Without a Trace s03e21 Episode Script
Off the Tracks
Previously on Without a Trace: My name is Sylvia Marquez.
I'm your brother's fiancée.
This is our son, Nickie.
Rafael's already served nine years.
Plus two years for the one before this.
And the 18 months he served in juvie for possession.
He's different now.
If you can speak about how tough things were growing up Don't come here and ask me to make excuses for my brother.
Papi was a bastard! I spent 10 years between his fist and your pretty face.
Danny, don't say I wasn't there for you.
I'm here to testify on behalf of Rafael Alvarez, my brother.
You think you're stronger than me? You think you're stronger than me? I am Gigantor! I am Gigantor! I am king of couch mountain! Dad, stop! Stop, Dad.
All right, all right, come on Come on, stop, you guys, please.
We're just goofing.
You should just be doing your homework.
And can you change your shirt.
It smells like Pennzoil in here.
Mom.
No, no.
Come on.
You heard her.
How you feeling? You know.
Take a break, let me cook tonight.
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
All right, well, you know where the chicken is.
I thought you were the king.
I thought you had homework.
Yeah.
Now? It's gotta be now? But you said Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, all right.
I'll take care of it.
What was that? Customer.
A guy promised him his car would be ready tomorrow.
Now the work's not done.
See you, Papi.
I gotta go to the shop.
What time are you gonna be back? Late.
Rafi I'm sorry.
Don't wait up.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.
Permissibly burdens interstate commerce That's true.
Good morning.
Is it? It's morning.
Man, you look wired.
Who's wired? Wired's better than tired, right? Want a sip? No, I've tried your coffee.
I got my own.
What's this? Some case that escaped my attention? No, I just needed a little bit of quiet time.
My neighbor's got a 2 month old.
She's cute, but she's loud as hell.
What's your excuse? Okay.
"Constitutional Conflicts: Grossman 's Questions and Answers on the New York Bar Exam.
" I'm taking the test at Javits at the end of the month.
You took the bar exam when you got out of law school.
I did, and I failed it.
I've been brushing up on this over the past year and hopefully, this time, I'll pass.
ADA Danny Taylor, huh? Or "Taylor and Associates.
" All right, come on.
What are you doing? Pencils up.
No, no, no.
Let's see what you got.
I wanna finish I gotta get to 319 before No, come on.
Let's see what you got.
Go.
Constitutional law.
Taylor.
Hey.
When? Okay.
All right, I'll be right over.
Okay, bye.
What's going on? That was my brother's girlfriend.
He hasn't come home in a couple days.
He's on parole, right? Yeah.
How's he doing? Good.
Works at a body shop, hangs out with his kid he's got another kid on the way I'm gonna check this out, okay? Sure.
All right.
Hey.
Where's Nickie? Asleep.
Where have you been? Didn't you get my messages? I was gonna call you this morning.
This isn't like him.
Something's wrong.
Calm down, you'll wake Nickie.
He say where was he was going? My brother's shop.
Nelson? Yes.
I called.
He doesn't know anything about it.
Has he been going out? Going to bars, clubs, hanging out with friends? No.
No? No.
In the year that he's been out, he's either at home, or he's at work.
He's clean.
He's completely clean.
And he promised me he wasn't gonna mess it up again.
He wants to stay up all night and hang with you.
Rafi, are you all right? Honey, what's wrong? Nothing.
Honey, come on.
No, for real, I'm good.
It's just It's just what? I spent 18 years either locked up or high.
Or both.
I'm just I'm not used to feeling things.
It's gonna take me time, that's all.
Yeah, but you know what? We got time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
How long ago was this? Three months or so.
Three months.
Yeah, it's not like that, Danny.
He's got plans.
He took out a loan to set up his own shop.
I saw it.
It was almost $ 10,000.
Where did he get the loan? The Small Business Administration.
Do you know who he was talking to? No.
But I got one of his cards from Rafi's shirt.
Let me just get it for you.
You saw my sister? Yeah.
You saw how she's a mess over this.
Yeah.
I don't know what's going on with your brother, but I hope he's okay.
Sylvia mentioned that a customer called the house.
What was that about? No one I know.
He needed extra cash, so I let him do some side work at night.
But any work was off the books.
You do know that my brother had a drug problem.
I know he kicked it.
Do you think he's using again? Didn't look like it to me.
He seemed to be getting his act together, with the new shop and all.
What can you tell me about this loan? Just that he came in here with a big, fat wad of hundreds.
I told him to get it out of here or I'd mug him.
Know where this place is he wants to open? A few blocks down.
A place called Petersen Body Works.
And what about the crew he runs with? Any troublemakers? Anybody look shady to you? I don't know.
You don't know? Well, you look like you know.
There's this guy he's hanging with.
A Dominican kid by the name of Luis Vega.
Vega? Well, what's his story? Well, he used to work here, but I fired him for stealing rims.
I told him to get lost, but he kept coming by to see Rafi.
It will be ready Thursday.
Noon.
Sure.
Yo, Rafi! What do you think you're doing? What do you mean? Don't play dumb with me.
That guy is bad news.
He's stopping by.
No big deal.
Stay away from him.
If your PO hears you're hanging with guys like him, they'll send you back.
I know.
I know.
Yeah, I know you know.
Just don't blow it.
You got a good thing going.
Yeah, it's all good.
All right, well, then keep your head up.
