can you get that?
- She's not here.
E.B. Jonathan & Associates.
Uh
Yes, hold on. DA's office.
He's away from his desk
right now. Can I take a message?
No, no, just hang up. Hang it up.
You know if we have that
interview with Matthew,
the one the detectives did at his house?
Something Matthew said, I need it.
I slept in my shoes, God damn it.
Something about the guy on the phone
and the bag and what he said to Matthew.
- Where's Della?
- How should I know?
God damn it.
My feet swell at night,
hurts like a hemorrhoid.
I wouldn't know.
You will. You will goddamn know.
Got it.
And you'll wake up with a nose hair
the length of your arm,
half your friends in the cemetery,
and a million strangers in the street.
- Can you just
- Yeah. Sure.
How old were you when we first met?
How old were you?
I was still in the office
on Winston Street,
between a blacksmith and a saddlery.
That's a growing business.
Your father showed up in the most
clapped-out buckboard I'd ever seen.
A nag, and it looked
like death should be riding it.
Yeah, Pa could be rough on the horses.
Yeah, a fence line dispute.
All he had was a few scraps of paper
and a copy of what he thought was
a land grant from the King of Spain.
His son beside him on the seat.
He wanted me to see what a man
who worked behind a desk looked like.
What does he look like?
Good as ever.
- You all right?
- I may have over-served myself, boyo.
Well, I got the latest thing
for a hangover.
Second autopsy, official.
They're gonna crap themselves
when they figure out it's George.
Blacksmiths and saddleries.
You mind if I retrace
some of my steps today?
I think I can get you some of
that "more" you were asking for.
You do that, son.
You get all the answers.
Here's the speech
approved by the elders.
We love you, Sister Alice.
"I wish to thank all the good people
who've sent food, flowers
and prayers these past days.
- They have had their effect."
- We can't hear you.
"I will be returning to the temple
before you can blink
or burn a sheet of cookies."
Can't hear you.
"I wish to thank Elder Brown for his
powerful leadership in my absence.
And when I return,
I have promised him
- I can't hear you at all.
- "and our
I have promised him and our wise elders
to refocus my energies
on the good works of our ministry.
And the ever present"
I can't hear you, Sister.
Excuse me, brothers,
I can't talk behind a wall.
Part the seas, friends.
What I have to tell you is hard.
Hard for me to say
and hard for you to hear.
I thought God wished
to use me as a vessel
to give the world a gift of life,
of hope
of resurrection.
But I see now, it was my ignorance
my pride
my arrogant, sinful pride.
- Brothers and sisters, I
- Prepare the way.
Prepare the way. Prepare the way.
Prepare the way. Prepare the way.
Prepare the way. Let me go.
This is for Charlie.
He'll be cold when he comes back.
Please.
Emily Dodson is innocent.
Charlie Dodson is in Purgatory.
And by these hands,
this year of our Lord, 1932,
in the City of Angels,
on Easter Sunday,
Charlie Dodson will rise again!
Daughter.
What was true in the Bible
will be true again.
Blasphemer! Blasphemer! Blasphemer!
Blasphemer. Blasphemer.
Blasphemer!
Blasphemer! Blasphemer!
Yup.
Here's the desk.
So? This is it?
Well, you can see most
of the room from here,
so it's either this one
or the one next door.
We ain't gonna dirty the towels.
So, he's on the phone,
eyes on Matthew and Emily
the whole time.
When the guy says,
"Put the suitcase on the desk,"
Matthew says, "Not until I see my son."
So here comes Angels Flight.
And Mr. Black Hat has Charlie.
So he takes him for a ride down
past the Dodsons.
Gives him a peek of the kid.
And they buy it,
'cause his eyes are sewn open.
They leave the cash,
go down and get their son.
Extra! Extra!
The latest on the Dodson case!
Black Hat leaves
Charlie on board.
Then he jumps in the phaeton.
Side-swiping the trolley,
running up toward 5th.
So that's one guy on the phone,
one holding the kid,
one driving the vehicle.
Three guys, three stiffs.
According to the cops, that's it.
- Except we know there's a fourth.
- Most likely in the wind.
If you're gonna run,
why go to all that effort with George?
Drive him across town,
you fake the suicide.
Type the note, supposedly burn the cash.
You do it because you want
the trail to stop.
The fourth guy set it up
so no one's looking for him.
- 'Cause no one is.
- Except us.
So where the fuck is he?
When can I go home, Mr. Jonathan?
Uh, well, that's what I need
to talk to you about.
