Without a Trace s05e13 Episode Script
Eating Away
Well, we're coming up on the eight-minute mark at the tenth annual Chili Chow-Down, and chow down they are! Is everybody having fun out there? These guys and gal are professional.
Don't try this at home, please.
Look at them go, huh? That must be good chili.
Buck a bowl, all day, my gift to you.
Go, Barry! Come on, Barry! Barry Rosen, the champion, looks like he's taking a break.
He's He might not make it.
He's fallen back.
He's drinking a little water.
He's coming back to it.
And he's back in.
That's a champion for you.
Look at him go! Oh, man! - He's really pouring it on now.
Barry! Barry's going, Barry's going! There's the tilt! The bowl tilt! Oh, my God, look at him go! Barry! Barry! Barry! It's over! Barry Rosen has done it! Five thousand dollars for one and a half gallons of my world-famous chili in the record time of nine minutes and 23 seconds! Barry Rosen, everybody.
Barry! Barry! Barry! Thanks.
Thank you.
I just wanna I don't Barry.
Barry? Somebody call 911! Mr.
Rosen? You should be in bed.
Getting your stomach pumped takes a toll on the body.
- Do you know what went wrong? It appears you had a swelling in your throat, restricting your ability to breathe.
Your chart said you ate a gallon and a half of chili? I do it all the time.
Nothing like this ever happened before.
But I feel okay now.
Maybe for now, but your cholesterol's tipping 260.
You're hypertensive.
A heart attack or stroke seems imminent and with your body type and your family history the first one will probably kill you.
I'm 26.
You could be dead by 27.
I don't like scaring my patients, but you need to stop eating like this.
Immediately.
We'll also start you on blood pressure meds.
Then what? Then we'll see.
I'll have a nurse come and discuss a follow-up.
All right, you had me till the very end.
- What? - What does T.
T.
Y.
L.
Mean? - Talk to you later.
- Oh.
- I learned it from Sophie.
- But she's 7.
- Know who taught her? - Who? - My mom.
- Great.
Okay, what do we got? Barry Rosen, 26, single.
Lives with his brother.
And was admitted here after passing out in an eating contest.
- An eating contest.
- Yes.
As in " stuff your face with 100 hotdogs, watch yourself on YouTube?" It was chili, but yes.
He had 5000 in winnings when he was admitted.
So maybe someone spotted the money and targeted him.
A patient or an orderly.
I'm thinking someone from the contest followed him here.
Okay.
Who called it in? The hospital's social worker.
Barry left before he was discharged, so she called the brother.
When the guy didn't show up to the house, she called the police.
- They called us.
This just came back.
Mr.
Rosen's stomach contained one ounce of sodium hypochlorite.
- What's that? - Household bleach.
Have you treated anybody else from the contest? No.
But if they haven't been treated by now, they're dead.
Mr.
Rosen? Barry fixed this last week.
I'm really bad at this stuff.
Mr.
Rosen, we really need your focus over here.
Sorry.
It's just Someone poisoned him? It appears that way, yeah.
Was your brother having problems with any of his competitors? No, he didn't ever mention anything.
Any change in his behavior? I don't know.
Kind of paranoid? Barry? Get off me! What's your problem? - You were working the late shift! - You could've killed me! I didn't know it was you.
- What are you doing here? - Fire sprinkler went off at work.
Drenched the place.
They sent us home.
I can finish updating the server from here anyway.
I thought maybe when I finish we could run level nine of Colossus.
You go ahead without me.
- I ran level eight without you.
- So? So you're never around anymore.
We barely talk.
You're sitting in the dark with a knife.
What's going on? It's nothing, okay? Jeez, just leave it alone.
Barry.
If you want, maybe I could order us a pizza.
You don't need my permission to order a pizza, right? Right, I know.
If you want to start level nine, I'll be there in a minute.
Great, I'll get it set up.
This person that he was afraid of.
Any idea who it was? I have no clue.
Since he started this eating business, we don't really talk like we used to.
- Now, how long ago was that? - Six months.
He used to be a fact checker at a publishing company.
He quit once he started the eating.
And how'd he get into that? This bar next to his office offered a free meal to anyone who could finish a 64-ounce steak.
Barry did, no problem.
Then he took it from there.
If he doesn't talk to you anymore, who does he talk to? Well, he's always chatting online.
Used to be about the trains.
Now I guess he talks about the competitions.
Is this all his? It's ours.
This is an authentic Rivarossi Cab Forward? Yeah.
Yeah, we found that on eBay.
It took us like three years, but then Barry got into eating, so I wish he'd stayed with the trains.
Taylor.
I can make it at 4? Okay, bye.
What did you see on Hospital Security footage? Nothing.
But I found out one of the cameras was in the service entrance.
Okay, where are we with Rosen's competitors? Still tracking them down.
Some of them already left to the next U.
O.
C.
E.
Event in Austin.
U.
O.
C.
E? I'm not even gonna guess.
Universal Organization of Competitive Eating.
Go to the website.
Does it say anything about poisoning the competition? No.
I'm starting to think this whole thing isn't about money.
Most of the prizes, they're not more than 200 bucks.
If it's not about money, why do that to their bodies? Actually, some competitors are pretty fit.
The world champion is a 165-pound Japanese guy that could eat 69 hamburgers in eight minutes.
While millions of people around the world are starving.
Well, some guys hit baseballs, we find missing people, they eat.
Everyone's gotta have a talent, right? Well, maybe not a talent.
Perhaps therapy.
Listen to this: "Half the country overeats because of some psychic wound.
It's easier to eat than to actually deal with your emotions.
" All this according to a Val Sharp, author of a profile on competitive eaters.
"The Bottomless Pit"? This came out the day before he disappeared.
Let's bring her in.
I talked to his brother.
He said something about Barry being poisoned? It's not exactly clear what happened, but they found bleach in his food.
In your research, have you ever come across anything like this before? No.
How long have you known Barry? About a month.
I was gonna write this about the freak show of competitive eating but then I got to know Barry and he made me look at it differently.
How's that? He's a really sweet guy.
What he excels at puts his life struggle front and center.
His psychic wound? I read your article.
So then you know his thing about trains, right? And now eating.
It's all about consumption.
They're all just ways to avoid the real problem.
Which in Barry's case is what? He wouldn't tell me.