Get in there and make cars beautiful.
That's what we pay you for.
I didn't make anything of it at the time.
But him not showing up for the last couple days Yeah.
Did you see Luis again after that? No.
But the guys use that payphone to make their personal phone calls.
Rafi was on it a lot the day before he took off.
You got Luis' number? It's in the office.
What's up? Hey.
Any news on your brother? Nothing yet.
I got a number on that call to your brother's apartment.
It came up as a cloned phone.
You sure? It was the only incoming call that night.
All right, thanks.
Hey, listen, if you need a hand with this, I'm available.
Yeah, me too.
Well, I got a mountain of payphone records.
I got an SBA loan officer on his way in for an interview.
And meet the lowlife my brother's been hanging with.
He's got two felony convictions for grand theft auto.
I'll take the mountain.
And I'll take the lowlife.
I'm gonna grab a coffee.
You want one? No, I'm I'm fine.
Okay.
Hey, Sam.
Hey.
How's Danny? I'd say he's a little rattled.
How are you? Fine.
See you in there.
Yeah.
When I was a kid, we used to pass notes under the desk at school.
Well, I guess we're all grown up now.
Yes, a fact that I regret daily.
To what do I owe the pleasure? I wanted to see how the medication's working.
Well, the good news is that I'm sleeping, bad news is I'm still tired.
Do you want to talk about it? Professionally? That's what I do.
Well, I'm gonna have to pass.
But don't take it personally.
Well, everything's personal, Jack.
You should know that.
If you reconsider, you know where I am.
I sure do.
Bye.
Bye.
Mr.
Asher.
Hi, I'm Danny Taylor.
Thank you for coming in.
This is Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald.
Hi.
I'm gonna need information on the loan that you gave Rafael Alvarez.
Yes, I remember Mr.
Alvarez.
I brought his file.
Can I see that? Sure.
He came to me over two months ago.
He was looking for a loan to purchase a car repair business.
Petersen Body Works in Queens.
Yes.
It says here he requested $ 10,000.
Is that correct? Yeah, that's the figure he estimated for down payment and initial costs.
He did his homework.
That's not why he was denied the loan.
Wait, he was denied? What happened? Do you know? I had it approved all the way until management got ahold of his background check.
I fought for him, but there was nothing I could do.
Hey! Hey, Mr.
Asher! Hang on.
How you doing? Good.
Sorry, just part of the job, you know.
That's okay.
I tried calling, but the phone was busy.
Oh, it's a payphone.
These guys are always tying it up.
That's the first thing I'm gonna change when I get my shop.
I'm going class all the way.
The loan's been denied, Rafi.
What? What happened? That That's a viable business I'm buying.
You saw the P and L.
It's not about numbers.
It's your record.
Specifically the felony convictions.
You You said that didn't matter.
It's evaluated on a case by case basis.
Some hard ass manager killed it.
I fought like hell, but I lost.
Can I talk to this manager? I don't think it'll help.
I know how much you wanted this.
I'm sorry.
This is a copy of your application and rejection notice.
I'm supposed to give it to you.
Thanks.
That was the last time you saw him? Yes.
A couple days after that he showed up at work with close to $ 10,000 in cash.
Any idea where he would have gotten that kind of money? Not from us.
Excuse me.
Taylor.
Yeah.
Yes, I would.
Thank you.
I owe you.
Okay.
Thanks.
Will you excuse us? Sure.
N.
Y.
P.
D.
Just found Vega's car in a parking garage.
There.
It's right there.
It's cold.
This car's been here for a while.
There's gotta be at least two grand invested in the wheels alone.
I bet this guy's coming back for his car.
Comprende the "monkey" part.
It means you can dress a monkey up in silk, but he's still a monkey.
My brother used to take me on fishing trips to the Florida Keys when I was a kid.
He had a '72 I mean, a cherry '72 Lincoln Continental.
With opera windows in the back.
That's cool.
Yeah, it was cool.
The way back was hell.
Once we were done with all the fun, my brother would take me to this dock and we'd pick up these special packages.
My brother always had a talent for hiding special packages.
This car could have been used to kidnap your brother.
Exigent circumstances work for me.
I've never heard about any drugs.
You sure? I'm sure.
You never noticed anything? Like what? You're a nurse.
You know what.
I don't know what.
And I've never even heard Rafi mention this Luis guy.
I mean, why can't you find him? That's what I'm trying to do.
Sylvia, Rafi's loan was denied.
What? I saw the money, Danny.
Anybody he could've borrowed it from? We don't know people with money.
Why would he lie to me? Because he lies.
Because that's what he does.
I'm sorry, but You know what, I gotta go.
You lock up before you leave.
Taylor.
Hey, man.
Bad news.
They found Rafi's prints on the drugs.
I think our best bet is to piece the car back together and sit on it.
Hopefully, Luis will come back and tell us where Rafi is.
I'll take care of it.
All right, thanks.
Stop.
Keep it down.
Look out, Danny.
Is that your milk? Yes, Papi.
So you like knocking over your milk? I knocked it over.
Is that right? Look, you got milk all over your art.
I told you not to draw at the table because this is what happens, see? I'm sorry, Papi.
Sorry? How many times I have to tell you? You've got to learn to listen! Papi, stop! Go to your room! Papi.
I said go to your room! Look at the little baby crying! See, you know what it is? I've been too nice to you, that's what it is.