Emily, yours is a complicated case.
I didn't do anything.
Well, I know that. I believe that.
But "anything"?
I would have to quibble
with that word, Emily. "Anything."
You had an affair with the man
who masterminded
the kidnapping and the murdering
of your son.
You lied to the police
about being asleep.
They get very motivated
when you lie to them.
Now, a jury of 12 is gonna hear this,
and they will not believe you
as I believe you.
And I do believe you.
You have to understand that, Emily.
Miss Street said that Mr. Mason
was coming up with a lot of evidence.
Well, Mr. Mason's evidence
is coming up short.
My job
my sworn duty
is to get the best result for my client.
And sometimes, that means
Sometimes, in the face of accusations,
however baseless
Are we going to lose?
I think
I know that I can get you
a reduced sentence.
Twenty years, tops,
and as harsh as that may sound
You want me to say that I'm guilty?
I
There's a place in a town called Chino.
It's for women only.
I'm told that it's quite acceptable.
Twenty years?
Mr. Jonathan.
When the state, Emily
The power of the state
wants to crush you,
no matter how minor your transgression
might seem to be. It
No.
No, we won't do this. Will we?
You're gonna fight.
Because I believe in you. Yes?
You're gonna fight.
Let me hear you say it.
- I am going to fight.
- Good girl.
And you are going to help me,
aren't you?
I promise I'll do what's best.
Uh, will you open up here, please?
There is no way you can get
off the phone there
and make it all the way over here
before Emily is screaming for the cops.
What's the hurry?
Everybody's looking at the dead kid.
Could have strolled.
Stopped for tea even.
These guys are looking at a murder rap.
Had every detail thought out.
They're not risking a long walk
into a hornets' nest.
So maybe our fourth guy,
he's waiting nearby.
Matthew leaves the money
just sitting here, the room is empty,
and this guy, this fourth fucking guy,
just has to reach in,
grab the suitcase and
Head thataway.
Out to Hill Street, toward the
screaming mother and gathering crowds.
That seem likely to you?
Not entirely.
- Or through this building out the back.
- Vanishing like the blush of innocence.
- What? Something I read.
- After you, Mr. Keats.
Used to be pretty much full.
Business types mostly.
Before the crash anyways.
And you should know I was thanking God
this here a short building on that day.
Ain't wanting to clean up
after no splattered money men.
Did have a hanging, though, in 215.
Used his belt.
- This the only way out the back?
- Right through this door here. Yes, sir.
What the hell is that?
Skyway. Connects this building
with the Elks Club there.
I suppose you can get out that way.
If you had a mind to.
How do, friends?
Can't quite place your faces.
Visiting members?
Actually, we was thinking
about joining up.
- Mind if we look around some?
- Go ahead. We're all brothers here.
Brotherly love.
- Fidelity, charity and justice.
- Our cardinal virtues.
Believe those
and you're practically an Elk.
The fidelity one, that a deal-breaker?
It's the poor little ones.
Do you mind if we
- Please.
- Thank you.
Where you are
Someone far from harbor
You may guide across the bar
Brighten the corner where you are
Well, isn't that the real
Angels Flight? Let's hear it, friends.
I know we all want to do
whatever we can for these kids.
And nothing's better
for a sickly disposition
than fresh air and sunshine.
But before we send them up
to Big Bear for the summer,
we need to raise the cash.
Now
I have here a dandy set
of gold-plated antlers
that any Elk will be proud of.
- What can you bid?
- Got one here.
- Two.
- Three.
I have three. Do I hear four?
Can I hear four?
- 3.50.
- 3.50. Do I hear four?
- Four.
- I didn't know you cared.
4.25.
My nine-year-old's
on the left with the braids.
- Four and a half.
- The hell you doing here?
Just looking for justice.
- Charity. Can I count on your support?
- You don't get my vote.
Not much brotherly love,
but a lot of coincidence.
How's that?
You, a member of this lodge,
one building over
from where the kidnappers staked out.
I'm here two or three times a week, pal.
It's my social club.
That's why I'm social.
- Were you here that night?
- I don't know. Run me in and find out.
Would you hold up
as well as Emily Dodson?
You're like every amateur dick
I ever met.
Think you caught a fish,
all you done is hook your own ass.
Oh, no, I'm too stupid
to think I'm right.
- Nine dollars.
- I have nine. Do I hear ten?
Ten? Nine going once.
Twice. Sold. Thank you, brother.
I hope she has a great summer.
Next, we have
a silver loving cup,
beautifully engraved
with a majestic bull elk.