But? I think I might know why somebody would want to poison him.
I'm just saying, if somebody comes over and yells at you for eating a hotdog with ketchup like some sort of uncivilized yahoo I cannot be held responsible.
- I can't help that I hate mustard.
I can't help for judging you for hating mustard, and I judge you harshly.
I'm turning this recorder on.
Act professional.
Seriously? I thought we were done.
There's one more thing I want to clear up.
This'll just take a sec.
- Okay.
Go.
- Ready? I know you don't want to talk about this but I need to go over the whole cheating issue again.
I told you before that it's a lie.
Well, my source claims that you cheat in most of your competitions.
I'm not gonna dignify that with a response.
If you actually take competitive eating seriously you might want to respond officially.
I do take it seriously.
It's who I am.
You're not born a competitive eater.
Why choose to do that? We're back to "What's my psychic wound.
" I'm just trying to understand you, Barry.
I'm good at eating and I like to win.
That's why I do it.
Nobody asked Tiger Woods why he plays golf.
I think Tiger Woods seems happy when he wins.
Oh.
Okay, I get it.
- I shouldn't have said that.
- You know, you don't need me.
Just write that we're all fat, miserable slobs.
That'll make good copy.
That was the last time I talked to him.
Called him to apologize, but he never called me back.
Did anyone corroborate Barry's cheating? No.
Why? Well, you pressed the issue so whoever accused him must have been very convincing.
We're gonna need to know who that is.
I can't reveal a source.
You know that.
This isn't Valerie Plame, so come on.
It was Gus Black.
So, Mr.
Black, you're quite a sore loser.
How's that? Well, Barry Rosen won contests all over the country but the only time he was ever accused of cheating was when he was competing against you.
I was trying to psych him out.
Muhammad Ali talked trash about every opponent before a big fight.
Muhammad Ali? Yes.
Ali didn't have to poison George Foreman to win The Rumble in the Jungle.
- Last time I saw him, he was fine.
Fine? He was unconscious in the ambulance.
I meant alive.
He was alive in the ambulance.
Well, if he ends up dead, you're gonna be facing murder charges.
Now, I don't know if they hold eating contests in Sing Sing but hey, I'd be glad to step out and make the call.
- Okay.
Okay, what? Some people were making online bets.
Barry was the heavy favorite.
And he agreed to throw the match.
It was all going fine and then at the last moment, everything changed.
"Barry trains with a laser-like focus and a brutal determination to win.
" Very nice.
What'd you do, pay her off? I talked to her for like 3 hours, she doesn't mention me one time.
All right.
We're all set.
My cousin and his friends placed their bets online.
Pull back at the 5-minute mark.
Gus will take the lead.
- I wanted to talk to you.
- Five minutes is too late? No, it's not that.
I'm not sure I can go through with this.
You gave me your word.
I shouldn't have.
It's cheating.
Of course it's cheating.
That's why it's so freaking profitable.
- I can't do it.
- There are a lot of people in on this now.
What'll they do if it doesn't go as planned? Listen, you're gonna drag your fat ass up on that stage and lose.
You got that? I'm not doing it.
Monty panicked.
He bleached Barry.
Made sure that he would lose.
You knew that and you didn't do anything to stop it? I wanted to win.
How did Monty react when Barry didn't take the fall? Put it this way.
When they were taking Barry away in the ambulance Monty said he hoped the kid never woke up.
Monty's World-Famous Chili.
You do those commercials where you lock up the secret ingredient in a safe? - Yeah.
- Yeah, I like those commercials.
Thanks.
Think the buying public would be very interested to know that the secret ingredient is bleach.
There was a huge crowd.
Anybody could've done that.
But you're the only person who had 25 grand on the line.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I run a restaurant.
Here's a record of your money being transferred to your cousin's account.
And your cousin making a matching withdrawal.
What'll he say when we ask where the money went? Think he's willing to risk his real estate license to save your ass? I just wanted to slow him down.
Slow him down? Forced him into a scam.
He tried to get out, you tried to kill him.
I didn't force Barry into anything.
I was trying to help him.
He came in a couple days before the contest.
Hey, Barry.
You didn't come say hello.
- Want some appetizers? It's on me.
- No, thanks.
I'm just waiting to sign the qualifying form for the contest.
Do you know if there's an opening in the Philly Wing Bowl? The guy from the U.
O.
C.
E.
Will be here later.
- I could ask him.
- Okay.
Okay, what's up? You don't look so good.
Know how many contests there are in the next week? Like, maybe five.
Why? I need to enter all of them.
- Could get real hurt doing that.
- Could get hurt worse if I don't come up with money.
Holy - Who did this? - Are you gonna help me or not? - I don't know, how much do you need? - I need 10,000.
There is an opportunity I've been considering.
Well, what is it? You'd have to do your part.
I'll do anything.
And he was all onboard, up till the minute he backed out.
You make a habit of victimizing freaks and geeks? - Like I said, he needed the money.
- For what? - I don't know.
- Lf he's so desperate why'd he change his mind? - I wish I knew.
My cousin and his friends would like the answer.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Write down a list of everybody who knew about the bet.
Oh, and you're under arrest.
I told you, I didn't do nothing illegal.
You poisoned Barry Rosen.
That's attempted murder, genius.
Hey! What's this? No, no, no.
What's up with the hand, man? - How are you, man? - Good, good.
Not too bad.
Yeah, you look healthy.
Thanks for meeting me.
Would've gone to your office, but me and Elena ain't too amicable.
Oh, I didn't I didn't know that.
- She doing okay? - Yeah, you know.
She's busy, she's Elena.
Work, Sofie, work.
Sofie's gotten so much bigger since the last you saw her.
- She's beautiful like her mother.
- I'm sure.
That's actually what I wanna talk to you about.
About Elena? No.
You know, my custody agreements, man, they're being reviewed.
I need letters of references.
That I'm still working that I'm a good dad, yadda yadda yadda.
Look, I already wrote that letter three years ago, Carlos.
No, I know, exactly, that's why I'm asking.
You're busy.
I figured I'd update the letter.
You could just sign it.
Two seconds.
Oh, oh, oh.
- It's because Elena? - No.
- You and me, we go back 10 years.
- I know.
But I see Elena every day at work.
I don't want to complicate things.
You're resigning the letter you wrote for me in the first hearing.
- Come on.
