The Wire s05e05 Episode Script
React Quotes
Joe will be missed.
Very much missed.
We liked Joe.
A hard man not to like.
Tomorrow ain't promised to no one.
Meanwhile, we go on.
In business, in life, what you learn to appreciate the most is a dependable man.
One day same as the next.
Yeah, I learned a lot from watching Joe.
We deal with you or your second.
No one else.
No one else knows our names.
No one else contacts us.
Understand? To contact us, use this only.
Man, I don't talk on no cellphones.
Here.
To call for lunch, you can talk.
To call your girl, you can talk.
To call your lawyer even, you can talk.
The law says that is between you and the lawyer.
- Mmm.
- All right? To find out what movie is playing down the street, you can talk.
All of that is good because all of that tells them there is nothing good to hear.
But, for business, do not talk on the phone.
- Never.
- Right.
I mean, Joe taught me that.
But what about What is Huh.
- How'd that play? - Man overcame his grief.
Do it feel like a crown on your head right now? Do it? 'Cause that's what I'm wearin' on my head.
We should celebrate.
Yeah? Atlantic City.
Can't play like that now.
Omar gonna make a move.
You know this.
Mm-hmm.
Yo, I need to go past home.
You mind a ride? You know I like your peoples.
Fact is, I gotta tell 'em I'm not gonna be comin' round for a time.
You stepped up and made your play.
Now I gotta make mine.
When you walk through the garden Gotta watch your back Well, I beg your pardon Walk the straight and narrow track If you walk with Jesus He's gonna save your soul You gotta keep the devil way down in a hole He's got the fire and the fury At his command Well, you don't have to worry If you hold on to Jesus' hand And we'll all be safe from Satan When the thunder rolls But you gotta help me keep the devil Way down in the hole In the bottom of the hole In the hole In the hole Way down in the hole In the hole In the hole In the hole In the hole Way down in the hole - At least four.
- Got it.
We're going back through old cases, so we could find more than that.
- What else? - And the motive now seems sexual.
What do you mean, sexual? Is someone sodomizing homeless men? You can't get that specific.
How can I not get specific? Just say the killer is acting from sexual compulsions.
Anything more detailed than that we need to keep in the case file.
I don't know, Detective.
Last time, I couldn't get it out front.
Let me run it by my desk and call you back.
All right? All right.
Anything late from cop shop? Follow-ups on the recent murders.
An arrest on one, which was the domestic cutting from Hampden.
No arrests in a couple of drug-relateds from East Baltimore.
OK, give me a bit for the budget line.
Domestic was a Patricia Boggus, found in her car.
Drug-relateds were one Joseph Stewart, found in his dining room, and one Nathaniel Manns, found in an alley garage.
A couple 'graphs on each.
Write it as a single short.
Also, I got word on another homeless murder.
The detective on it says it's related.
He says it's sexual.
Sexual? - They being raped? - He wouldn't confirm that.
He just says that the killings are sexual in nature.
Write what you got.
- I'll run it by the four o'clock, see if it takes.
- OK.
This indictment is the result of an 18-month investigation by the State's Attorney's office and the Baltimore Police Department.
And it shines a light on a cornerstone issue for any representative government - public trust of public servants.
Senator Davis abused that trust.
He traded on his power and influence so that he could use local businesses and campaign donors as his personal ATM machine.
He created a network of charitable and nonprofit organizations whose purpose was to accumulate cash for his private use, betraying Rhonda Pearlman? Bill Zorzi, covering federal court for The Sun.
Right.
How do you do? Not to be all petulant on your special day here, but since when does a prosecutor in this town stage a perp walk and not call the daily newspaper? We called Gail Gibson.
Left a message on her voicemail.
Gail left for a freelance gig four months ago.
Well, her voicemail still works.
Who's replacing her on city courts? From now on just don't jam me up like that again.
he must be held accountable for his fraudulent actions.
Senator Davis has opened our legislative body to monetary persuasions.
He has done this knowingly and with complete disregard for the office that he represents.
- It is this kind of impropriety - How's it feel, Clay? Not much fun on the ass end, is it? You said it, Norman.
There's the short con and the long con.
You're gonna need a statement.
Nothing too joyful.
You don't dance on Clay's grave until you're sure the motherfucker's dead.
Clay ain't getting up from this.
Also, you don't want to piss off his base, being too gleeful about it.
That guy still has a base? After all the shit he's pulled? I'll tell you one thing - that fella right there is looking pretty damn mayoral.
More than Nerese, definitely.
With the profile he gets from this, I'd say it's Mr.
Bond's race to lose.
and remain under common court.
Senator Davis will have to account for that money.
- What'd you tell your girl? - I'm going away on business.
I won't be around for a couple weeks.
- Shouldn't be more than that.
- Better not.
Miss Trainor say we gonna learn a problem like that - every day for this year and the next.
- You mean memorize 'em? Yeah.
Learn it by heart.
Learn the question.
Learn the answer, too.
'Cause them questions gonna be on the MSA test next year.
She tell you that? Miss Trainor say if the scores don't go up before the selection all the teachers gonna get fired.
Selection? What she mean? When the people vote for whoever.
You mean an election? Nigger think you all that.
Now, why you gonna go and do that? - Dukie about to cry.
- Fuck is wrong with you? Nothin' wrong with me! I'm gettin' stuff done.
You up in some house somewhere playin' like a lil' bitch.
- Smack his faggoty little ass.
- Get that little jog-ass! Finally, we've got that 40-inch thumbsucker on Bud Selig and baseball's half-hearted response to the latest recommendations on steroid use.
The owners think Bud is swell, the players' union is staying mum, Bonds has a home-run record and everyone's pretending the issue will go away.
- And there's news in there? - What do you like for the front? The Clay Davis indictment, obviously.
Congressional hearings on Iraq.
Price's piece on how much Carcetti raised for his gubernatorial run is solid.
The feature on John Waters filming again in Baltimore could go out front if the art is good.
We have him posing with a couple of child actors.
Is that allowed? Now, now, let's not confuse the auteur with his art.
- Anyone like anything else? - This came in late, this business about another homeless man being murdered, - that might have some play.
- Other homeless men were murdered? We ran a short piece a week ago about possible connections in three cases.
Inside metro.
The motive's said to be sexual, but the cops are being cryptic about what exactly that means.
Well, we could run it inside, but report it some more, see where it goes.
Right now, it's a little vague for A-1.
OK, then, we'll see where we are in a couple hours.
I told you, Duke.
I fuck 'em up good.
Just say the word, man.
Nah, man, I can't have you steppin' up for me anymore, you know.
Yeah, well.
Talk to the man.
He'll set you straight.
- Yo, Mr.
Dennis.
- Eh? I need to train with you some.
See that.
What happened? It ain't no thing.
I'm gettin' a little tired of it, that's all.
A'ight, son.
Get some gloves on and let's see where you at.
It's all pretty straightforward.
I'm surprised your lawyers went to the trouble of getting it postponed.
Maybe 'cause we was payin' by the hour.
In any event, you got a lot going for you here.
Car registered to a front, guns in a secreted compartment.
The woman we registered it to, she can't do no time.
Just a name we used.
Then get someone who can.
Preferably someone without priors, someone you trust to stand the charge.
Also came past with this here.
More money made clean.
When you figure out what to do with that, holler at me.
How do I do that? Hmm.
Anything else? Nah, take me off your clock.
Fuckin' mope pisses me off.
Be generous.
I have a feeling this firm is going to have quite a payday from Mr.
Stanfield and his people.
He just gave me his phone number.
If Marlo Stanfield is using a cellphone, it's just a matter of time before we're up to our asses in pre-trial motions litigating a wiretap case.
Joe gave him to us just in time.
Work it back! Keep your hands up.
Like that.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Right.
What now? You need to attribute that? - What? - Fifth 'graph, the dependent clause.
The one about a "pattern of widespread influence-peddling "over a period of years.
" Either the indictment shows it or it doesn't.
Besides which, you begin three 'graphs in a row with a gerund.
Look.
How do you expect me to write with your fucking fingers in my eyes? At least let me turn my copy in before you stomp on it.
Attaboy, Zorz.
They want more reporting on this, but I don't see where it can go from here.
The cops are selling a sexual motive but they won't explain it any more than that.
Who are you dealing with? Detective who has the case.
And he wants publicity? Didn't know if you'd come back.
Took a lot of money with you.
It wasn't about the money, bro.
Wasn't never about that.