Papi Don't you talk back to me! Danny.
Come on in, I've got some information for you.
The DEA has nothing on Luis Vega or your brother.
But there's been 20 calls made from the body shop to Vega in the last week.
Obvious what they were talking about.
Come in here and sit down.
Okay.
Look.
I want you to understand something.
Okay, if we pursue this, we're gonna go all the way with it, and if it's warranted It's warranted.
We'll arrest him.
My brother's prints are all over the drugs.
It's warranted.
My inclination is to pull you off this case.
Why? It's obvious why.
I can handle it, okay? We done? Yes, that's it.
I'm here if you need me, okay? Thank you, Jack.
Mr.
Petersen? Yeah, that's me.
Special Agent Spade, FBI.
What can I do for you? I wanted to ask questions about Rafael Alvarez.
Is there a problem? He was trying to buy your business? What, is that against the law? No, not at all.
Just wanted confirmation from you that he was legitimately interested.
Oh, he was interested, all right.
He had all sorts of plans.
So you gotta picture some Porsches down here, some Benzes What's up, fellas? You know, some Mercedes down here.
Get your Wall Street buddies to come down and give me some money.
Definitely.
This could be very cool.
Hey, Rafi.
Hey, Mr.
Petersen.
How you doing? This is Mr.
Petersen.
This is my friend Carey I was telling you about.
I'm just showing him around a little bit.
I brought the deposit we talked about.
You didn't get my message? I left it at the shop.
No, no.
What message? Well, when you didn't show up with the deposit last week I had to find another buyer.
No, no, no.
I got the money now.
I already signed the papers.
We had a deal.
What do you mean you signed the papers? We had a deal! You didn't come through.
No! What? I couldn't afford to screw around.
I'm sorry.
You're sorry? That's it? You're sorry? I don't know what else to say, Raf Sorry.
I felt terrible about it.
The kid had all sorts of ideas.
Turns out the guys I sold to plan to knock it down for a condo project.
I put 30 years of my life in here.
Would've liked to see it still up and running.
You said he showed up with the money? That's what he said.
You have any idea where he got it? I'd check with his buddy, the suit.
They left here in a brand new Lexus.
Guy looked loaded to me.
Thank you.
Sure.
Hey.
Hey.
Any word on this Carey friend of your brother's? No, Sylvia's never heard of him.
Well, the owner said your brother was serious about opening that shop.
Here we go.
Meet Carey Chase.
Three calls were placed to this guy from the payphone last week.
Two drug busts.
Possession with intent to sell.
Another angel.
He works for a brokerage firm on Wall Street.
Security guard saw a man matching Rafi's description talking with this guy around 11:30 last night.
Yeah, I gotta go.
Okay.
Come on in, guys.
Okay.
Can I get you a drink? No, we're good.
What could you tell us about Rafael Alvarez? This about Rafi? It is for now.
How is it that you're associated with an ex con who works in a body shop? We met in rehab.
It's the great social equalizer.
Addiction doesn't care how much money you make.
Why did Rafi see you last night? I was having drinks after work and he paged me.
He wanted to talk, so we came up here.
What about? I'm not sure I wanna get involved.
What's the problem? You using again? I'm clean.
Then tell us what we want to know.
Start talking.
He was in trouble.
He was so tweaked I thought his head was gonna explode.
Come on, sit down.
Try to relax.
You're not listening to me! They're gonna kill me! You can't talk to them? No! I screwed up, all right.
I screwed up.
I borrowed money from these guys, I couldn't pay it all back so I had to do them a favor.
I had to pack some crystal into a car.
The guy I'm working with ripped me off! He took the crystal? He took the car, he took the crystal.
Who's the guy? You don't know him.
Now you can't find him? I tried.
It went bad, man.
It went really bad.
Where's Luis? Please, I told you, we don't want I don't wanna hear that! Where is he? He was here around 10, and left again.
He said That's a lie.
It's true.
Don't you keep lying to me! I want Luis! Let him go! Let him go! Let him go, please! Make him stop crying! Do you? Do you have any idea how long he's been using again? After he got turned down on that garage deal.
I mean, he got real depressed, and he had all that cash to burn.
I mean, it was inevitable, I guess.
He ended up smoking through most of the money he borrowed.
And between that and the vig, he just got He just got in a hole.
Where did he get that money? I don't know.
You know where he gets his drugs? No.
But he was definitely a man in need of a fix.
I've only seen him twice since he was released.
Christmas and Nickie's birthday.
And I guess Well, no, I don't guess, I know that I've been avoiding him.
Look, Rafi made his choices.
All day long today I have been thinking about this tavern that I used to go to.
It opened at 6:00, and I used to be really close with the bartender so I called my sponsor, and he wasn't around and that's That's why I called you.
Well, I'm glad you did.
You know how I told you that I failed the bar exam? The truth is I never took it.
I never made it that far.
I was supposed to drive out to Nassau Community College Well, I crammed all night, and before I knew it, I was way late.
Hey! Get out of the car! Get out of there! Where you from, Jersey? Get out of there! And when the cops found the booze, they They made me take a breathalyzer.
One minute, I was trying to become a lawyer and the next minute, I needed one.
I don't know what to say.
Well, my lawyer was good.
She knocked it down to a misdemeanor.
So you got lucky.
Yeah, I did get lucky.