- Okay.
Send me the letter, I'll look at it.
Love you.
You look great.
- So do you.
- See you, Downtown.
Barry had about 200 online friends.
Took a while to go through them all.
This is the one I wanted you to see.
Rosen sent her a request to chat three weeks ago.
This is one of their first chats.
References to sex and payment.
She could be a prostitute.
- You got a last name? - No.
Could subpoena FriendsBIock for account info, but it's most likely bogus.
I know mine is.
Does it say when they last met? Last week at a bar in midtown called Michael's.
- Okay.
Any posts since then? - No.
Neither of them have signed onto the site since Barry disappeared.
Hm.
Hey.
My lawyer sent me a list of people writing support letters for Carlos.
- That's your name, right there.
- I was gonna talk to you about this.
It's none of your business.
- Why are you taking sides? - I'm not.
This is a reference letter for the custody review.
What review? He's suing me for sole custody, okay? Well, I didn't know that.
He probably wants you to say that I work too much I don't take care of Sofie.
- I'd never say anything that's not true - It's going to look true.
You've seen me call my mother, ask her to watch Sofie.
You've seen me calling Sofie and singing to her.
Mommy's gonna be too late.
She's never getting home.
Why? Because I'm here, working.
So it can be true, Danny.
- Yeah.
- Listen.
He's gonna make it seem however he wants, you know this guy.
- Nobody's gonna take Sofia away.
- We don't know that.
It's my lawyer.
What's this all about? Seen this guy? Well, I've only ever seen him once.
What about her? Hard to say.
You know what? Why don't we continue this conversation downtown? All right, all right.
Ivy and some of her friends work this lounge.
- Because of the hotel across the street.
- I take it that Barry's one of her johns.
I guess, but But what? Well, it's just that Ivy usually introduces herself here.
Chats the guy up for a few minutes and then they go get a room.
This guy came in with her and they just sat there, talking.
I guess that was the problem.
Club soda? You should try to loosen up a little.
My mom was an alcoholic, so I try to stay away from the stuff.
Little too much information, sweetie.
Maybe next time, just say you have to get up early.
Well, I thought you said I was supposed to be less shy, reveal more.
I meant talk about yourself in a more positive, confident way.
You're doing fine.
So is this the guy that's been putting ideas in your head? Barry, I'll talk to you later, okay? - Barry, is it? - Leave her alone.
We're talking.
She doesn't have time for talking.
Give me cash and get a room or take off.
- What's it gonna be? - Derek, he's my friend.
All right? I won't take money from friends.
That's not your choice to make, cupcake.
You're gonna go make me my money back now.
Let her go.
Ah.
What are you doing? - Stop! Ah! - All right, that's it.
I'm calling the cops.
I own her.
You tell her different, I'll kill you.
How about this Derek character? - What do you know about him? - Nothing.
And what about Ivy? Surprisingly popular.
How about something helpful? Her last name's Morris.
Ms.
Morris, FBI.
Open up.
Go ahead.
Ms.
Morris, this is the FBI.
We're coming in.
One down.
Clear.
Have you had any noise complaints recently? - Anyone who may have heard? - No, sorry.
A witness saw Mr.
Rosen and this guy get into a fight.
Got any idea what that might be about? I can take a guess.
Your guy Rosen seemed desperate to get Ivy to quit hooking.
Are you okay? I just get really sick of my job sometimes.
You should quit.
I can't quit.
I owe my pimp, Derek, $ 10,000 for paying off my credit cards.
Maybe you could pay him back some other way? You don't know Derek.
He is not gonna let me out of his sight until I'm paid off.
- What if I could get you the money? - You serious? Yeah.
Then you would officially be the greatest guy I ever met.
- That the last time you saw him? - No.
He was here two nights ago.
All I saw was him go into Ivy's apartment.
Ivy have friends or family in the area that you know about? Her mother lives down in Jersey City.
All right.
Thank you.
If Ivy or her friend killed Derek, they're going to jail, right? Most likely.
Why? That's too bad.
The way Derek knocked Ivy around, he deserved it.
Preliminary forensics on Ivy Morris' apartment.
Does anything point to who killed Derek Hammond? No.
Listen, I used to see this in Vice all the time.
The guy falls in love with a hooker, right? Tries to be her prince and tries to get her out of the life.
So it sounds to me like I don't know.
Viv, I'm thinking it's Barry.
Yeah, why would he not just throw the eating contest and give her the money? Carlito.
Hey, hey.
I wanna thank you for the letter, bro.
I'm not signing that letter.
Because you're a liar.
I work with her.
You think I wasn't gonna find out you were lying? Man, whatever Elena says, she's exaggerating, okay? I told you not to get me involved.
- Why are you taking her side? - Why are you doing this? Because it's what's best for Sofia.
Don't use Sofia to get back at Elena for leaving you.
- It's wrong.
- Whatever reasons I have they're none of your business.
- Carlos, don't do it.
Oh, man.
She's getting to you, huh? Stay away from her.
You stay away from her.
P.
D.
Just found Ivy Morris hiding out at her mom's.
- Any sign of Rosen? - No.
Looked like she'd been in a fight.
And do you remember how much he won in that eating contest? About 5 grand, right? Exactly 5 grand.
That's how much she had in her purse.
Where's Barry Rosen? I don't know.
How come you have his money? He gave it to me to help pay a friend.
Who? The dead pimp in your apartment? I think you used Barry.
You used him to do your dirty work, then got rid of him to keep his money.
Either way, whether you killed Derek or he did at the very least, you're an accessory to murder.
Barry didn't do anything.
I didn't have a choice.
Derek was gonna kill me.
If it was self-defense, why did you run? I've seen what they do to wives who fight back.
They go to jail.
You think anyone cares about a prostitute? Doesn't explain what happened to Barry.
I swear I wouldn't hurt him.
He's my friend.
Who paid for sex.
It wasn't about that.
He wanted to learn how to be around women so he could date.
You know, like when to pay the bill or move in for the first kiss.
And he needed a hooker to teach him that? He said he didn't know who else to turn to.
He was self-conscious because of his size.
I guess that's one of the reasons he felt comfortable with me.
When was the last time you saw him? Two days ago.
He'd just been to the hospital.
So you just left? Barry.
- What that doctor said is serious.
- I know.
I just figured if I'm gonna keel over tomorrow I'd better give you this first.