Is that him? Old Monk prefer the condo life, I see.
Too good for a row house.
Movin' with muscle, too.
Most likely they expectin' you to make a move.
An' here I am.
How 'bout that? Thanks for meeting me again.
This is Scott Templeton.
He'll be working the story with me.
I don't want everyone at your newspaper knowing my name.
Look, you want these homeless cases to get attention, right? That's what you're trying to do.
Guy's a predator.
People need to know.
Agreed.
And there are things you need to keep secret so that you can solve the murders, I get that.
We can't do much with this story unless we give it enough juice.
Juice? We need to tell people what this is about, why he's doing it.
We need to make this thing come alive on the page or they're gonna bury the story again.
I told you, it's sexual.
Compulsion.
Obsession, that kinda thing.
But what the fuck does that mean? It's not like he's carving up housewives or strangling coeds, here.
Your guy's killing homeless men.
Why, exactly? What's in his head? Is he raping them? Sodomizing them? I don't have any semen in any of the cases.
But he's doing something, right? He ties a red ribbon around their arms.
- A red ribbon? - Yeah, a bow.
He giftwraps the motherfuckers.
That enough juice for you? Yeah, kinky, but no one kills people to tie ribbons around their arms.
Can we say they were molested? Is it fair to say that? - We'll go with molested, then.
- You didn't get that from me.
- Another round? - What else? You want this story to fly, give us something different.
Keep what you need, but give us something with a twist.
A sexual serial killer isn't enough? It's a cold world, I know.
- He's started biting them.
- What? He's biting his victims.
Inside thigh, right ass cheek, left nipple.
- He's a biter.
- Oh.
Shit.
Yeah.
That twisted enough for ya? Are we talkin' cannibalism here? Just biting for now.
We'll see where it goes.
And did he bite all of them? Not all.
Just the latest ones.
He's maturing.
- Maturing? - Yeah, it's a technical term.
It's when a serial killer's becoming more obsessive.
He starts to develop an intricate pattern in what he does with the bodies.
It's weird stuff.
- A biter.
That's great.
- My name is nowhere on this.
For your tab.
We'd stay and have one, but we can still make the second edition.
Thanks.
So you thinkin' if you learn to fight some, people 'round the way gonna leave you be.
Thing is, even if you learn to fight, people gonna come at you just the same.
It ain't like the movies where you beat up one bully and the rest just back the hell up.
Let me ask, why you think they even bothering to come at you the way they do? I mean, why you? See, all I know is that right there.
I ain't never had no use for other things.
I could fight.
For a time there, I could run them corners.
Not much life outside that, really.
- I was on the corner for a while.
- How that go? Yeah, well I guess what I'm tryin' to say is not everything come down to how you carry it in the street.
I mean, it do come down to that if you gonna be in the street.
But that ain't the only way to be.
Round here it is.
Yeah.
Round here it is.
World is bigger than that, at least, that's what they tell me.
Likehow do you get from here to the rest of the world? I wish I knew.
Michael grew up fast.
Yeah, he did.
Anyway, for a kid like that, my onliest plan might be fine, you know? Might could work for a boy like that.
But a kid come to me with other skills, other way of being, all I got is hope and wishes.
That's something, I guess.
Wish it was more, son.
I do.
Thanks.
Attagirl.
Alma, you've got the investigation.
Anything from headquarters, that's you.
I thought I'd work back on the victims.
A profile of who these guys were.
That's a nice idea, but I already sent Fletcher out on that an hour ago.
- What's left for me to do? - You can go and, ertalk to the homeless.
React quotes from the homeless? Just 'cause they're in the streets doesn't mean that they lack opinions.
Where am I gonna find homeless people? Not at home, I imagine.
Go, go, my children.
Read it and weep.
I already did.
So did the major.
So did the colonel.
So did our newly christened deputy ops.
- Deputy's over at city hall right now.
- That was quick.
Just 'cause you got some fuckin' reporter to buy your weak shit does not mean everyone else buys it.
Five gets you ten, deputy's over there right now, talking them back down to earth.
Is this nut raping them? I haven't debriefed the investigators in detail, but the office reports don't indicate penetration or ejaculation.
What can we say we're doing already? We've got good people working it.
- It would be better if I could keep them on it.
- You're talking overtime.
If you could lift the cap for this investigation Done.
Unlimited overtime for two detectives.
Anything they need.
Sir, a case like this, proactively trying to prevent additional murders, requires more than two detectives.
Deputy, the school board chairman is a short hair away from laying off 50 middle-school teachers and shutting down special education in every elementary school in violation of a federal consent decree.
If I've got more than an extra couple of dollars, you aren't getting it.
Embracing the hard choice.
It's one of the burdens of command.
Is there anything you can do to further protect the homeless? We can have patrol units spread the warning, try to convince anyone on the street to move into the city shelters after dark.
Can't you have police sit on locations where the homeless gather? And still answer the calls? Not without doubling up post units, which means overtime.
Overtime, again.
Blood in our veins, Mr.
Mayor.
Every day you look more like a boss.
- Fuck you.
- I didn't mean it like a bad thing.
- Yeah, you did.
- Yeah, I did.
- What's that? - A gift from your one true partner.
- Cellphone number, Marlo Stanfield.
- How the fuck Don't ask, don't tell.
Like those guys sucking dick in the army.
Whatever else I ever did to piss you off, remember I also did this.
And, Carv? When you put the bracelets on that bitch, remind him again of my fuckin' camera.
You can tell all of 'em - Royce, the caucus, all them graspin' bitches who we put in every city department - you tell every last one that I do not fall alone.
Clay! You think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Shit.
Clarence is going to stand with you.
He told me so.
He'll be out there.
Easy for him.
He ain't runnin' for nothin' no more.
I don't see you and your kind with me on this.
A whole mess o' people think they belong on the fence.
- Clay, it is what it is.
- Y'all better hope not.
Or it ain't gonna end with Clay Davis.
Just think about what you're saying here.
You can have yourself a pity party, talk all kinda shit to some prosecutor.
You know where you'll be then? Out in the damn cold.
No connections, no allies, nowhere to hang your hat in this damn town.
Or you carry this for all of us, carry it as far as you can.
And if the worst happens, if they take your seat, if you go away for a year or so to some minimum-security summer camp, then so what? You come home to a town that still knows your name.
Look at Burrell.
He goes quietly and now he's making 12 a year more than when he was commissioner, and working half the hours.
You think that happens if he does the piss-and-moan? Prosecutors come and prosecutors go.
But win or lose, you're still gonna be back around before we know it.
Am I right, Senator Davis? Mm-hmm.
You want me to find another carry-out? - Someplace closer? - You don't like this food? I don't like the way them Chinky motherfuckers be acting sometimes.
The way they be lookin' at me.
Don't worry about it.
Chris with you? Behind me.
- What you got on? - What? You want that faggot to know we waitin' on his ass? Just bein' careful is all.
If I can see the vest, you don't think that he could see the vest? I'm the one that's baitin' him.
I'm the only one not hidin' out.
Ain't no thing.
'Cause when Omar come at you, he gon' be gunnin' at your head.
I know I would be.
Stayed outside of Monk's all night.
They left before morning, though.
They'll be back.
No doubt.
Do you hear a lot of concern regarding these murders? - I haven't heard anybody mention it.
- No? Most of the folks we serve aren't actually homeless.
Most are working poor.
So most of the people I interviewed here weren't Homeless? No.
Some, maybe.
- Why didn't you - You seemed to be getting along OK.
- I didn't want to ruin it for you.
- Where would you suggest I go? Streets, maybe.
The reporter the Sun paper sent over, not exactly Bob Woodward.
Hell of a job, Bubs.
But we need help tomorrow waiting tables in the back room.
If you don't like it, then I won't ask again.
Gotta hold it with both hands, you know? Tryin' to hit what you aimin' at, a'ight? It's not like they do in the movies, it's not gonna work.
A'ight, so, come on, spread your legs.
What's the first thing you gotta do? Jack a round in the chamber.
Like this, watch.
Go ahead.
It's hard to do.
A'ight.
So then try this.
It's a tool, just like a monkey wrench, that's all it is, a'ight? - I didn't know it was gon' be so loud.
- Why you want to do this? What is you thinkin', Duke? You think if you start carryin' ain't nobody gonna try you? Nah.
Somebody's always gonna try you.
An' if they know that you carryin' they gonna make you come out with it.
An' once you come out with it, you gotta be ready to go all the way.