You know, Viv there's a part of me that just wants to cut Rafi off and walk away from him because the closer that I get to him the more I realize that I am just one wrong step away from being where I used to be.
What are you gonna do? Hey, Luis.
FBI! Freeze! Keep your hands where I can see them! Turn around and face the car! Put your hands on the hood.
Put your hands on the car.
Eight kilos of farm fresh crystal meth.
What was that, to fund your retirement? Sounds nice, right? Wasn't mine, bro.
Then whose was it? Well, you got the badge.
You tell me.
It was your car.
Lots of people use my car, bro.
Where's Rafi? I don't know.
I mean, I don't know anything, all right.
About any of this.
Okay.
Then I guess we'll just have to let you go.
But just remember one thing.
Once we put the word out that you stole the drugs You're dead.
Yeah.
Where's Rafi? Where the hell is Rafi? I don't know, okay? I don't know, I swear.
Then who loaned him the money? I don't know, he didn't say.
Okay, he called me, right? He said he needed a favor.
Needed to use my car, bro.
He told me he knew how to play it, man.
Yo, you almost done, man? Come on, it's been like two hours.
You wanna do this right, or get caught? Just relax, all right.
It's just taking a long time.
You gotta get rid of this.
Yeah.
Not here.
All right.
Where did your boy get all this stuff anyway? It's none of my business where it came from or where it's going.
I'm just saying, it's gotta be worth Won't you shut up? Okay.
I don't wanna talk about it.
I just wanna get this done and forget it ever happened.
Oh, I hear you, bro.
So you screwed Rafi over? That's a lot of money, bro.
I just thought I could find another buyer.
You screwed over my brother.
Danny.
Your brother, man? Hey! Danny! Danny! Get off, man! Get off! Danny, it's enough! I'm suing you! Everything you have! That's enough! Hey, sit down and Sit your ass down! Right now! Now, are we cool? Yeah.
Taylor.
Danny.
Danny.
Yeah, what's up, Sylvia? Sylvia, just Sylvia Sylvia I cannot understand you.
Rafi called, and he was talking a million miles an hour.
He sounded really bad.
Where is he? I don 't know.
I don't know where he is, but he said he was gonna kill himself.
I tried to get him to stop, and he hung up.
You have to stop him! Listen to me! Please! You have to stop him! Stay put.
Look, I'm gonna take care of this, okay? Okay.
Okay, bye.
What's going on? It's Sylvia.
She says that Rafi's gonna try to kill himself.
Call came from a cell phone registered to Carey Chase.
See if you can get a ping off the number.
Now, where's this guy live? Billing address is New Rochelle.
New Rochelle.
Well, local P.
D.
Can get there a lot faster than we can.
That ping will take a few minutes.
Let's go to Chase's office.
Keep me posted, all right? Malone.
Hi, Jack, it's Viv.
Any word on Rafi? Jeez, nothing gets by you, even in your bathrobe.
Well, Danny came by this afternoon, you know and he seemed a little on edge.
He make you think he couldn't handle it? Just, you know, "one day at a time" kind of thing.
Look, I'll keep an eye on him, okay? Yeah, I'll talk to you later.
Sure.
He's dead.
Fitzgerald.
Yeah.
Okay, thanks.
Rafi wasn't here when he called Sylvia.
The call was routed through a tower in Queens.
You think he's going home? No.
I'll wait here.
What the hell are you doing here? Go on, get out of here.
Leave me alone.
Why? So you can keep injecting your veins with that junk? When are you gonna stop? When your heart does? Is this the same stuff that Chase took? It doesn't matter.
Well, do Sylvia and Nickie matter? You see this place? This place should be mine, Danny.
Yeah, I know, I know.
The Beamers, the Porsches.
You can fix the place up No, man! No, you don't know! I had the right plan.
Well, the plan didn't work out, but that's not a good enough reason to inject yourself with poison, Rafi.
Danny, you think I don't know there's something wrong with me? You don't think I wanted to stay straight? Why didn't you come to me? No.
You don't want nothing to do with me.
I get why, so just get out of here and leave me alone.
Let me deal with this.
Don't make me lie to him, Rafi.
Who? Nickie.
Nickie? Ten years from now, when he asks me, "How did Papi really die?" You remember my old Continental? Yeah, with the opera windows in the back.
I taught you how to drive in that car.
Goddamn it.
I don't know what to do.
What are we gonna do now? Danny.
What are we gonna do now? I am Gargantua, king of couch mountain! Hey.
Hey, where is he? N.
Y.
P.
D.
's processing him.
He should be done in about an hour.
And when can I see him? Maybe after that.
Okay, so we're gonna have to get a lawyer and my sister can watch Nickie and Oh, Danny.
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
We're gonna get through this together, okay? I guess I'm not the only one without a life.
Something on your mind? Do you wanna get a drink? Really? Really.
Why not? That's not exactly what I had in mind.
If you wanna talk, I'm all ears.
Like I told you before, I don't need a therapist.
As friends, then.
Okay.
Nobody around here tells me anything.
What do you mean? I mean, around here there's this stuff going on, and nobody tells me anything.
People usually have a tough time confiding in their boss.
Maybe.
I don't think that's it.
Do you confide in them? I can't, I'm their boss.
Are you sure that's the reason? I think I'm gonna need something stronger than this.
Yeah, pharmacy's closed, Jack.
Okay.
Thanks.