How much is here? Five thousand.
I'm sorry it's less than you owe Derek but it should help you pay him back.
I can't believe this.
Where did you get all of it? The competition.
I was gonna throw it and get more but I couldn't get Val's voice out of my head.
You mean that reporter? Yeah.
The last time we talked, she accused me of cheating.
I guess I didn't want to disappoint her.
So that's why you came to me.
To learn to be with her.
Maybe.
But it doesn't matter anyhow.
Like she could ever be interested in me.
I live with my brother in the same house I grew up in.
And I haven't had a real date since junior prom.
Barry none of that matters.
Did you tell her how you feel? No.
Well, you need to.
- Well, I can't.
- Why? I lied to her about some things.
Then you need to tell her the truth.
He was really upset.
I don't think I helped him.
Now, he said that he had lied to Ms.
Sharp.
Do you have any idea what that's about? He wouldn't tell me.
Do you think he took your advice and told her? I don't know.
But I dropped Barry at her apartment myself.
I haven't seen or heard from him since.
- Any news about Barry? No.
I think you have news about Barry.
Right? I'm sorry? Well, you lied about the last time you saw him because we know that he went to your house the night he disappeared.
- Who told you that? It doesn't matter.
You withheld information from us.
I didn't think his visit was pertinent.
Should let us decide what's pertinent if you want to continue your career.
This isn't about my career.
Then what's it about? He came and confessed to you that he lied, right? - Yes.
- About what? Doesn't have anything to do with what's happened.
I already told you that's not for you to decide.
Okay, listen.
You may think that you're protecting your friend but if you really want to help him, you're gonna have to start talking to us.
When he showed up at my apartment, he was really upset.
And I thought he could use some air, so we went to this café to talk.
Just tell me what's wrong.
You remember when we talked about why I competitive eat? And I said I did it because it made me feel good.
- Yeah.
- And you didn't believe me.
No, it's not that.
I just thought it was more complicated.
I guess you were right.
It is.
Some stuff happened to me when I was a kid.
I'm glad you had a good time.
Who the hell are they? My sister's kids.
She drops them off sometimes without telling me.
So I'll see you again really soon, okay? Yeah.
You're supposed to be up in your room.
Had to watch something for school.
Well, take your brother upstairs.
I got someone else coming in 15 minutes.
Why is this empty? Did you drink this? Not all of it.
It tasted so gross, I poured the rest down the sink.
Okay.
There's a coffee cake in the fridge.
Just take that take your brother and whatever else you want upstairs to your room.
You guys can eat as much as you want tonight.
We'd take soda, cake whatever we wanted and stuff our faces almost every night.
Barry, I'm so sorry.
You're the first person I've ever told.
You're probably totally terrified of me.
No, not at all.
Took a lot of courage.
What my mom did kept me from being close to anyone.
I don't want it to keep me from being close to you too.
Me either.
We went back to my apartment and we talked all night.
I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up he was gone.
He left a note saying he'd call me.
Do you have any idea where he went? I'm sorry.
We should have NYPD check out her neighborhood and also It took Barry 14 years to talk about what happened.
I wasn't just gonna share that with total strangers.
You were the last person to see him.
Now, if you'd told us this before, we might already have found him.
That was fast.
- Lucy, you had me at "I got something.
" This is the security footage we pulled from Ivy Morris' apartment.
I was using it to verify when she last saw Barry.
- Her story doesn't check out? - It checks out fine.
There they are leaving right when she said.
But that's not the interesting part.
The guy hiding behind the newspaper is? Some guy who doesn't want them to see him.
That's Barry's brother, Stu.
These are two other nights.
Ivy Morris confirmed your brother was at her apartment.
So what? Why are you spying on your brother? I had seen her posts on FriendsBIock.
I knew what kind of girl she was.
- I was making sure Barry was all right.
- Your brother and a prostitute.
Must have seemed like a strange development considering what you went through as kids.
I don't know what you're talking about.
We know your mother was a prostitute, Stu.
That's a lot for a kid to go through.
Seeing his mother with a parade of men.
But that didn't happen.
And your brother, he just sat by, doing nothing, right? - Just shut up.
- Then to cap it off he starts dating a prostitute himself.
That must've been pretty hard to take.
Stu, I know you love your brother.
Tell me what happened.
He didn't even have the guts to tell me the truth.
Where have you been? I met someone.
When? A few weeks ago.
I didn't want to say anything until I knew if it was serious.
- So it is.
- I hope so.
- I told her about Mom.
- What? Why would you even think to do that? I needed to tell someone.
You won't talk.
- Glad you have someone you can rely on.
- I'm not saying I can't rely on you.
I just wanted to be honest with her.
Honest with her? How about being honest with me? - What are you talking about? - The part you're leaving out.
I've seen you with her.
I know what she does.
Did you think I wouldn't find out? You've been following me? Are you in love with her? I have to stop talking about this.
Where are you going? Back to her, your skank of a girlfriend? - I'm leaving.
- Barry, stop! Stop! Barry? Barry! All he had to do was tell me the truth.
None of this would have happened.
The truth is that he was in love with a reporter named Valerie Sharp, not a prostitute.
No, that's not true.
I was there.
Okay, I saw Barry with that slut.
That slut was his friend.
Just his friend.
He was trying to help her.
What did you do with your brother? When the police called and said the hospital reported him missing I took him to a storage unit where we keep my mom's stuff.
- And where is that? - I needed time to talk sense into him.
Make him realize bringing that bitch into our lives would screw things up.
Where is the storage unit? The corner of Palmer and Elm.
Barry? Barry Rosen? Right here, here.
Barry? Get the cutters, come on.
Barry? Barry, come on.
- Did you find him? - He's on his way to the hospital now.
- Please tell me he's gonna be okay.
- The EMTs say that he's gonna be fine.
Thank you.
I'm sorry I lied to you.
You got lucky.
Hey.
Hey.
How was the hospital? It was good, you know.
The guy's gonna be okay, so Good.
What are you still doing here? I wanted to talk to you.
About what? I told Carlos that I wasn't gonna be able to help him.
Wow, okay.
Thank you.
I also wanted to tell you that if you and Sofia need anything I want to help.
Want me to write a letter, I'll do it.
You want me to mail it? Stamp? That might be hypocritical after I told you to I don't know, Danny.