You can't bring it out unless you willin' to use it.
Can't be no doubt.
Man, can't shoot, can't fight.
Can't even stand on the damn corner.
You got other skills, man.
You smart like that.
I don't know, Bunk.
You can't believe everything you read nowadays.
Well, my little shit-stirrer.
As per your request for additional manpower and man hours, unlimited overtime has been approved for the investigation into the killings of homeless men for you and one other detective only.
What about surveillance teams? We need to be watching places, watching the smokehounds.
Two detectives only.
You and the stalwart detective Greggs here are what has been authorized.
- Nothing beyond that.
- What the fuck, Jay? I'm working a serial killer here.
It's a red ball.
- Hence the overtime.
- But two detectives working a red ball? What the fuck's wrong with this city? We need hours for a dozen men.
We need surveillance vehicles, cameras.
What do you want from me? Ain't you still working that triple from two weeks ago? I got stuff I could run down on that, yeah, but Jay put me on this here.
Come here.
Do you even see how fucking wrong you are? Do you even see it? They're gonna pay for this case, Bunk.
- This is just the beginning.
- What case? You just took a real detective off a real case.
I'll fix that.
But eventually these motherfuckers are gonna pay out enough for us to do Marlo Stanfield.
Just watch and learn.
You've lost your fucking mind, Jimmy.
Look at you.
Half-lit every third night, dead drunk every second.
Nut deep in random pussy.
What little time you do spend sober and limp-dicked, you're working murders that don't even exist.
Take the OT and work the hell out of your triple.
Don't worry about your reports, I'll cover you.
- What the fuck is going on? - Work your triple.
I'll cover every hour of it from my case file.
Excuse me, sir.
Sir! I'm with the Baltimore Sun.
Can I talk with you? You make an appointment? Sorry.
I'm booked up all afternoon.
I'm doing a story on the homeless men who've been killed.
You heard about that? You got two dollars on you, right? I was wondering if the murders had changed things for you and the other fellas out here.
You wanna know about them murders? - That's why I'm here.
- Wanna know who's doing it? - Do you know who's doing it? - I do.
- Can you handle hearing it? - What's your name? Nathan Levi Boston.
And you know who the killer is? Do you believe Satan walks the earth in a fleshly form? That Satan can occupy the souls of men? And he's just getting started.
There's gonna be a lot more dead before it's over.
Hundreds.
Maybe thousands.
They told me they still had you working outta this shithole but I didn't believe it.
It ain't much but it's been months since a boss has been able to find me.
You still have some interest in Marlo Stanfield, right? That's his cell.
He stopped using cellphones.
Ellis, how? Police work, Detective.
Police work.
- Yo, this the High Hat? - Say what? Y'all still open for carryout? I want some of that pepper steak.
Wrong number, fool.
I wish I could tell you it's a shock, but it seems to happen in every city where we get us a place inside the power structure - and we become targets.
- I know you're right.
I'm not saying it's a black-white thing.
The State's Attorney, Mr.
Bond, he's black.
But if it serves his purpose - gets his name in the news, ups his profile - he'll do whatever the folks pulling the strings want.
Whether it be character assassination, tie the noose in the rope, whatever.
But they picked the wrong man this time.
- They must not heard about you, Senator.
- I don't run from a fight.
- I know that.
- The people know I'm talkin' 'bout the people now.
The people know what I've done for West Baltimore and this city.
They know the battles I fight in Annapolis every day.
They know these charges ain't nothing but BS.
Hey, hold it now, it's radio.
I gotta hold my tongue, I know.
I don't want nobody pullin' y'all's broadcasting license, so I can't say it like I feel it.
But I wanted to come here on your show tonight - and thank you so much for the opportunity, my brother - but I wanted your listeners to be the first to hear it from my mouth.
I have committed no crime, and I am gonna keep on doing the people's work without breaking stride.
Thank you for that, Senator.
And also I want everybody to know there's going to be a gathering at the Mitchell courthouse tomorrow at two o'clock, so that people can be heard on this.
- I hope they come out in good numbers.
- Two o'clock on Calvert Street.
- It's time to lift every voice.
- I heard that.
Three detectives for a 24-hour wiretap.
Four more for a couple of two-man surveillance teams.
A pair of unmarked cars.
I'm not asking the world here, Cedric.
Lester, if I had it, you'd have it.
That's the cell number of the motherfucker who put 22 bodies on us! - Go to the fucking mayor! - I've been to the mayor.
I've been to him on my knees twice.
Once for your case, remember? And all I could bring back was two men to work Clay Davis.
And yesterday, for the serial killer that homicide was working, two men only.
I've done my job.
I've gone up the ladder every time.
But if a fucking serial killer can't bring back more than a couple detectives, what the hell does it matter that you have a fresh phone number? More manpower's been assigned, according to the PIO.
- Did I get that story back? - Mm-hmm.
And? I led with the first victim.
Ex-Marine.
Bronze-star in Vietnam.
His family begged him to come home, which he would do now and then, but they hadn't seen him in a month before the murder.
Good shit.
Real good shit.
Late, but you got the goods, right? Half of these guys are whack jobs, the other half just want to borrow a fin.
But yeah, I got good stuff.
Got a family of four under the Hanover Street Bridge.
Father broke down and cried when I talked to him, talking about how he couldn't protect himself, couldn't protect his kids.
Mother just kept stroking the youngest one's blonde hair.
- We got names on this, right? - Yeah.
Guy's name is Boston.
Nathan Levi Boston.
OK, you got 30 inches, if you need them.
You're going off the front in a package with Alma and Fletch.
Olesker wrote a pretty damn good column, too, for metro front.
Go, go.
Write, write.
This serial killer is making one Baltimorean very, very happy.
Clay Davis.
One news cycle, and his indictment's gonna be off the front page.
Well, if it bleeds, it leads.
A fucking serial killer.
I give them a sex-crazed madman who's enough of a freak show to get the whole city hot and bothered and what comes back? One fucking detective.
And who is it? Kima Greggs, who should be working her triple.
So now I can't give you her hours without fucking up honest casework.
Well, now it's easier, Jimmy.
We don't need as much.
Now we need a wiretap.
I can monitor that myself.
Shit, anything we get up is gonna be illegal anyway.
So we don't want anyone getting near it.
Sydnor, maybe.
I can trust him.
You start pulling information off that phone, you're gonna need at least a couple of surveillance cars in the street.
We'll worry when we get there.
The important thing is that he's making it easy for us.
Before, with all that face-to-face, we were gonna need what? Remote cameras, microphones, half a dozen guys working surveillance 24 hours.
But now he's talking on a phone, and I got him.
So how do we squeeze a wiretap out of my serial killer? He's gotta call someone.
Who? The mayor.
Cardinal Keeler.
Cal fucking Ripken.
Who gives a fuck? A bullshit number on the paperwork to the courthouse, Marlo's cell number on the tap itself.
This is fucking genius.
Or not.
If that's about your case, you need to answer it.
- Remember you're working a serial killer.
- Nah, it's my ex-wife.
Been calling all night.
Like I got time for her fucking bullshit.
They got to believe it's your killer calling before they'll pay for a wiretap.
Well, fine.
Fuck it.
Call your buddy Oscar, tell him we need another body.
This time the sick motherfucker is gonna call Mr.
Ripken with something only the killer could know.
That should shake 'em up enough for a couple of wiretaps.
Monk sure do like to retire early.
Three go in and one come out.
Better odds.
We're gonna wait on it, though.
They'll get better still.
If not tonight, then the next.
You're a patient man.
Him too.
I tried to reach you on your cell all day.
- I called Beadie, she had no idea - I know.
It's my fault.
- They still up? - Yes.
- Hey, guys.
- Hey, Dad.
Listen, Sean, I did everything I could to get to your play tonight.
Hey, Mike.
It's cool.
No worries.
Your mom said you were great.
Why don't you do it now? Let me hear it.
I don't know.
It's lame like that.
You gotta see the whole play.
- What band is that? - Dead Meadow.
- Dead metal? - Meadow.
Dead Meadow.
What the hell's wrong with the Ramones? I'll make it up to them next weekend.
Take 'em to a ball game.
Hey, this is life, Jimmy.
This is the stuff that actually matters.
- I know.
- I talked to Beadie.
She knows she's losing you.
Like I knew.
I'm not judging.
I'm not saying this to hurt you.
But she knows.
And she's ready for it, the way that I was ready for it.