You don't have to leave if you don't want.
I'll just finish my drink.
Adapted by:
I'm your brother's fiancée.
This is our son, Nickie.
Rafael's already served nine years.
Plus two years for the one before this.
And the 18 months he served in juvie for possession.
He's different now.
If you can speak about how tough things were growing up Don't come here and ask me to make excuses for my brother.
Papi was a bastard! I spent 10 years between his fist and your pretty face.
Danny, don't say I wasn't there for you.
I'm here to testify on behalf of Rafael Alvarez, my brother.
You think you're stronger than me? You think you're stronger than me? I am Gigantor! I am Gigantor! I am king of couch mountain! Dad, stop! Stop, Dad.
All right, all right, come on Come on, stop, you guys, please.
We're just goofing.
You should just be doing your homework.
And can you change your shirt.
It smells like Pennzoil in here.
Mom.
No, no.
Come on.
You heard her.
How you feeling? You know.
Take a break, let me cook tonight.
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
All right, well, you know where the chicken is.
I thought you were the king.
I thought you had homework.
Yeah.
Now? It's gotta be now? But you said Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, all right.
I'll take care of it.
What was that? Customer.
A guy promised him his car would be ready tomorrow.
Now the work's not done.
See you, Papi.
I gotta go to the shop.
What time are you gonna be back? Late.
Rafi I'm sorry.
Don't wait up.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.
Permissibly burdens interstate commerce That's true.
Good morning.
Is it? It's morning.
Man, you look wired.
Who's wired? Wired's better than tired, right? Want a sip? No, I've tried your coffee.
I got my own.
What's this? Some case that escaped my attention? No, I just needed a little bit of quiet time.
My neighbor's got a 2 month old.
She's cute, but she's loud as hell.
What's your excuse? Okay.
"Constitutional Conflicts: Grossman 's Questions and Answers on the New York Bar Exam.
" I'm taking the test at Javits at the end of the month.
You took the bar exam when you got out of law school.
I did, and I failed it.
I've been brushing up on this over the past year and hopefully, this time, I'll pass.
ADA Danny Taylor, huh? Or "Taylor and Associates.
" All right, come on.
What are you doing? Pencils up.
No, no, no.
Let's see what you got.
I wanna finish I gotta get to 319 before No, come on.
Let's see what you got.
Go.
Constitutional law.
Taylor.
Hey.
When? Okay.
All right, I'll be right over.
Okay, bye.
What's going on? That was my brother's girlfriend.
He hasn't come home in a couple days.
He's on parole, right? Yeah.
How's he doing? Good.
Works at a body shop, hangs out with his kid he's got another kid on the way I'm gonna check this out, okay? Sure.
All right.
Hey.
Where's Nickie? Asleep.
Where have you been? Didn't you get my messages? I was gonna call you this morning.
This isn't like him.
Something's wrong.
Calm down, you'll wake Nickie.
He say where was he was going? My brother's shop.
Nelson? Yes.
I called.
He doesn't know anything about it.
Has he been going out? Going to bars, clubs, hanging out with friends? No.
No? No.
In the year that he's been out, he's either at home, or he's at work.
He's clean.
He's completely clean.
And he promised me he wasn't gonna mess it up again.
He wants to stay up all night and hang with you.
Rafi, are you all right? Honey, what's wrong? Nothing.
Honey, come on.
No, for real, I'm good.
It's just It's just what? I spent 18 years either locked up or high.
Or both.
I'm just I'm not used to feeling things.
It's gonna take me time, that's all.
Yeah, but you know what? We got time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
How long ago was this? Three months or so.
Three months.
Yeah, it's not like that, Danny.
He's got plans.
He took out a loan to set up his own shop.
I saw it.
It was almost $ 10,000.
Where did he get the loan? The Small Business Administration.
Do you know who he was talking to? No.
But I got one of his cards from Rafi's shirt.
Let me just get it for you.
You saw my sister? Yeah.
You saw how she's a mess over this.
Yeah.
I don't know what's going on with your brother, but I hope he's okay.
Sylvia mentioned that a customer called the house.
What was that about? No one I know.
He needed extra cash, so I let him do some side work at night.
But any work was off the books.
You do know that my brother had a drug problem.
I know he kicked it.
Do you think he's using again? Didn't look like it to me.
He seemed to be getting his act together, with the new shop and all.
What can you tell me about this loan? Just that he came in here with a big, fat wad of hundreds.
I told him to get it out of here or I'd mug him.
Know where this place is he wants to open? A few blocks down.
A place called Petersen Body Works.
And what about the crew he runs with? Any troublemakers? Anybody look shady to you? I don't know.
You don't know? Well, you look like you know.
There's this guy he's hanging with.
A Dominican kid by the name of Luis Vega.
Vega? Well, what's his story? Well, he used to work here, but I fired him for stealing rims.
I told him to get lost, but he kept coming by to see Rafi.
It will be ready Thursday.
Noon.
Sure.
Yo, Rafi! What do you think you're doing? What do you mean? Don't play dumb with me.
That guy is bad news.
He's stopping by.
No big deal.
Stay away from him.
If your PO hears you're hanging with guys like him, they'll send you back.
I know.
I know.
Yeah, I know you know.
Just don't blow it.
You got a good thing going.
Yeah, it's all good.
All right, well, then keep your head up.
Get in there and make cars beautiful.
That's what we pay you for.
I didn't make anything of it at the time.
But him not showing up for the last couple days Yeah.
Did you see Luis again after that? No.
But the guys use that payphone to make their personal phone calls.
Rafi was on it a lot the day before he took off.
You got Luis' number? It's in the office.
What's up? Hey.
Any news on your brother? Nothing yet.
I got a number on that call to your brother's apartment.
It came up as a cloned phone.
You sure? It was the only incoming call that night.
All right, thanks.
Hey, listen, if you need a hand with this, I'm available.
Yeah, me too.
Well, I got a mountain of payphone records.
I got an SBA loan officer on his way in for an interview.
And meet the lowlife my brother's been hanging with.
He's got two felony convictions for grand theft auto.
I'll take the mountain.
And I'll take the lowlife.
I'm gonna grab a coffee.
You want one? No, I'm I'm fine.
Okay.
Hey, Sam.
Hey.
How's Danny? I'd say he's a little rattled.
How are you? Fine.
See you in there.
Yeah.
When I was a kid, we used to pass notes under the desk at school.
Well, I guess we're all grown up now.
Yes, a fact that I regret daily.
To what do I owe the pleasure? I wanted to see how the medication's working.
Well, the good news is that I'm sleeping, bad news is I'm still tired.
Do you want to talk about it? Professionally? That's what I do.
Well, I'm gonna have to pass.
But don't take it personally.
Well, everything's personal, Jack.
You should know that.
If you reconsider, you know where I am.
I sure do.
Bye.
Bye.
Mr.
Asher.
Hi, I'm Danny Taylor.
Thank you for coming in.
This is Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald.
Hi.
I'm gonna need information on the loan that you gave Rafael Alvarez.
Yes, I remember Mr.
Alvarez.
I brought his file.
Can I see that? Sure.
He came to me over two months ago.
He was looking for a loan to purchase a car repair business.
Petersen Body Works in Queens.
Yes.
It says here he requested $ 10,000.
Is that correct? Yeah, that's the figure he estimated for down payment and initial costs.
He did his homework.
That's not why he was denied the loan.
Wait, he was denied? What happened? Do you know? I had it approved all the way until management got ahold of his background check.
I fought for him, but there was nothing I could do.
Hey! Hey, Mr.
Asher! Hang on.
How you doing? Good.
Sorry, just part of the job, you know.
That's okay.
I tried calling, but the phone was busy.
Oh, it's a payphone.
These guys are always tying it up.
That's the first thing I'm gonna change when I get my shop.
I'm going class all the way.
The loan's been denied, Rafi.
What? What happened? That That's a viable business I'm buying.
You saw the P and L.
It's not about numbers.
It's your record.
Specifically the felony convictions.
You You said that didn't matter.
It's evaluated on a case by case basis.
Some hard ass manager killed it.
I fought like hell, but I lost.
Can I talk to this manager? I don't think it'll help.
I know how much you wanted this.
I'm sorry.
This is a copy of your application and rejection notice.
I'm supposed to give it to you.
Thanks.
That was the last time you saw him? Yes.
A couple days after that he showed up at work with close to $ 10,000 in cash.
Any idea where he would have gotten that kind of money? Not from us.
Excuse me.
Taylor.
Yeah.
Yes, I would.
Thank you.
I owe you.
Okay.
Thanks.
Will you excuse us? Sure.
N.
Y.
P.
D.
Just found Vega's car in a parking garage.
There.
It's right there.
It's cold.
This car's been here for a while.
There's gotta be at least two grand invested in the wheels alone.
I bet this guy's coming back for his car.
Comprende the "monkey" part.
It means you can dress a monkey up in silk, but he's still a monkey.
My brother used to take me on fishing trips to the Florida Keys when I was a kid.
He had a '72 I mean, a cherry '72 Lincoln Continental.
With opera windows in the back.
That's cool.
Yeah, it was cool.
The way back was hell.
Once we were done with all the fun, my brother would take me to this dock and we'd pick up these special packages.
My brother always had a talent for hiding special packages.
This car could have been used to kidnap your brother.
Exigent circumstances work for me.
I've never heard about any drugs.
You sure? I'm sure.
You never noticed anything? Like what? You're a nurse.
You know what.
I don't know what.
And I've never even heard Rafi mention this Luis guy.
I mean, why can't you find him? That's what I'm trying to do.
Sylvia, Rafi's loan was denied.
What? I saw the money, Danny.
Anybody he could've borrowed it from? We don't know people with money.
Why would he lie to me? Because he lies.
Because that's what he does.
I'm sorry, but You know what, I gotta go.
You lock up before you leave.
Taylor.
Hey, man.
Bad news.
They found Rafi's prints on the drugs.
I think our best bet is to piece the car back together and sit on it.
Hopefully, Luis will come back and tell us where Rafi is.
I'll take care of it.
All right, thanks.
Stop.
Keep it down.
Look out, Danny.
Is that your milk? Yes, Papi.
So you like knocking over your milk? I knocked it over.
Is that right? Look, you got milk all over your art.
I told you not to draw at the table because this is what happens, see? I'm sorry, Papi.
Sorry? How many times I have to tell you? You've got to learn to listen! Papi, stop! Go to your room! Papi.
I said go to your room! Look at the little baby crying! See, you know what it is? I've been too nice to you, that's what it is.
Papi Don't you talk back to me! Danny.