Just Just stay out of it, you know? I don't want to stay out of it.
Why not? Adapted by:
Don't try this at home, please.
Look at them go, huh? That must be good chili.
Buck a bowl, all day, my gift to you.
Go, Barry! Come on, Barry! Barry Rosen, the champion, looks like he's taking a break.
He's He might not make it.
He's fallen back.
He's drinking a little water.
He's coming back to it.
And he's back in.
That's a champion for you.
Look at him go! Oh, man! - He's really pouring it on now.
Barry! Barry's going, Barry's going! There's the tilt! The bowl tilt! Oh, my God, look at him go! Barry! Barry! Barry! It's over! Barry Rosen has done it! Five thousand dollars for one and a half gallons of my world-famous chili in the record time of nine minutes and 23 seconds! Barry Rosen, everybody.
Barry! Barry! Barry! Thanks.
Thank you.
I just wanna I don't Barry.
Barry? Somebody call 911! Mr.
Rosen? You should be in bed.
Getting your stomach pumped takes a toll on the body.
- Do you know what went wrong? It appears you had a swelling in your throat, restricting your ability to breathe.
Your chart said you ate a gallon and a half of chili? I do it all the time.
Nothing like this ever happened before.
But I feel okay now.
Maybe for now, but your cholesterol's tipping 260.
You're hypertensive.
A heart attack or stroke seems imminent and with your body type and your family history the first one will probably kill you.
I'm 26.
You could be dead by 27.
I don't like scaring my patients, but you need to stop eating like this.
Immediately.
We'll also start you on blood pressure meds.
Then what? Then we'll see.
I'll have a nurse come and discuss a follow-up.
All right, you had me till the very end.
- What? - What does T.
T.
Y.
L.
Mean? - Talk to you later.
- Oh.
- I learned it from Sophie.
- But she's 7.
- Know who taught her? - Who? - My mom.
- Great.
Okay, what do we got? Barry Rosen, 26, single.
Lives with his brother.
And was admitted here after passing out in an eating contest.
- An eating contest.
- Yes.
As in " stuff your face with 100 hotdogs, watch yourself on YouTube?" It was chili, but yes.
He had 5000 in winnings when he was admitted.
So maybe someone spotted the money and targeted him.
A patient or an orderly.
I'm thinking someone from the contest followed him here.
Okay.
Who called it in? The hospital's social worker.
Barry left before he was discharged, so she called the brother.
When the guy didn't show up to the house, she called the police.
- They called us.
This just came back.
Mr.
Rosen's stomach contained one ounce of sodium hypochlorite.
- What's that? - Household bleach.
Have you treated anybody else from the contest? No.
But if they haven't been treated by now, they're dead.
Mr.
Rosen? Barry fixed this last week.
I'm really bad at this stuff.
Mr.
Rosen, we really need your focus over here.
Sorry.
It's just Someone poisoned him? It appears that way, yeah.
Was your brother having problems with any of his competitors? No, he didn't ever mention anything.
Any change in his behavior? I don't know.
Kind of paranoid? Barry? Get off me! What's your problem? - You were working the late shift! - You could've killed me! I didn't know it was you.
- What are you doing here? - Fire sprinkler went off at work.
Drenched the place.
They sent us home.
I can finish updating the server from here anyway.
I thought maybe when I finish we could run level nine of Colossus.
You go ahead without me.
- I ran level eight without you.
- So? So you're never around anymore.
We barely talk.
You're sitting in the dark with a knife.
What's going on? It's nothing, okay? Jeez, just leave it alone.
Barry.
If you want, maybe I could order us a pizza.
You don't need my permission to order a pizza, right? Right, I know.
If you want to start level nine, I'll be there in a minute.
Great, I'll get it set up.
This person that he was afraid of.
Any idea who it was? I have no clue.
Since he started this eating business, we don't really talk like we used to.
- Now, how long ago was that? - Six months.
He used to be a fact checker at a publishing company.
He quit once he started the eating.
And how'd he get into that? This bar next to his office offered a free meal to anyone who could finish a 64-ounce steak.
Barry did, no problem.
Then he took it from there.
If he doesn't talk to you anymore, who does he talk to? Well, he's always chatting online.
Used to be about the trains.
Now I guess he talks about the competitions.
Is this all his? It's ours.
This is an authentic Rivarossi Cab Forward? Yeah.
Yeah, we found that on eBay.
It took us like three years, but then Barry got into eating, so I wish he'd stayed with the trains.
Taylor.
I can make it at 4? Okay, bye.
What did you see on Hospital Security footage? Nothing.
But I found out one of the cameras was in the service entrance.
Okay, where are we with Rosen's competitors? Still tracking them down.
Some of them already left to the next U.
O.
C.
E.
Event in Austin.
U.
O.
C.
E? I'm not even gonna guess.
Universal Organization of Competitive Eating.
Go to the website.
Does it say anything about poisoning the competition? No.
I'm starting to think this whole thing isn't about money.
Most of the prizes, they're not more than 200 bucks.
If it's not about money, why do that to their bodies? Actually, some competitors are pretty fit.
The world champion is a 165-pound Japanese guy that could eat 69 hamburgers in eight minutes.
While millions of people around the world are starving.
Well, some guys hit baseballs, we find missing people, they eat.
Everyone's gotta have a talent, right? Well, maybe not a talent.
Perhaps therapy.
Listen to this: "Half the country overeats because of some psychic wound.
It's easier to eat than to actually deal with your emotions.
" All this according to a Val Sharp, author of a profile on competitive eaters.
"The Bottomless Pit"? This came out the day before he disappeared.
Let's bring her in.
I talked to his brother.
He said something about Barry being poisoned? It's not exactly clear what happened, but they found bleach in his food.
In your research, have you ever come across anything like this before? No.
How long have you known Barry? About a month.
I was gonna write this about the freak show of competitive eating but then I got to know Barry and he made me look at it differently.
How's that? He's a really sweet guy.
What he excels at puts his life struggle front and center.
His psychic wound? I read your article.
So then you know his thing about trains, right? And now eating.
It's all about consumption.
They're all just ways to avoid the real problem.
Which in Barry's case is what? He wouldn't tell me.
But? I think I might know why somebody would want to poison him.
I'm just saying, if somebody comes over and yells at you for eating a hotdog with ketchup like some sort of uncivilized yahoo I cannot be held responsible.