You're drinking.
You're out all night.
She doesn't know where you are.
And she's no fool, Jimmy.
I'm sad that it wasn't with me but I'm glad for you.
I know, you can imagine that? I was glad that you found her.
Mmm, I was glad for her, even.
For a while there, you were happier than I've ever seen you.
She's great.
She is.
Don't do this.
Hey.
You all right, Bubs? I'm good.
Good.
Except for somethin' that's been on my mind.
- But I see you into somethin' - I can take a minute.
Need to find somethin' out.
But at the same time I don't know if I really wanna know.
It's best to know, Bubs.
I'm living proof.
They got drugs an' shit now.
Why's it on your mind now? Been volunteering down Viva House, doin' like you told me.
Man say he want me to serve food.
You can.
It don't travel like that.
I know they say so, but I feel I don't know.
I went down to the clinic on my own yesterday, got as far as the door, but - Tough to go alone.
- Yeah.
Gimme ten minutes.
So, where do we take it today? Unless the story develops, I think we've covered the bases.
Alma can check on things and see where we're at by afternoon.
You owe me a Govans story.
And you need to get with Shane on that school series.
I don't know, Gus.
I think this thing has legs.
Maybe I go out with the cops on their rounds.
Watch 'em warn the homeless.
Good thought, but Alma can work that into whatever she has.
Yeah? Hey.
Busy? No, just, uh Jimmy's not in yet.
I know.
He's sleeping one off.
- Late night, huh? - They're all like that now.
Relax, I'm not looking for a snitch.
I know you're his partner in crime.
I don't care.
Whoa, Beadie.
I just want to know from you where this is going.
I mean, you know him.
You know what it is that he can and can't do.
Don't know if I can speak on that.
Look, I'm ready to put him out, OK? For me, for my kids.
I mean, if, in the end, if this is all there is to him.
If he can't be better than this, I just want to know.
He's working this case right now.
Serial killer, actually.
You are not gonna try to tell me that this is about a case.
Try that shit on some civilian.
Look, he'll get his head in a certain place, he'll take a drink.
I mean, a lot of us will.
- It's more than just a drink he's taking.
- Beadie, I can't tell you what to do.
I don't like giving up.
OK, I gotta go back to work.
Thanks for letting me vent.
You want to get started today? - Sooner we decide on - After lunch, yeah.
- Finally found a line, huh? - Mm-hmm.
Know that wasn't easy.
They been hidin' for years.
- I'm a pro.
- Me, too.
- Let me ask you - Hmm? When do the results come back? About an hour from this test.
There you go.
And they want you to believe that there's only one side to this story, and that their so-called facts cannot be denied.
But we have some facts of our own, don't we? Yeah! - We know who our leaders are.
- That's right.
And we don't want them picking our leaders for us, do we? No! And we will not stand idly by as they single out our leaders and selectively prosecute, - or should I say persecute them - That's right! just because they have the courage and the fortitude to stand up for us.
Let them hear you.
Let them hear you loud and clear.
Clay Davis isn't going anywhere, is he? No! - We need him, we're going to keep him - That's right! and damn anyone who says otherwise.
Clay Davis! What the fuck is this I hear about you might not stand tall on this? You got that wrong, old friend.
I'm gonna carry this.
You damn sure better.
Because if you don't, you won't be able to squeeze another greenback out of this town for the rest of your natural life.
We shall not be, we shall not be moved We shall not be, we shall not be moved Ooh, la, la! Lookie here.
- The fuck is that? - A change of pace.
They look kinda hot with their clothes on.
Hey, Clarice.
Your serial killer called the Baltimore Sun.
Some goof claiming to be your guy called a reporter.
- One of the guys writing this shit up.
- Gotta be a crank call.
Probably so.
But seeing as it's the fucking newspaper you go over there and you set them straight.
Go ahead.
Negative.
- Negative means - I know what it means.
- Must be wrong.
- It ain't wrong.
All the shit I done.
All the works I shared.
My best boy years back? I fired off the same hypo as him dozens of times.
He had the bug for sure.
That shit ain't right nohow, man.
You're disappointed.
Shit, this ain't about the bug, is it? This is you tryin' to make the past be everything, mean everything.
You don't even wanna think about the here and now.
Sorry, Bubs.
Shame ain't worth as much as you think.
Let it go.
He said he wanted people to know there'd be 12 bodies before he's finished.
He said, quote, "I came to take 12.
" I said, "What happens after 12?" He said, quote, "I go somewhere else," unquote.
I asked him about the bite marks.
He said that they wanted him to bite, they asked for that.
He complained that the article made him sound like a pervert.
I asked him if he was angry at the men.
He hung up.
He called you on your cellphone? Why didn't he call the paper? I was all over the city yesterday handing my cards out to homeless men.
He probably got the number from a card.
Shit, I might've handed him a card.
I think this is the guy.
I mean, a chill ran down my back.
But there's no way to know.
I mean, if it's some other nut, we're gonna look like fools if we print this.
Your cellphone caught the number? He dialed you.
Yeah, I dialed it back.
Payphone on South Hanover near West Street.
- What did he sound like? - What do you mean? You talk to people for a living.
Did he sound black, white? Younger, older? High-pitched voice or low? Uh, he sounded, to me, like a white guy.
Not a deep voice, but calm, almost monotone.
He sounded older, I would say, 40s.
Not a real young guy.
- Can I have your notebook? - You can't have his notes.
As this isn't a confidential source, we won't invoke the Maryland Shield law, but he'll type up a copy for you.
But the actual document is property of the Baltimore Sun.
So type it up, like, now.
So, you're saying this could be the killer? Can we talk off the record? The homicide unit received a phone call this morning from a payphone from the same neighborhood, and based on Scott's voice description, and the use of the number 12 let's just say we need to find whoever it was made both those calls.
He made another call? Detective, as a newsman, I'm inclined to include these details in our coverage if there's a credible chance the killer was in contact with our reporter.
Would doing so have any negative effect on your investigation? Actually, these calls are our best means of finding this guy.
Every call he makes, every word he says, to you and to us, can only provide information.
- If we do run a story - You can't say he's contacted police.
You can't print that part of it under any circumstances.
OK, then how do we characterize what the police think - about this call to Scott? - You can say that we're, uh taking it seriously.
Going forward, is it possible that you would grant a one-party consent for us to monitor your reporter's cellphone and office phones? - Absolutely not.
- I'm sorry, Detective, but our ability to report is dependent upon our maintaining the confidentiality of our conversations.
We're perfectly willing to share with you the information this individual has as he's definitely not a confidential source.
But we're not going to consent to the Baltimore Police Department monitoring our phones.
- You'll tap the payphone, I guess.
- Don't print that, either.
Don't print anything about where the killer calls from.
He'll change up.
Well, I'll type up my notes quick.
- Big story for you guys, huh? - Well, ten minutes ago I'd've said this whole thing was complete bullshit.
Shows what I know, I guess.
which is why I'm gonna fight this thing.
I am innocent and I have done nothing except serve the people.
Oh, I believe you, Senator.
I've seen the good work you've done for the community That's Eddie Cantor, right? No.
It's perfect.
- McNulty, it's perfect.
- I couldn't believe it.
I'm sitting there, all this bullshit coming at me, thinking, Christ, this is a waste of time.
Then I realized - this is the wiretap.
Right here.
They're giving it to me.
Never mind me making a crank call.
This right here is Lester Freamon's motherfucking wire.
What if they check this? How many guys in this unit have ever hooked up a wiretap? They don't know which wire goes where.
Explain it to me again, because I think I'm a smart guy, but this shit makes my head hurt.
They think they're up on your killer's cellphone, but they'll never catch a call because this goes nowhere.
And meanwhile, using the same court authorization, I'm on the live wire down at the detail office, listening to Marlo.
Every day, you file office and court reports saying there's been no further contact with the serial killer.
I file exactly nothing, but use what I hear to rig the case on our real target.
And when it goes to court No mention of a wiretap.
It's all based on a CI.
There it is.
Four copies signed by the judge.
Emergency order for telephonic intercept of a cellphone, number 410-915-0909.
- If the machine is rigged, you're good to go.
- You're up.
- Good hunting.
- Howie? - Yo.
- You got midnight shift.
Worden'll be in to relieve you at six.
After Worden, my squad will pick up monitoring on the dayshift.
Excuse me.
Don't look so pissy.
We're actually paying overtime for this.