Come on in, I've got some information for you.
The DEA has nothing on Luis Vega or your brother.
But there's been 20 calls made from the body shop to Vega in the last week.
Obvious what they were talking about.
Come in here and sit down.
Okay.
Look.
I want you to understand something.
Okay, if we pursue this, we're gonna go all the way with it, and if it's warranted It's warranted.
We'll arrest him.
My brother's prints are all over the drugs.
It's warranted.
My inclination is to pull you off this case.
Why? It's obvious why.
I can handle it, okay? We done? Yes, that's it.
I'm here if you need me, okay? Thank you, Jack.
Mr.
Petersen? Yeah, that's me.
Special Agent Spade, FBI.
What can I do for you? I wanted to ask questions about Rafael Alvarez.
Is there a problem? He was trying to buy your business? What, is that against the law? No, not at all.
Just wanted confirmation from you that he was legitimately interested.
Oh, he was interested, all right.
He had all sorts of plans.
So you gotta picture some Porsches down here, some Benzes What's up, fellas? You know, some Mercedes down here.
Get your Wall Street buddies to come down and give me some money.
Definitely.
This could be very cool.
Hey, Rafi.
Hey, Mr.
Petersen.
How you doing? This is Mr.
Petersen.
This is my friend Carey I was telling you about.
I'm just showing him around a little bit.
I brought the deposit we talked about.
You didn't get my message? I left it at the shop.
No, no.
What message? Well, when you didn't show up with the deposit last week I had to find another buyer.
No, no, no.
I got the money now.
I already signed the papers.
We had a deal.
What do you mean you signed the papers? We had a deal! You didn't come through.
No! What? I couldn't afford to screw around.
I'm sorry.
You're sorry? That's it? You're sorry? I don't know what else to say, Raf Sorry.
I felt terrible about it.
The kid had all sorts of ideas.
Turns out the guys I sold to plan to knock it down for a condo project.
I put 30 years of my life in here.
Would've liked to see it still up and running.
You said he showed up with the money? That's what he said.
You have any idea where he got it? I'd check with his buddy, the suit.
They left here in a brand new Lexus.
Guy looked loaded to me.
Thank you.
Sure.
Hey.
Hey.
Any word on this Carey friend of your brother's? No, Sylvia's never heard of him.
Well, the owner said your brother was serious about opening that shop.
Here we go.
Meet Carey Chase.
Three calls were placed to this guy from the payphone last week.
Two drug busts.
Possession with intent to sell.
Another angel.
He works for a brokerage firm on Wall Street.
Security guard saw a man matching Rafi's description talking with this guy around 11:30 last night.
Yeah, I gotta go.
Okay.
Come on in, guys.
Okay.
Can I get you a drink? No, we're good.
What could you tell us about Rafael Alvarez? This about Rafi? It is for now.
How is it that you're associated with an ex con who works in a body shop? We met in rehab.
It's the great social equalizer.
Addiction doesn't care how much money you make.
Why did Rafi see you last night? I was having drinks after work and he paged me.
He wanted to talk, so we came up here.
What about? I'm not sure I wanna get involved.
What's the problem? You using again? I'm clean.
Then tell us what we want to know.
Start talking.
He was in trouble.
He was so tweaked I thought his head was gonna explode.
Come on, sit down.
Try to relax.
You're not listening to me! They're gonna kill me! You can't talk to them? No! I screwed up, all right.
I screwed up.
I borrowed money from these guys, I couldn't pay it all back so I had to do them a favor.
I had to pack some crystal into a car.
The guy I'm working with ripped me off! He took the crystal? He took the car, he took the crystal.
Who's the guy? You don't know him.
Now you can't find him? I tried.
It went bad, man.
It went really bad.
Where's Luis? Please, I told you, we don't want I don't wanna hear that! Where is he? He was here around 10, and left again.
He said That's a lie.
It's true.
Don't you keep lying to me! I want Luis! Let him go! Let him go! Let him go, please! Make him stop crying! Do you? Do you have any idea how long he's been using again? After he got turned down on that garage deal.
I mean, he got real depressed, and he had all that cash to burn.
I mean, it was inevitable, I guess.
He ended up smoking through most of the money he borrowed.
And between that and the vig, he just got He just got in a hole.
Where did he get that money? I don't know.
You know where he gets his drugs? No.
But he was definitely a man in need of a fix.
I've only seen him twice since he was released.
Christmas and Nickie's birthday.
And I guess Well, no, I don't guess, I know that I've been avoiding him.
Look, Rafi made his choices.
All day long today I have been thinking about this tavern that I used to go to.
It opened at 6:00, and I used to be really close with the bartender so I called my sponsor, and he wasn't around and that's That's why I called you.
Well, I'm glad you did.
You know how I told you that I failed the bar exam? The truth is I never took it.
I never made it that far.
I was supposed to drive out to Nassau Community College Well, I crammed all night, and before I knew it, I was way late.
Hey! Get out of the car! Get out of there! Where you from, Jersey? Get out of there! And when the cops found the booze, they They made me take a breathalyzer.
One minute, I was trying to become a lawyer and the next minute, I needed one.
I don't know what to say.
Well, my lawyer was good.
She knocked it down to a misdemeanor.
So you got lucky.
Yeah, I did get lucky.
You know, Viv there's a part of me that just wants to cut Rafi off and walk away from him because the closer that I get to him the more I realize that I am just one wrong step away from being where I used to be.
What are you gonna do? Hey, Luis.
FBI! Freeze! Keep your hands where I can see them! Turn around and face the car! Put your hands on the hood.
Put your hands on the car.
Eight kilos of farm fresh crystal meth.
What was that, to fund your retirement? Sounds nice, right? Wasn't mine, bro.
Then whose was it? Well, you got the badge.
You tell me.
It was your car.
Lots of people use my car, bro.
Where's Rafi? I don't know.
I mean, I don't know anything, all right.
About any of this.
Okay.
Then I guess we'll just have to let you go.
But just remember one thing.
Once we put the word out that you stole the drugs You're dead.
Yeah.
Where's Rafi? Where the hell is Rafi? I don't know, okay? I don't know, I swear.
Then who loaned him the money? I don't know, he didn't say.
Okay, he called me, right? He said he needed a favor.
Needed to use my car, bro.
He told me he knew how to play it, man.
Yo, you almost done, man? Come on, it's been like two hours.
You wanna do this right, or get caught? Just relax, all right.
It's just taking a long time.
You gotta get rid of this.
Yeah.
Not here.
All right.
Where did your boy get all this stuff anyway? It's none of my business where it came from or where it's going.
I'm just saying, it's gotta be worth Won't you shut up? Okay.
I don't wanna talk about it.
I just wanna get this done and forget it ever happened.
Oh, I hear you, bro.
So you screwed Rafi over? That's a lot of money, bro.
I just thought I could find another buyer.
You screwed over my brother.
Danny.
Your brother, man? Hey! Danny! Danny! Get off, man! Get off! Danny, it's enough! I'm suing you! Everything you have! That's enough! Hey, sit down and Sit your ass down! Right now! Now, are we cool? Yeah.
Taylor.
Danny.
Danny.
Yeah, what's up, Sylvia? Sylvia, just Sylvia Sylvia I cannot understand you.
Rafi called, and he was talking a million miles an hour.
He sounded really bad.
Where is he? I don 't know.
I don't know where he is, but he said he was gonna kill himself.
I tried to get him to stop, and he hung up.
You have to stop him! Listen to me! Please! You have to stop him! Stay put.
Look, I'm gonna take care of this, okay? Okay.
Okay, bye.
What's going on? It's Sylvia.
She says that Rafi's gonna try to kill himself.
Call came from a cell phone registered to Carey Chase.
See if you can get a ping off the number.
Now, where's this guy live? Billing address is New Rochelle.
New Rochelle.
Well, local P.
D.
Can get there a lot faster than we can.
That ping will take a few minutes.
Let's go to Chase's office.
Keep me posted, all right? Malone.
Hi, Jack, it's Viv.
Any word on Rafi? Jeez, nothing gets by you, even in your bathrobe.
Well, Danny came by this afternoon, you know and he seemed a little on edge.
He make you think he couldn't handle it? Just, you know, "one day at a time" kind of thing.
Look, I'll keep an eye on him, okay? Yeah, I'll talk to you later.
Sure.
He's dead.
Fitzgerald.
Yeah.
Okay, thanks.
Rafi wasn't here when he called Sylvia.
The call was routed through a tower in Queens.
You think he's going home? No.
I'll wait here.
What the hell are you doing here? Go on, get out of here.
Leave me alone.
Why? So you can keep injecting your veins with that junk? When are you gonna stop? When your heart does? Is this the same stuff that Chase took? It doesn't matter.
Well, do Sylvia and Nickie matter? You see this place? This place should be mine, Danny.
Yeah, I know, I know.
The Beamers, the Porsches.
You can fix the place up No, man! No, you don't know! I had the right plan.
Well, the plan didn't work out, but that's not a good enough reason to inject yourself with poison, Rafi.
Danny, you think I don't know there's something wrong with me? You don't think I wanted to stay straight? Why didn't you come to me? No.
You don't want nothing to do with me.
I get why, so just get out of here and leave me alone.
Let me deal with this.
Don't make me lie to him, Rafi.
Who? Nickie.
Nickie? Ten years from now, when he asks me, "How did Papi really die?" You remember my old Continental? Yeah, with the opera windows in the back.
I taught you how to drive in that car.
Goddamn it.
I don't know what to do.
What are we gonna do now? Danny.
What are we gonna do now? I am Gargantua, king of couch mountain! Hey.
Hey, where is he? N.
Y.
P.
D.
's processing him.
He should be done in about an hour.
And when can I see him? Maybe after that.
Okay, so we're gonna have to get a lawyer and my sister can watch Nickie and Oh, Danny.
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
We're gonna get through this together, okay? I guess I'm not the only one without a life.
Something on your mind? Do you wanna get a drink? Really? Really.
Why not? That's not exactly what I had in mind.
If you wanna talk, I'm all ears.
Like I told you before, I don't need a therapist.
As friends, then.
Okay.
Nobody around here tells me anything.
What do you mean? I mean, around here there's this stuff going on, and nobody tells me anything.
People usually have a tough time confiding in their boss.
Maybe.
I don't think that's it.
Do you confide in them? I can't, I'm their boss.
Are you sure that's the reason? I think I'm gonna need something stronger than this.
Yeah, pharmacy's closed, Jack.
Okay.
Thanks.
You don't have to leave if you don't want.
I'll just finish my drink.
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