- I can't help that I hate mustard.
I can't help for judging you for hating mustard, and I judge you harshly.
I'm turning this recorder on.
Act professional.
Seriously? I thought we were done.
There's one more thing I want to clear up.
This'll just take a sec.
- Okay.
Go.
- Ready? I know you don't want to talk about this but I need to go over the whole cheating issue again.
I told you before that it's a lie.
Well, my source claims that you cheat in most of your competitions.
I'm not gonna dignify that with a response.
If you actually take competitive eating seriously you might want to respond officially.
I do take it seriously.
It's who I am.
You're not born a competitive eater.
Why choose to do that? We're back to "What's my psychic wound.
" I'm just trying to understand you, Barry.
I'm good at eating and I like to win.
That's why I do it.
Nobody asked Tiger Woods why he plays golf.
I think Tiger Woods seems happy when he wins.
Oh.
Okay, I get it.
- I shouldn't have said that.
- You know, you don't need me.
Just write that we're all fat, miserable slobs.
That'll make good copy.
That was the last time I talked to him.
Called him to apologize, but he never called me back.
Did anyone corroborate Barry's cheating? No.
Why? Well, you pressed the issue so whoever accused him must have been very convincing.
We're gonna need to know who that is.
I can't reveal a source.
You know that.
This isn't Valerie Plame, so come on.
It was Gus Black.
So, Mr.
Black, you're quite a sore loser.
How's that? Well, Barry Rosen won contests all over the country but the only time he was ever accused of cheating was when he was competing against you.
I was trying to psych him out.
Muhammad Ali talked trash about every opponent before a big fight.
Muhammad Ali? Yes.
Ali didn't have to poison George Foreman to win The Rumble in the Jungle.
- Last time I saw him, he was fine.
Fine? He was unconscious in the ambulance.
I meant alive.
He was alive in the ambulance.
Well, if he ends up dead, you're gonna be facing murder charges.
Now, I don't know if they hold eating contests in Sing Sing but hey, I'd be glad to step out and make the call.
- Okay.
Okay, what? Some people were making online bets.
Barry was the heavy favorite.
And he agreed to throw the match.
It was all going fine and then at the last moment, everything changed.
"Barry trains with a laser-like focus and a brutal determination to win.
" Very nice.
What'd you do, pay her off? I talked to her for like 3 hours, she doesn't mention me one time.
All right.
We're all set.
My cousin and his friends placed their bets online.
Pull back at the 5-minute mark.
Gus will take the lead.
- I wanted to talk to you.
- Five minutes is too late? No, it's not that.
I'm not sure I can go through with this.
You gave me your word.
I shouldn't have.
It's cheating.
Of course it's cheating.
That's why it's so freaking profitable.
- I can't do it.
- There are a lot of people in on this now.
What'll they do if it doesn't go as planned? Listen, you're gonna drag your fat ass up on that stage and lose.
You got that? I'm not doing it.
Monty panicked.
He bleached Barry.
Made sure that he would lose.
You knew that and you didn't do anything to stop it? I wanted to win.
How did Monty react when Barry didn't take the fall? Put it this way.
When they were taking Barry away in the ambulance Monty said he hoped the kid never woke up.
Monty's World-Famous Chili.
You do those commercials where you lock up the secret ingredient in a safe? - Yeah.
- Yeah, I like those commercials.
Thanks.
Think the buying public would be very interested to know that the secret ingredient is bleach.
There was a huge crowd.
Anybody could've done that.
But you're the only person who had 25 grand on the line.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I run a restaurant.
Here's a record of your money being transferred to your cousin's account.
And your cousin making a matching withdrawal.
What'll he say when we ask where the money went? Think he's willing to risk his real estate license to save your ass? I just wanted to slow him down.
Slow him down? Forced him into a scam.
He tried to get out, you tried to kill him.
I didn't force Barry into anything.
I was trying to help him.
He came in a couple days before the contest.
Hey, Barry.
You didn't come say hello.
- Want some appetizers? It's on me.
- No, thanks.
I'm just waiting to sign the qualifying form for the contest.
Do you know if there's an opening in the Philly Wing Bowl? The guy from the U.
O.
C.
E.
Will be here later.
- I could ask him.
- Okay.
Okay, what's up? You don't look so good.
Know how many contests there are in the next week? Like, maybe five.
Why? I need to enter all of them.
- Could get real hurt doing that.
- Could get hurt worse if I don't come up with money.
Holy - Who did this? - Are you gonna help me or not? - I don't know, how much do you need? - I need 10,000.
There is an opportunity I've been considering.
Well, what is it? You'd have to do your part.
I'll do anything.
And he was all onboard, up till the minute he backed out.
You make a habit of victimizing freaks and geeks? - Like I said, he needed the money.
- For what? - I don't know.
- Lf he's so desperate why'd he change his mind? - I wish I knew.
My cousin and his friends would like the answer.
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Write down a list of everybody who knew about the bet.
Oh, and you're under arrest.
I told you, I didn't do nothing illegal.
You poisoned Barry Rosen.
That's attempted murder, genius.
Hey! What's this? No, no, no.
What's up with the hand, man? - How are you, man? - Good, good.
Not too bad.
Yeah, you look healthy.
Thanks for meeting me.
Would've gone to your office, but me and Elena ain't too amicable.
Oh, I didn't I didn't know that.
- She doing okay? - Yeah, you know.
She's busy, she's Elena.
Work, Sofie, work.
Sofie's gotten so much bigger since the last you saw her.
- She's beautiful like her mother.
- I'm sure.
That's actually what I wanna talk to you about.
About Elena? No.
You know, my custody agreements, man, they're being reviewed.
I need letters of references.
That I'm still working that I'm a good dad, yadda yadda yadda.
Look, I already wrote that letter three years ago, Carlos.
No, I know, exactly, that's why I'm asking.
You're busy.
I figured I'd update the letter.
You could just sign it.
Two seconds.
Oh, oh, oh.
- It's because Elena? - No.
- You and me, we go back 10 years.
- I know.
But I see Elena every day at work.
I don't want to complicate things.
You're resigning the letter you wrote for me in the first hearing.
- Come on.
- Okay.
Send me the letter, I'll look at it.
Love you.
You look great.
- So do you.
- See you, Downtown.