O- dog! My leg! Stay the fuck down! What the Damn.
What the
Very much missed.
We liked Joe.
A hard man not to like.
Tomorrow ain't promised to no one.
Meanwhile, we go on.
In business, in life, what you learn to appreciate the most is a dependable man.
One day same as the next.
Yeah, I learned a lot from watching Joe.
We deal with you or your second.
No one else.
No one else knows our names.
No one else contacts us.
Understand? To contact us, use this only.
Man, I don't talk on no cellphones.
Here.
To call for lunch, you can talk.
To call your girl, you can talk.
To call your lawyer even, you can talk.
The law says that is between you and the lawyer.
- Mmm.
- All right? To find out what movie is playing down the street, you can talk.
All of that is good because all of that tells them there is nothing good to hear.
But, for business, do not talk on the phone.
- Never.
- Right.
I mean, Joe taught me that.
But what about What is Huh.
- How'd that play? - Man overcame his grief.
Do it feel like a crown on your head right now? Do it? 'Cause that's what I'm wearin' on my head.
We should celebrate.
Yeah? Atlantic City.
Can't play like that now.
Omar gonna make a move.
You know this.
Mm-hmm.
Yo, I need to go past home.
You mind a ride? You know I like your peoples.
Fact is, I gotta tell 'em I'm not gonna be comin' round for a time.
You stepped up and made your play.
Now I gotta make mine.
When you walk through the garden Gotta watch your back Well, I beg your pardon Walk the straight and narrow track If you walk with Jesus He's gonna save your soul You gotta keep the devil way down in a hole He's got the fire and the fury At his command Well, you don't have to worry If you hold on to Jesus' hand And we'll all be safe from Satan When the thunder rolls But you gotta help me keep the devil Way down in the hole In the bottom of the hole In the hole In the hole Way down in the hole In the hole In the hole In the hole In the hole Way down in the hole - At least four.
- Got it.
We're going back through old cases, so we could find more than that.
- What else? - And the motive now seems sexual.
What do you mean, sexual? Is someone sodomizing homeless men? You can't get that specific.
How can I not get specific? Just say the killer is acting from sexual compulsions.
Anything more detailed than that we need to keep in the case file.
I don't know, Detective.
Last time, I couldn't get it out front.
Let me run it by my desk and call you back.
All right? All right.
Anything late from cop shop? Follow-ups on the recent murders.
An arrest on one, which was the domestic cutting from Hampden.
No arrests in a couple of drug-relateds from East Baltimore.
OK, give me a bit for the budget line.
Domestic was a Patricia Boggus, found in her car.
Drug-relateds were one Joseph Stewart, found in his dining room, and one Nathaniel Manns, found in an alley garage.
A couple 'graphs on each.
Write it as a single short.
Also, I got word on another homeless murder.
The detective on it says it's related.
He says it's sexual.
Sexual? - They being raped? - He wouldn't confirm that.
He just says that the killings are sexual in nature.
Write what you got.
- I'll run it by the four o'clock, see if it takes.
- OK.
This indictment is the result of an 18-month investigation by the State's Attorney's office and the Baltimore Police Department.
And it shines a light on a cornerstone issue for any representative government - public trust of public servants.
Senator Davis abused that trust.
He traded on his power and influence so that he could use local businesses and campaign donors as his personal ATM machine.
He created a network of charitable and nonprofit organizations whose purpose was to accumulate cash for his private use, betraying Rhonda Pearlman? Bill Zorzi, covering federal court for The Sun.
Right.
How do you do? Not to be all petulant on your special day here, but since when does a prosecutor in this town stage a perp walk and not call the daily newspaper? We called Gail Gibson.
Left a message on her voicemail.
Gail left for a freelance gig four months ago.
Well, her voicemail still works.
Who's replacing her on city courts? From now on just don't jam me up like that again.
he must be held accountable for his fraudulent actions.
Senator Davis has opened our legislative body to monetary persuasions.
He has done this knowingly and with complete disregard for the office that he represents.
- It is this kind of impropriety - How's it feel, Clay? Not much fun on the ass end, is it? You said it, Norman.
There's the short con and the long con.
You're gonna need a statement.
Nothing too joyful.
You don't dance on Clay's grave until you're sure the motherfucker's dead.
Clay ain't getting up from this.
Also, you don't want to piss off his base, being too gleeful about it.
That guy still has a base? After all the shit he's pulled? I'll tell you one thing - that fella right there is looking pretty damn mayoral.
More than Nerese, definitely.
With the profile he gets from this, I'd say it's Mr.
Bond's race to lose.
and remain under common court.
Senator Davis will have to account for that money.
- What'd you tell your girl? - I'm going away on business.
I won't be around for a couple weeks.
- Shouldn't be more than that.
- Better not.
Miss Trainor say we gonna learn a problem like that - every day for this year and the next.
- You mean memorize 'em? Yeah.
Learn it by heart.
Learn the question.
Learn the answer, too.
'Cause them questions gonna be on the MSA test next year.
She tell you that? Miss Trainor say if the scores don't go up before the selection all the teachers gonna get fired.
Selection? What she mean? When the people vote for whoever.
You mean an election? Nigger think you all that.
Now, why you gonna go and do that? - Dukie about to cry.
- Fuck is wrong with you? Nothin' wrong with me! I'm gettin' stuff done.
You up in some house somewhere playin' like a lil' bitch.
- Smack his faggoty little ass.
- Get that little jog-ass! Finally, we've got that 40-inch thumbsucker on Bud Selig and baseball's half-hearted response to the latest recommendations on steroid use.
The owners think Bud is swell, the players' union is staying mum, Bonds has a home-run record and everyone's pretending the issue will go away.
- And there's news in there? - What do you like for the front? The Clay Davis indictment, obviously.
Congressional hearings on Iraq.
Price's piece on how much Carcetti raised for his gubernatorial run is solid.
The feature on John Waters filming again in Baltimore could go out front if the art is good.
We have him posing with a couple of child actors.
Is that allowed? Now, now, let's not confuse the auteur with his art.
- Anyone like anything else? - This came in late, this business about another homeless man being murdered, - that might have some play.
- Other homeless men were murdered? We ran a short piece a week ago about possible connections in three cases.
Inside metro.
The motive's said to be sexual, but the cops are being cryptic about what exactly that means.
Well, we could run it inside, but report it some more, see where it goes.
Right now, it's a little vague for A-1.
OK, then, we'll see where we are in a couple hours.
I told you, Duke.
I fuck 'em up good.
Just say the word, man.
Nah, man, I can't have you steppin' up for me anymore, you know.
Yeah, well.
Talk to the man.
He'll set you straight.
- Yo, Mr.
Dennis.
- Eh? I need to train with you some.
See that.
What happened? It ain't no thing.
I'm gettin' a little tired of it, that's all.
A'ight, son.
Get some gloves on and let's see where you at.
It's all pretty straightforward.
I'm surprised your lawyers went to the trouble of getting it postponed.
Maybe 'cause we was payin' by the hour.
In any event, you got a lot going for you here.
Car registered to a front, guns in a secreted compartment.
The woman we registered it to, she can't do no time.
Just a name we used.
Then get someone who can.
Preferably someone without priors, someone you trust to stand the charge.
Also came past with this here.
More money made clean.
When you figure out what to do with that, holler at me.
How do I do that? Hmm.
Anything else? Nah, take me off your clock.
Fuckin' mope pisses me off.
Be generous.
I have a feeling this firm is going to have quite a payday from Mr.
Stanfield and his people.
He just gave me his phone number.
If Marlo Stanfield is using a cellphone, it's just a matter of time before we're up to our asses in pre-trial motions litigating a wiretap case.
Joe gave him to us just in time.
Work it back! Keep your hands up.
Like that.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Right.
What now? You need to attribute that? - What? - Fifth 'graph, the dependent clause.
The one about a "pattern of widespread influence-peddling "over a period of years.
" Either the indictment shows it or it doesn't.
Besides which, you begin three 'graphs in a row with a gerund.
Look.
How do you expect me to write with your fucking fingers in my eyes? At least let me turn my copy in before you stomp on it.
Attaboy, Zorz.
They want more reporting on this, but I don't see where it can go from here.
The cops are selling a sexual motive but they won't explain it any more than that.
Who are you dealing with? Detective who has the case.
And he wants publicity? Didn't know if you'd come back.
Took a lot of money with you.
It wasn't about the money, bro.
Wasn't never about that.
Is that him? Old Monk prefer the condo life, I see.
Too good for a row house.
Movin' with muscle, too.
Most likely they expectin' you to make a move.
An' here I am.
How 'bout that? Thanks for meeting me again.
This is Scott Templeton.
He'll be working the story with me.
I don't want everyone at your newspaper knowing my name.
Look, you want these homeless cases to get attention, right? That's what you're trying to do.
Guy's a predator.
People need to know.
Agreed.
And there are things you need to keep secret so that you can solve the murders, I get that.
We can't do much with this story unless we give it enough juice.
Juice? We need to tell people what this is about, why he's doing it.
We need to make this thing come alive on the page or they're gonna bury the story again.
I told you, it's sexual.
Compulsion.
Obsession, that kinda thing.
But what the fuck does that mean? It's not like he's carving up housewives or strangling coeds, here.
Your guy's killing homeless men.
Why, exactly? What's in his head? Is he raping them? Sodomizing them? I don't have any semen in any of the cases.
But he's doing something, right? He ties a red ribbon around their arms.
- A red ribbon? - Yeah, a bow.
He giftwraps the motherfuckers.
That enough juice for you? Yeah, kinky, but no one kills people to tie ribbons around their arms.
Can we say they were molested? Is it fair to say that? - We'll go with molested, then.
- You didn't get that from me.
- Another round? - What else? You want this story to fly, give us something different.
Keep what you need, but give us something with a twist.
A sexual serial killer isn't enough? It's a cold world, I know.
- He's started biting them.
- What? He's biting his victims.
Inside thigh, right ass cheek, left nipple.
- He's a biter.
- Oh.
Shit.
Yeah.
That twisted enough for ya? Are we talkin' cannibalism here? Just biting for now.
We'll see where it goes.
And did he bite all of them? Not all.
Just the latest ones.
He's maturing.
- Maturing? - Yeah, it's a technical term.
It's when a serial killer's becoming more obsessive.
He starts to develop an intricate pattern in what he does with the bodies.
It's weird stuff.
- A biter.
That's great.
- My name is nowhere on this.
For your tab.
We'd stay and have one, but we can still make the second edition.
Thanks.
So you thinkin' if you learn to fight some, people 'round the way gonna leave you be.
Thing is, even if you learn to fight, people gonna come at you just the same.
It ain't like the movies where you beat up one bully and the rest just back the hell up.
Let me ask, why you think they even bothering to come at you the way they do? I mean, why you? See, all I know is that right there.
I ain't never had no use for other things.
I could fight.
For a time there, I could run them corners.
Not much life outside that, really.
- I was on the corner for a while.
- How that go? Yeah, well I guess what I'm tryin' to say is not everything come down to how you carry it in the street.
I mean, it do come down to that if you gonna be in the street.
But that ain't the only way to be.
Round here it is.
Yeah.
Round here it is.
World is bigger than that, at least, that's what they tell me.
Likehow do you get from here to the rest of the world? I wish I knew.
Michael grew up fast.
Yeah, he did.
Anyway, for a kid like that, my onliest plan might be fine, you know? Might could work for a boy like that.
But a kid come to me with other skills, other way of being, all I got is hope and wishes.
That's something, I guess.
Wish it was more, son.
I do.
Thanks.
Attagirl.
Alma, you've got the investigation.
Anything from headquarters, that's you.
I thought I'd work back on the victims.
A profile of who these guys were.
That's a nice idea, but I already sent Fletcher out on that an hour ago.
- What's left for me to do? - You can go and, ertalk to the homeless.
React quotes from the homeless? Just 'cause they're in the streets doesn't mean that they lack opinions.
Where am I gonna find homeless people? Not at home, I imagine.
Go, go, my children.
Read it and weep.
I already did.
So did the major.
So did the colonel.
So did our newly christened deputy ops.
- Deputy's over at city hall right now.
- That was quick.
Just 'cause you got some fuckin' reporter to buy your weak shit does not mean everyone else buys it.
Five gets you ten, deputy's over there right now, talking them back down to earth.
Is this nut raping them? I haven't debriefed the investigators in detail, but the office reports don't indicate penetration or ejaculation.
What can we say we're doing already? We've got good people working it.
- It would be better if I could keep them on it.
- You're talking overtime.
If you could lift the cap for this investigation Done.
Unlimited overtime for two detectives.
Anything they need.
Sir, a case like this, proactively trying to prevent additional murders, requires more than two detectives.
Deputy, the school board chairman is a short hair away from laying off 50 middle-school teachers and shutting down special education in every elementary school in violation of a federal consent decree.
If I've got more than an extra couple of dollars, you aren't getting it.
Embracing the hard choice.
It's one of the burdens of command.
Is there anything you can do to further protect the homeless? We can have patrol units spread the warning, try to convince anyone on the street to move into the city shelters after dark.
Can't you have police sit on locations where the homeless gather? And still answer the calls? Not without doubling up post units, which means overtime.
Overtime, again.
Blood in our veins, Mr.
Mayor.
Every day you look more like a boss.
- Fuck you.
- I didn't mean it like a bad thing.
- Yeah, you did.
- Yeah, I did.
- What's that? - A gift from your one true partner.
- Cellphone number, Marlo Stanfield.
- How the fuck Don't ask, don't tell.
Like those guys sucking dick in the army.
Whatever else I ever did to piss you off, remember I also did this.
And, Carv? When you put the bracelets on that bitch, remind him again of my fuckin' camera.
You can tell all of 'em - Royce, the caucus, all them graspin' bitches who we put in every city department - you tell every last one that I do not fall alone.
Clay! You think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Shit.
Clarence is going to stand with you.
He told me so.
He'll be out there.
Easy for him.
He ain't runnin' for nothin' no more.
I don't see you and your kind with me on this.
A whole mess o' people think they belong on the fence.
- Clay, it is what it is.
- Y'all better hope not.
Or it ain't gonna end with Clay Davis.
Just think about what you're saying here.
You can have yourself a pity party, talk all kinda shit to some prosecutor.
You know where you'll be then? Out in the damn cold.
No connections, no allies, nowhere to hang your hat in this damn town.
Or you carry this for all of us, carry it as far as you can.
And if the worst happens, if they take your seat, if you go away for a year or so to some minimum-security summer camp, then so what? You come home to a town that still knows your name.
Look at Burrell.
He goes quietly and now he's making 12 a year more than when he was commissioner, and working half the hours.
You think that happens if he does the piss-and-moan? Prosecutors come and prosecutors go.
But win or lose, you're still gonna be back around before we know it.
Am I right, Senator Davis? Mm-hmm.
You want me to find another carry-out? - Someplace closer? - You don't like this food? I don't like the way them Chinky motherfuckers be acting sometimes.
The way they be lookin' at me.
Don't worry about it.
Chris with you? Behind me.
- What you got on? - What? You want that faggot to know we waitin' on his ass? Just bein' careful is all.
If I can see the vest, you don't think that he could see the vest? I'm the one that's baitin' him.
I'm the only one not hidin' out.
Ain't no thing.
'Cause when Omar come at you, he gon' be gunnin' at your head.
I know I would be.
Stayed outside of Monk's all night.
They left before morning, though.
They'll be back.
No doubt.
Do you hear a lot of concern regarding these murders? - I haven't heard anybody mention it.
- No? Most of the folks we serve aren't actually homeless.
Most are working poor.
So most of the people I interviewed here weren't Homeless? No.
Some, maybe.
- Why didn't you - You seemed to be getting along OK.
- I didn't want to ruin it for you.
- Where would you suggest I go? Streets, maybe.
The reporter the Sun paper sent over, not exactly Bob Woodward.
Hell of a job, Bubs.
But we need help tomorrow waiting tables in the back room.
If you don't like it, then I won't ask again.
Gotta hold it with both hands, you know? Tryin' to hit what you aimin' at, a'ight? It's not like they do in the movies, it's not gonna work.
A'ight, so, come on, spread your legs.
What's the first thing you gotta do? Jack a round in the chamber.
Like this, watch.
Go ahead.
It's hard to do.
A'ight.
So then try this.
It's a tool, just like a monkey wrench, that's all it is, a'ight? - I didn't know it was gon' be so loud.
- Why you want to do this? What is you thinkin', Duke? You think if you start carryin' ain't nobody gonna try you? Nah.
Somebody's always gonna try you.
An' if they know that you carryin' they gonna make you come out with it.
An' once you come out with it, you gotta be ready to go all the way.
You can't bring it out unless you willin' to use it.
Can't be no doubt.
Man, can't shoot, can't fight.
Can't even stand on the damn corner.
You got other skills, man.
You smart like that.
I don't know, Bunk.
You can't believe everything you read nowadays.
Well, my little shit-stirrer.
As per your request for additional manpower and man hours, unlimited overtime has been approved for the investigation into the killings of homeless men for you and one other detective only.
What about surveillance teams? We need to be watching places, watching the smokehounds.
Two detectives only.
You and the stalwart detective Greggs here are what has been authorized.
- Nothing beyond that.
- What the fuck, Jay? I'm working a serial killer here.
It's a red ball.
- Hence the overtime.
- But two detectives working a red ball? What the fuck's wrong with this city? We need hours for a dozen men.
We need surveillance vehicles, cameras.
What do you want from me? Ain't you still working that triple from two weeks ago? I got stuff I could run down on that, yeah, but Jay put me on this here.
Come here.
Do you even see how fucking wrong you are? Do you even see it? They're gonna pay for this case, Bunk.
- This is just the beginning.
- What case? You just took a real detective off a real case.
I'll fix that.
But eventually these motherfuckers are gonna pay out enough for us to do Marlo Stanfield.
Just watch and learn.
You've lost your fucking mind, Jimmy.
Look at you.
Half-lit every third night, dead drunk every second.
Nut deep in random pussy.
What little time you do spend sober and limp-dicked, you're working murders that don't even exist.
Take the OT and work the hell out of your triple.
Don't worry about your reports, I'll cover you.
- What the fuck is going on? - Work your triple.
I'll cover every hour of it from my case file.
Excuse me, sir.
Sir! I'm with the Baltimore Sun.
Can I talk with you? You make an appointment? Sorry.
I'm booked up all afternoon.
I'm doing a story on the homeless men who've been killed.
You heard about that? You got two dollars on you, right? I was wondering if the murders had changed things for you and the other fellas out here.
You wanna know about them murders? - That's why I'm here.
- Wanna know who's doing it? - Do you know who's doing it? - I do.
- Can you handle hearing it? - What's your name? Nathan Levi Boston.
And you know who the killer is? Do you believe Satan walks the earth in a fleshly form? That Satan can occupy the souls of men? And he's just getting started.
There's gonna be a lot more dead before it's over.
Hundreds.
Maybe thousands.
They told me they still had you working outta this shithole but I didn't believe it.
It ain't much but it's been months since a boss has been able to find me.
You still have some interest in Marlo Stanfield, right? That's his cell.
He stopped using cellphones.
Ellis, how? Police work, Detective.
Police work.
- Yo, this the High Hat? - Say what? Y'all still open for carryout? I want some of that pepper steak.
Wrong number, fool.
I wish I could tell you it's a shock, but it seems to happen in every city where we get us a place inside the power structure - and we become targets.
- I know you're right.
I'm not saying it's a black-white thing.
The State's Attorney, Mr.
Bond, he's black.
But if it serves his purpose - gets his name in the news, ups his profile - he'll do whatever the folks pulling the strings want.
Whether it be character assassination, tie the noose in the rope, whatever.
But they picked the wrong man this time.
- They must not heard about you, Senator.
- I don't run from a fight.
- I know that.
- The people know I'm talkin' 'bout the people now.
The people know what I've done for West Baltimore and this city.
They know the battles I fight in Annapolis every day.
They know these charges ain't nothing but BS.
Hey, hold it now, it's radio.
I gotta hold my tongue, I know.
I don't want nobody pullin' y'all's broadcasting license, so I can't say it like I feel it.
But I wanted to come here on your show tonight - and thank you so much for the opportunity, my brother - but I wanted your listeners to be the first to hear it from my mouth.
I have committed no crime, and I am gonna keep on doing the people's work without breaking stride.
Thank you for that, Senator.
And also I want everybody to know there's going to be a gathering at the Mitchell courthouse tomorrow at two o'clock, so that people can be heard on this.
- I hope they come out in good numbers.
- Two o'clock on Calvert Street.
- It's time to lift every voice.
- I heard that.
Three detectives for a 24-hour wiretap.
Four more for a couple of two-man surveillance teams.
A pair of unmarked cars.
I'm not asking the world here, Cedric.
Lester, if I had it, you'd have it.
That's the cell number of the motherfucker who put 22 bodies on us! - Go to the fucking mayor! - I've been to the mayor.
I've been to him on my knees twice.
Once for your case, remember? And all I could bring back was two men to work Clay Davis.
And yesterday, for the serial killer that homicide was working, two men only.
I've done my job.
I've gone up the ladder every time.
But if a fucking serial killer can't bring back more than a couple detectives, what the hell does it matter that you have a fresh phone number? More manpower's been assigned, according to the PIO.
- Did I get that story back? - Mm-hmm.
And? I led with the first victim.
Ex-Marine.
Bronze-star in Vietnam.
His family begged him to come home, which he would do now and then, but they hadn't seen him in a month before the murder.
Good shit.
Real good shit.
Late, but you got the goods, right? Half of these guys are whack jobs, the other half just want to borrow a fin.
But yeah, I got good stuff.
Got a family of four under the Hanover Street Bridge.
Father broke down and cried when I talked to him, talking about how he couldn't protect himself, couldn't protect his kids.
Mother just kept stroking the youngest one's blonde hair.
- We got names on this, right? - Yeah.
Guy's name is Boston.
Nathan Levi Boston.
OK, you got 30 inches, if you need them.
You're going off the front in a package with Alma and Fletch.
Olesker wrote a pretty damn good column, too, for metro front.
Go, go.
Write, write.
This serial killer is making one Baltimorean very, very happy.
Clay Davis.
One news cycle, and his indictment's gonna be off the front page.
Well, if it bleeds, it leads.
A fucking serial killer.
I give them a sex-crazed madman who's enough of a freak show to get the whole city hot and bothered and what comes back? One fucking detective.
And who is it? Kima Greggs, who should be working her triple.
So now I can't give you her hours without fucking up honest casework.
Well, now it's easier, Jimmy.
We don't need as much.
Now we need a wiretap.
I can monitor that myself.
Shit, anything we get up is gonna be illegal anyway.
So we don't want anyone getting near it.
Sydnor, maybe.
I can trust him.
You start pulling information off that phone, you're gonna need at least a couple of surveillance cars in the street.
We'll worry when we get there.
The important thing is that he's making it easy for us.
Before, with all that face-to-face, we were gonna need what? Remote cameras, microphones, half a dozen guys working surveillance 24 hours.
But now he's talking on a phone, and I got him.
So how do we squeeze a wiretap out of my serial killer? He's gotta call someone.
Who? The mayor.
Cardinal Keeler.
Cal fucking Ripken.
Who gives a fuck? A bullshit number on the paperwork to the courthouse, Marlo's cell number on the tap itself.
This is fucking genius.
Or not.
If that's about your case, you need to answer it.
- Remember you're working a serial killer.
- Nah, it's my ex-wife.
Been calling all night.
Like I got time for her fucking bullshit.
They got to believe it's your killer calling before they'll pay for a wiretap.
Well, fine.
Fuck it.
Call your buddy Oscar, tell him we need another body.
This time the sick motherfucker is gonna call Mr.
Ripken with something only the killer could know.
That should shake 'em up enough for a couple of wiretaps.
Monk sure do like to retire early.
Three go in and one come out.
Better odds.
We're gonna wait on it, though.
They'll get better still.
If not tonight, then the next.
You're a patient man.
Him too.
I tried to reach you on your cell all day.
- I called Beadie, she had no idea - I know.
It's my fault.
- They still up? - Yes.
- Hey, guys.
- Hey, Dad.
Listen, Sean, I did everything I could to get to your play tonight.
Hey, Mike.
It's cool.
No worries.
Your mom said you were great.
Why don't you do it now? Let me hear it.
I don't know.
It's lame like that.
You gotta see the whole play.
- What band is that? - Dead Meadow.
- Dead metal? - Meadow.
Dead Meadow.
What the hell's wrong with the Ramones? I'll make it up to them next weekend.
Take 'em to a ball game.
Hey, this is life, Jimmy.
This is the stuff that actually matters.
- I know.
- I talked to Beadie.
She knows she's losing you.
Like I knew.
I'm not judging.
I'm not saying this to hurt you.
But she knows.
And she's ready for it, the way that I was ready for it.
You're drinking.
You're out all night.
She doesn't know where you are.
And she's no fool, Jimmy.
I'm sad that it wasn't with me but I'm glad for you.
I know, you can imagine that? I was glad that you found her.
Mmm, I was glad for her, even.
For a while there, you were happier than I've ever seen you.
She's great.
She is.
Don't do this.
Hey.
You all right, Bubs? I'm good.
Good.
Except for somethin' that's been on my mind.
- But I see you into somethin' - I can take a minute.
Need to find somethin' out.
But at the same time I don't know if I really wanna know.
It's best to know, Bubs.
I'm living proof.
They got drugs an' shit now.
Why's it on your mind now? Been volunteering down Viva House, doin' like you told me.
Man say he want me to serve food.
You can.
It don't travel like that.
I know they say so, but I feel I don't know.
I went down to the clinic on my own yesterday, got as far as the door, but - Tough to go alone.
- Yeah.
Gimme ten minutes.
So, where do we take it today? Unless the story develops, I think we've covered the bases.
Alma can check on things and see where we're at by afternoon.
You owe me a Govans story.
And you need to get with Shane on that school series.
I don't know, Gus.
I think this thing has legs.
Maybe I go out with the cops on their rounds.
Watch 'em warn the homeless.
Good thought, but Alma can work that into whatever she has.
Yeah? Hey.
Busy? No, just, uh Jimmy's not in yet.
I know.
He's sleeping one off.
- Late night, huh? - They're all like that now.
Relax, I'm not looking for a snitch.
I know you're his partner in crime.
I don't care.
Whoa, Beadie.
I just want to know from you where this is going.
I mean, you know him.
You know what it is that he can and can't do.
Don't know if I can speak on that.
Look, I'm ready to put him out, OK? For me, for my kids.
I mean, if, in the end, if this is all there is to him.
If he can't be better than this, I just want to know.
He's working this case right now.
Serial killer, actually.
You are not gonna try to tell me that this is about a case.
Try that shit on some civilian.
Look, he'll get his head in a certain place, he'll take a drink.
I mean, a lot of us will.
- It's more than just a drink he's taking.
- Beadie, I can't tell you what to do.
I don't like giving up.
OK, I gotta go back to work.
Thanks for letting me vent.
You want to get started today? - Sooner we decide on - After lunch, yeah.
- Finally found a line, huh? - Mm-hmm.
Know that wasn't easy.
They been hidin' for years.
- I'm a pro.
- Me, too.
- Let me ask you - Hmm? When do the results come back? About an hour from this test.
There you go.
And they want you to believe that there's only one side to this story, and that their so-called facts cannot be denied.
But we have some facts of our own, don't we? Yeah! - We know who our leaders are.
- That's right.
And we don't want them picking our leaders for us, do we? No! And we will not stand idly by as they single out our leaders and selectively prosecute, - or should I say persecute them - That's right! just because they have the courage and the fortitude to stand up for us.
Let them hear you.
Let them hear you loud and clear.
Clay Davis isn't going anywhere, is he? No! - We need him, we're going to keep him - That's right! and damn anyone who says otherwise.
Clay Davis! What the fuck is this I hear about you might not stand tall on this? You got that wrong, old friend.
I'm gonna carry this.
You damn sure better.
Because if you don't, you won't be able to squeeze another greenback out of this town for the rest of your natural life.
We shall not be, we shall not be moved We shall not be, we shall not be moved Ooh, la, la! Lookie here.
- The fuck is that? - A change of pace.
They look kinda hot with their clothes on.
Hey, Clarice.
Your serial killer called the Baltimore Sun.
Some goof claiming to be your guy called a reporter.
- One of the guys writing this shit up.
- Gotta be a crank call.
Probably so.
But seeing as it's the fucking newspaper you go over there and you set them straight.
Go ahead.
Negative.
- Negative means - I know what it means.
- Must be wrong.
- It ain't wrong.
All the shit I done.
All the works I shared.
My best boy years back? I fired off the same hypo as him dozens of times.
He had the bug for sure.
That shit ain't right nohow, man.
You're disappointed.
Shit, this ain't about the bug, is it? This is you tryin' to make the past be everything, mean everything.
You don't even wanna think about the here and now.
Sorry, Bubs.
Shame ain't worth as much as you think.
Let it go.
He said he wanted people to know there'd be 12 bodies before he's finished.
He said, quote, "I came to take 12.
" I said, "What happens after 12?" He said, quote, "I go somewhere else," unquote.
I asked him about the bite marks.
He said that they wanted him to bite, they asked for that.
He complained that the article made him sound like a pervert.
I asked him if he was angry at the men.
He hung up.
He called you on your cellphone? Why didn't he call the paper? I was all over the city yesterday handing my cards out to homeless men.
He probably got the number from a card.
Shit, I might've handed him a card.
I think this is the guy.
I mean, a chill ran down my back.
But there's no way to know.
I mean, if it's some other nut, we're gonna look like fools if we print this.
Your cellphone caught the number? He dialed you.
Yeah, I dialed it back.
Payphone on South Hanover near West Street.
- What did he sound like? - What do you mean? You talk to people for a living.
Did he sound black, white? Younger, older? High-pitched voice or low? Uh, he sounded, to me, like a white guy.
Not a deep voice, but calm, almost monotone.
He sounded older, I would say, 40s.
Not a real young guy.
- Can I have your notebook? - You can't have his notes.
As this isn't a confidential source, we won't invoke the Maryland Shield law, but he'll type up a copy for you.
But the actual document is property of the Baltimore Sun.
So type it up, like, now.
So, you're saying this could be the killer? Can we talk off the record? The homicide unit received a phone call this morning from a payphone from the same neighborhood, and based on Scott's voice description, and the use of the number 12 let's just say we need to find whoever it was made both those calls.
He made another call? Detective, as a newsman, I'm inclined to include these details in our coverage if there's a credible chance the killer was in contact with our reporter.
Would doing so have any negative effect on your investigation? Actually, these calls are our best means of finding this guy.
Every call he makes, every word he says, to you and to us, can only provide information.
- If we do run a story - You can't say he's contacted police.
You can't print that part of it under any circumstances.
OK, then how do we characterize what the police think - about this call to Scott? - You can say that we're, uh taking it seriously.
Going forward, is it possible that you would grant a one-party consent for us to monitor your reporter's cellphone and office phones? - Absolutely not.
- I'm sorry, Detective, but our ability to report is dependent upon our maintaining the confidentiality of our conversations.
We're perfectly willing to share with you the information this individual has as he's definitely not a confidential source.
But we're not going to consent to the Baltimore Police Department monitoring our phones.
- You'll tap the payphone, I guess.
- Don't print that, either.
Don't print anything about where the killer calls from.
He'll change up.
Well, I'll type up my notes quick.
- Big story for you guys, huh? - Well, ten minutes ago I'd've said this whole thing was complete bullshit.
Shows what I know, I guess.
which is why I'm gonna fight this thing.
I am innocent and I have done nothing except serve the people.
Oh, I believe you, Senator.
I've seen the good work you've done for the community That's Eddie Cantor, right? No.
It's perfect.
- McNulty, it's perfect.
- I couldn't believe it.
I'm sitting there, all this bullshit coming at me, thinking, Christ, this is a waste of time.
Then I realized - this is the wiretap.
Right here.
They're giving it to me.
Never mind me making a crank call.
This right here is Lester Freamon's motherfucking wire.
What if they check this? How many guys in this unit have ever hooked up a wiretap? They don't know which wire goes where.
Explain it to me again, because I think I'm a smart guy, but this shit makes my head hurt.
They think they're up on your killer's cellphone, but they'll never catch a call because this goes nowhere.
And meanwhile, using the same court authorization, I'm on the live wire down at the detail office, listening to Marlo.
Every day, you file office and court reports saying there's been no further contact with the serial killer.
I file exactly nothing, but use what I hear to rig the case on our real target.
And when it goes to court No mention of a wiretap.
It's all based on a CI.
There it is.
Four copies signed by the judge.
Emergency order for telephonic intercept of a cellphone, number 410-915-0909.
- If the machine is rigged, you're good to go.
- You're up.
- Good hunting.
- Howie? - Yo.
- You got midnight shift.
Worden'll be in to relieve you at six.
After Worden, my squad will pick up monitoring on the dayshift.
Excuse me.
Don't look so pissy.
We're actually paying overtime for this.
O- dog! My leg! Stay the fuck down! What the Damn.
What the