Barry had about 200 online friends.
Took a while to go through them all.
This is the one I wanted you to see.
Rosen sent her a request to chat three weeks ago.
This is one of their first chats.
References to sex and payment.
She could be a prostitute.
- You got a last name? - No.
Could subpoena FriendsBIock for account info, but it's most likely bogus.
I know mine is.
Does it say when they last met? Last week at a bar in midtown called Michael's.
- Okay.
Any posts since then? - No.
Neither of them have signed onto the site since Barry disappeared.
Hm.
Hey.
My lawyer sent me a list of people writing support letters for Carlos.
- That's your name, right there.
- I was gonna talk to you about this.
It's none of your business.
- Why are you taking sides? - I'm not.
This is a reference letter for the custody review.
What review? He's suing me for sole custody, okay? Well, I didn't know that.
He probably wants you to say that I work too much I don't take care of Sofie.
- I'd never say anything that's not true - It's going to look true.
You've seen me call my mother, ask her to watch Sofie.
You've seen me calling Sofie and singing to her.
Mommy's gonna be too late.
She's never getting home.
Why? Because I'm here, working.
So it can be true, Danny.
- Yeah.
- Listen.
He's gonna make it seem however he wants, you know this guy.
- Nobody's gonna take Sofia away.
- We don't know that.
It's my lawyer.
What's this all about? Seen this guy? Well, I've only ever seen him once.
What about her? Hard to say.
You know what? Why don't we continue this conversation downtown? All right, all right.
Ivy and some of her friends work this lounge.
- Because of the hotel across the street.
- I take it that Barry's one of her johns.
I guess, but But what? Well, it's just that Ivy usually introduces herself here.
Chats the guy up for a few minutes and then they go get a room.
This guy came in with her and they just sat there, talking.
I guess that was the problem.
Club soda? You should try to loosen up a little.
My mom was an alcoholic, so I try to stay away from the stuff.
Little too much information, sweetie.
Maybe next time, just say you have to get up early.
Well, I thought you said I was supposed to be less shy, reveal more.
I meant talk about yourself in a more positive, confident way.
You're doing fine.
So is this the guy that's been putting ideas in your head? Barry, I'll talk to you later, okay? - Barry, is it? - Leave her alone.
We're talking.
She doesn't have time for talking.
Give me cash and get a room or take off.
- What's it gonna be? - Derek, he's my friend.
All right? I won't take money from friends.
That's not your choice to make, cupcake.
You're gonna go make me my money back now.
Let her go.
Ah.
What are you doing? - Stop! Ah! - All right, that's it.
I'm calling the cops.
I own her.
You tell her different, I'll kill you.
How about this Derek character? - What do you know about him? - Nothing.
And what about Ivy? Surprisingly popular.
How about something helpful? Her last name's Morris.
Ms.
Morris, FBI.
Open up.
Go ahead.
Ms.
Morris, this is the FBI.
We're coming in.
One down.
Clear.
Have you had any noise complaints recently? - Anyone who may have heard? - No, sorry.
A witness saw Mr.
Rosen and this guy get into a fight.
Got any idea what that might be about? I can take a guess.
Your guy Rosen seemed desperate to get Ivy to quit hooking.
Are you okay? I just get really sick of my job sometimes.
You should quit.
I can't quit.
I owe my pimp, Derek, $ 10,000 for paying off my credit cards.
Maybe you could pay him back some other way? You don't know Derek.
He is not gonna let me out of his sight until I'm paid off.
- What if I could get you the money? - You serious? Yeah.
Then you would officially be the greatest guy I ever met.
- That the last time you saw him? - No.
He was here two nights ago.
All I saw was him go into Ivy's apartment.
Ivy have friends or family in the area that you know about? Her mother lives down in Jersey City.
All right.
Thank you.
If Ivy or her friend killed Derek, they're going to jail, right? Most likely.
Why? That's too bad.
The way Derek knocked Ivy around, he deserved it.
Preliminary forensics on Ivy Morris' apartment.
Does anything point to who killed Derek Hammond? No.
Listen, I used to see this in Vice all the time.
The guy falls in love with a hooker, right? Tries to be her prince and tries to get her out of the life.
So it sounds to me like I don't know.
Viv, I'm thinking it's Barry.
Yeah, why would he not just throw the eating contest and give her the money? Carlito.
Hey, hey.
I wanna thank you for the letter, bro.
I'm not signing that letter.
Because you're a liar.
I work with her.
You think I wasn't gonna find out you were lying? Man, whatever Elena says, she's exaggerating, okay? I told you not to get me involved.
- Why are you taking her side? - Why are you doing this? Because it's what's best for Sofia.
Don't use Sofia to get back at Elena for leaving you.
- It's wrong.
- Whatever reasons I have they're none of your business.
- Carlos, don't do it.
Oh, man.
She's getting to you, huh? Stay away from her.
You stay away from her.
P.
D.
Just found Ivy Morris hiding out at her mom's.
- Any sign of Rosen? - No.
Looked like she'd been in a fight.
And do you remember how much he won in that eating contest? About 5 grand, right? Exactly 5 grand.
That's how much she had in her purse.
Where's Barry Rosen? I don't know.
How come you have his money? He gave it to me to help pay a friend.
Who? The dead pimp in your apartment? I think you used Barry.
You used him to do your dirty work, then got rid of him to keep his money.
Either way, whether you killed Derek or he did at the very least, you're an accessory to murder.
Barry didn't do anything.
I didn't have a choice.
Derek was gonna kill me.
If it was self-defense, why did you run? I've seen what they do to wives who fight back.
They go to jail.
You think anyone cares about a prostitute? Doesn't explain what happened to Barry.
I swear I wouldn't hurt him.
He's my friend.
Who paid for sex.
It wasn't about that.
He wanted to learn how to be around women so he could date.
You know, like when to pay the bill or move in for the first kiss.
And he needed a hooker to teach him that? He said he didn't know who else to turn to.
He was self-conscious because of his size.
I guess that's one of the reasons he felt comfortable with me.
When was the last time you saw him? Two days ago.
He'd just been to the hospital.
So you just left? Barry.
- What that doctor said is serious.
- I know.
I just figured if I'm gonna keel over tomorrow I'd better give you this first.
How much is here? Five thousand.
I'm sorry it's less than you owe Derek but it should help you pay him back.
I can't believe this.
Where did you get all of it? The competition.
I was gonna throw it and get more but I couldn't get Val's voice out of my head.
You mean that reporter? Yeah.
The last time we talked, she accused me of cheating.
I guess I didn't want to disappoint her.
So that's why you came to me.
To learn to be with her.
Maybe.
But it doesn't matter anyhow.
Like she could ever be interested in me.
I live with my brother in the same house I grew up in.
And I haven't had a real date since junior prom.
Barry none of that matters.
Did you tell her how you feel? No.
Well, you need to.
- Well, I can't.
- Why? I lied to her about some things.
Then you need to tell her the truth.
He was really upset.
I don't think I helped him.
Now, he said that he had lied to Ms.
Sharp.
Do you have any idea what that's about? He wouldn't tell me.
Do you think he took your advice and told her? I don't know.
But I dropped Barry at her apartment myself.
I haven't seen or heard from him since.
- Any news about Barry? No.
I think you have news about Barry.
Right? I'm sorry? Well, you lied about the last time you saw him because we know that he went to your house the night he disappeared.
- Who told you that? It doesn't matter.
You withheld information from us.
I didn't think his visit was pertinent.
Should let us decide what's pertinent if you want to continue your career.
This isn't about my career.
Then what's it about? He came and confessed to you that he lied, right? - Yes.
- About what? Doesn't have anything to do with what's happened.
I already told you that's not for you to decide.
Okay, listen.
You may think that you're protecting your friend but if you really want to help him, you're gonna have to start talking to us.
When he showed up at my apartment, he was really upset.
And I thought he could use some air, so we went to this café to talk.
Just tell me what's wrong.
You remember when we talked about why I competitive eat? And I said I did it because it made me feel good.
- Yeah.
- And you didn't believe me.
No, it's not that.
I just thought it was more complicated.
I guess you were right.
It is.
Some stuff happened to me when I was a kid.
I'm glad you had a good time.
Who the hell are they? My sister's kids.
She drops them off sometimes without telling me.
So I'll see you again really soon, okay? Yeah.
You're supposed to be up in your room.
Had to watch something for school.
Well, take your brother upstairs.
I got someone else coming in 15 minutes.
Why is this empty? Did you drink this? Not all of it.
It tasted so gross, I poured the rest down the sink.
Okay.
There's a coffee cake in the fridge.
Just take that take your brother and whatever else you want upstairs to your room.
You guys can eat as much as you want tonight.
We'd take soda, cake whatever we wanted and stuff our faces almost every night.
Barry, I'm so sorry.
You're the first person I've ever told.
You're probably totally terrified of me.
No, not at all.
Took a lot of courage.
What my mom did kept me from being close to anyone.
I don't want it to keep me from being close to you too.
Me either.
We went back to my apartment and we talked all night.
I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up he was gone.
He left a note saying he'd call me.
Do you have any idea where he went? I'm sorry.
We should have NYPD check out her neighborhood and also It took Barry 14 years to talk about what happened.
I wasn't just gonna share that with total strangers.
You were the last person to see him.
Now, if you'd told us this before, we might already have found him.
That was fast.
- Lucy, you had me at "I got something.
" This is the security footage we pulled from Ivy Morris' apartment.
I was using it to verify when she last saw Barry.
- Her story doesn't check out? - It checks out fine.
There they are leaving right when she said.
But that's not the interesting part.
The guy hiding behind the newspaper is? Some guy who doesn't want them to see him.
That's Barry's brother, Stu.
These are two other nights.
Ivy Morris confirmed your brother was at her apartment.
So what? Why are you spying on your brother? I had seen her posts on FriendsBIock.
I knew what kind of girl she was.
- I was making sure Barry was all right.
- Your brother and a prostitute.
Must have seemed like a strange development considering what you went through as kids.
I don't know what you're talking about.
We know your mother was a prostitute, Stu.
That's a lot for a kid to go through.
Seeing his mother with a parade of men.
But that didn't happen.
And your brother, he just sat by, doing nothing, right? - Just shut up.
- Then to cap it off he starts dating a prostitute himself.
That must've been pretty hard to take.
Stu, I know you love your brother.
Tell me what happened.
He didn't even have the guts to tell me the truth.
Where have you been? I met someone.
When? A few weeks ago.
I didn't want to say anything until I knew if it was serious.
- So it is.
- I hope so.
- I told her about Mom.
- What? Why would you even think to do that? I needed to tell someone.
You won't talk.
- Glad you have someone you can rely on.
- I'm not saying I can't rely on you.
I just wanted to be honest with her.
Honest with her? How about being honest with me? - What are you talking about? - The part you're leaving out.
I've seen you with her.
I know what she does.
Did you think I wouldn't find out? You've been following me? Are you in love with her? I have to stop talking about this.
Where are you going? Back to her, your skank of a girlfriend? - I'm leaving.
- Barry, stop! Stop! Barry? Barry! All he had to do was tell me the truth.
None of this would have happened.
The truth is that he was in love with a reporter named Valerie Sharp, not a prostitute.
No, that's not true.
I was there.
Okay, I saw Barry with that slut.
That slut was his friend.
Just his friend.
He was trying to help her.
What did you do with your brother? When the police called and said the hospital reported him missing I took him to a storage unit where we keep my mom's stuff.
- And where is that? - I needed time to talk sense into him.
Make him realize bringing that bitch into our lives would screw things up.
Where is the storage unit? The corner of Palmer and Elm.
Barry? Barry Rosen? Right here, here.
Barry? Get the cutters, come on.
Barry? Barry, come on.
- Did you find him? - He's on his way to the hospital now.
- Please tell me he's gonna be okay.
- The EMTs say that he's gonna be fine.
Thank you.
I'm sorry I lied to you.
You got lucky.
Hey.
Hey.
How was the hospital? It was good, you know.
The guy's gonna be okay, so Good.
What are you still doing here? I wanted to talk to you.
About what? I told Carlos that I wasn't gonna be able to help him.
Wow, okay.
Thank you.
I also wanted to tell you that if you and Sofia need anything I want to help.
Want me to write a letter, I'll do it.
You want me to mail it? Stamp? That might be hypocritical after I told you to I don't know, Danny.
Just Just stay out of it, you know? I don't want to stay out of it.
Why not? Adapted by: