Medium s07e08 Episode Script

# Can you take it all away, can you take it all away? # # When you shoved it in my face # # Explain again to me # # Can you take it all # Whoa.
You okay? Yeah.
I just saw this girl she was young, she was maybe 18, and she was trapped in this burning building.
Oh.
Who you calling the fire department? I I don't know.
I didn't see an address.
Oh.
You know, I read something interesting the other day.
Do you know that the average person has six dreams a night? No, I did not know that.
What exactly does that have to do with anything? That's six dreams a night, and that's, what I don't under And I know that you're you and everything, but even you don't have Some of the things that you dream about, most of them, actually, have to be just you know, regular, run-of-the-mill dreams.
What? A girl trapped in a burning building you actually think that's run-of-the-mill? And what am I supposed to do, just ignore it? If you weren't, don't you think you would have seen an address? Yeah.
I I guess you're right.
Thanks.
No, thank you.
Mr.
District Attorney, do you have any comment on today's proceedings? Well, it doesn't surprise me that De La Vega's attorneys have filed a motion to delay the start of his trial.
If I were heading up a cartel's narcotics operation in Phoenix, if I had killed men and I had ordered men to be killed, I'd be looking to avoid my day in court as well.
Excuse me, sir.
De La Vega, one question: do you have any comment? Is it true the defense is stalling because De La Vega's former right-hand man - has agreed to cooperate with you? - Well, they certainly seem worried about something.
Now, if you'll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I'm needed back in my office.
Allison, glad you're here.
I need you to join me in the conference room.
Wilfredo Soto's here to review his testimony.
Sure.
I didn't realize that we were interviewing more interns.
Hmm? Oh, no, actually, they're here interviewing for the new A.
D.
A.
position.
I managed to squeeze some money out of the budget so we can try and lighten - the load around here.
- You're kidding.
They're assistant D.
A.
s? They look like children, not attorneys.
They're both they're the only ones that'll work for the money we're offering.
Allison Dubois, this is Wilfredo Soto.
Mr.
District Attorney, I thought I made myself clear when I agreed to testify.
We need to avoid new faces.
Everyone I meet is one more person who can tell De La Vega where I am.
And I assured you that I would keep the number of people you work with to a minimum, but I can't eliminate them entirely.
Mrs.
Dubois is a consultant who helped assemble De La Vega's jury.
Her sense of how they'll react to your testimony is essential.
So, shall we begin? I think he's already been targeted.
I think somebody has already been hired to kill him.
Targeted? By who? I have no idea all I can tell you is, the instant that I saw our witness, I saw this man open a suitcase full of money and surveillance photographs.
Well, can you describe this man, the one you think is being paid to kill my witness? Perhaps generate a sketch, uh, something I can give - to Soto's security people.
- Yeah, sure.
Lynn, you wanted to see me? Yeah, the mayor asked me to stop by and ask you a couple of questions.
Sure, ask away.
So, you going to win this thing and put that monster away? I like our chances.
What's the next question? We were wondering how you'd feel about being the mayor of Phoenix.
The mayor is going to make a bid for governor, and when he does, he'd like to endorse someone to run for his spot and that someone is you.
You're supposed to tell me how honored you are.
I I'm honored, of course.
I'm just surprised.
Is that a yes? Manny, I need to know you want this.
I need to know you're ready to fight for it.
As soon as it's out there that the mayor is stepping down, people are going to be throwing their hats in the ring.
We know John Barnes from City Planning wants it.
Councilman Velez.
Benito Velez? He's a hungry guy, Manuel.
No, it's just our wives are good friends.
Well, tell your wife to make some new friends.
Look, I know it's a lot to take in, but I need an answer soon.
No, of course, I understand.
I just need a day or two to think it over, talk to my wife.
The mayor won't ask you twice.
They were interviewing new A.
D.
A.
s today.
Mm-hmm.
So? So they were really young.
Really? How young? I don't know, like, 27, 28.
Hmm.
That sounds about right, right? They graduate at 21, three years of law school, and three or four more in private practice.
Honey, I didn't tell you so you can check my math, I'm just saying that they're young.
I don't know, maybe it's not about that at all.
Maybe it's not that they're young; maybe it's that I'm not.
Ah.
You know what? I just don't agree with your central premise.
You're not old; you can't be.
I was older than you when we met, still older than you when we got married, and I'm betting I'm older than you right now and I'm not old so you can't be.
It's not about years, it's about getting things done.
I was pre-law, remember? I took my L-SATs.
If I stuck with it, maybe I could've been an A.
D.
A.
Why are you talking like that? Is there a time beyond which you can't be an A.
D.
A? Is there a cutoff? No, come on, look at my life I've got a daughter in college.
It just doesn't feel like the moment in life where you start something.
It feels like that moment has gone by.
Hey, hey.
Yeah? Huh? - You all right? - Sh-She gets saved.
Hmm? Who? Who got saved? The girl, the girl I dreamt about last night, the one in the burning building.
A fireman comes in and saves her.
She doesn't burn to death.
Is this the meaningless dream that you had last night? Yeah? Oh, so I don't need to worry about the thing that never happened, because even if it happened, everybody's fine? Hmm, excellent.
Nighty night.
Don't let the bedbugs bite.
It's Devalos.
I didn't ask.
Hello? Allison, sorry to call so late, but I wanted you to know.
Wilfredo Soto is dead.
What? Was it the man that I saw today? The one with the money and the pictures of Soto? No.
It appears to have been some kind of accident.
I don't have all the details yet, but apparently our star witness died in a fire.
So let me understand this.
There was a fire in the hotel, and Wilfredo Soto was the only fatality? A fire started in the wall of the unoccupied room one floor below.
A dozen or so hotel guests are being treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, but Soto's the only one who died.
The man was in that hotel for protective custody.
He was surrounded by law enforcement.
How is such a thing possible, Lee? Well, according to the fire investigator, an electrical fire started in a wall outlet.
It burned the plastic insulation on the wiring inside the wall.
That plastic created hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide fumes that traveled up the vent and into his room.
Soto was apparently asleep when the smoke entered the room, but this stuff's so toxic, one or two inhales gets the job done.
The bottom line it was an accident, pure and simple.
Okay, I'll ask again.
Where was his protective detail when that room was filling full of smoke and my witness was choking to death? I was told we had the entire floor to ourselves.
We did.
One agent was making his rounds.
Two more in the next room, plus a man at every exit.
When the smoke alarms went off, they all rushed into the room just as the fire was breaking through the walls, but it was too late, Manny.
He was dead before they even got to him.
Sorry, but, uh, for what it's worth, that hotel has a spotless safety record.
Nobody could have foreseen this.
Okay, so where does this leave us with the case? I'm not sure we still have a case.
Channel Nine has confirmed that Wilfredo Soto, a former high-level member of the notorious Oaxaca narcotics cartel, died late last night in a hotel fire.
Soto was apparently slated to testify Councilman Velez.
Mr.
District Attorney.
Sounds like you had a tough break.
I don't know.
We're not dead yet.
Of course, haven't bothered to check my own pulse lately.
Coffee.
Black.
Thank you for coming.
Hey, I'm a lowly councilman.
My office is in a strip mall.
I get an invite from somebody like the district attorney, I'm here.
Now, if this is about, um, firming our Christmas plans, I told my wife to tell your wife that it's your turn to pick.
I just want to ski.
It doesn't matter to me what the name of the mountain is.
No, it's not about that.
Have you heard anything about the mayor taking a run at the governor's race? Maybe.
I know you want out of that strip mall.
I'm guilty, Counselor.
If the mayor is not planning on endorsing somebody, and I haven't heard that he has, then I might take a run at it.
Who knows? If I make enough noise, maybe he'll endorse me.
That's why I wanted to see you.
Thank you.
He's asked me to run, Benito, and he's offered me his endorsement.
Well, that makes sense.
So, that's it, huh? Actually, I I haven't made a decision yet.
What about you? Does this change anything? Like you said, I want out of that strip mall.
I consider you a friend, Benito.
Our wives are best friends Well, that's not going to change.
I'm just concerned.
Things have been said.
Confidences shared.
What does that have to do with being mayor? Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
I just I just I want this campaign to stay focused on the issues.
Hey, I would never take advantage of our friendship or our wives' friendship.
Anything that she might know, that I might know, is strictly off-limits.
Thank you for saying that, Benny.
And knowing that you feel that way, I'm inclined to do it.
There's no one I'd rather run against.
Thanks.
I meant what I said.
I would never say anything.
But reporters and bloggers they love looking for trash.
And you never know what rock they're gonna look under till they get it.
Just, uh, something to keep in mind.
Right.
Duly noted.
Excuse me? Morning.
Can I help you with something? My name's Allison Dubois.
I'm with the district attorney's office.
I'm here to pick up the official report on the fire at the Chapman Hotel.
- Let me take a look in his office.
- Okay.
Thanks.
Here you go, that's the report, and I made a copy for you, so you can take that with you.
- Great, thanks.
- Yeah.
Um, all these people did they all die in fires? Yeah.
Yeah, this is tradition here at the 55th.
Some of these pictures go all the way back to the '60s.
Who's this girl? Can you tell me what happened to her? Honestly, I have no idea.
I just transferred into the company.
That's why they've got me waxing the trucks while everyone else is out training.
Oh.
Uh, speaking of which, if you don't need anything else No, no, I'm all set.
It happened a little over a year ago.
Her name was Charlotte Spencer.
This article says that she was squatting in an abandoned building downtown when the fire started.
Okay.
I don't understand.
I saw her get rescued, not killed.
Did you actually see the two of them walking out of the building? No.
Then you didn't see 'em getting rescued, did you? I'm confused.
This happened a year ago? Why does any of this matter? I don't know.
I keep dreaming about it.
There's got to be a reason.
Six dreams a night, my dear.
He's the captain of Engine Company 55.
His name is Frank Davenport.
He's the man I saw taking money to execute Wilfredo Soto.
So he's a fireman and a contract killer? He's a contract killer who uses fire to get away with murder.
And Wilfredo Soto was not his first kill.
I dreamt about him killing this girl.
First, she thought he was there to rescue her, but then he stopped her from leaving till she choked to death on the smoke.
You see, he sets the fires.
And then, because he's a fireman, he's there to make sure that his victim doesn't survive.
Allison, I I read the same fire report you did, and the city's arson investigator said that there's no doubt in his mind that the fire that killed Soto was accidental.
Well, I know.
But who better to make a fire look like an accident than someone who's around it every day? Look, I don't know Davenport personally, but I do know him by reputation, and apparently, he's the real deal.
First guy through the door at a fire, last one out.
Well, of course.
He's got to be the first one through the door.
He's got to make sure his target doesn't get out alive.
You know, I checked into it.
His fire company was the first to arrive at the scene of the fire that killed Wilfredo Soto and the one that killed Charlotte Spencer.
Okay.
Okay, let's say you're right.
Frank Davenport's a contract killer who for the right price will use fire to eliminate a target.
Now, Wilfredo Soto was a man with a price on his head, and Davenport certainly had the means, the expertise, and the opportunity to execute him without raising too many eyebrows.
But what about this woman? What about Charlotte Spencer? According to this article, she was destitute.
A runaway who was squatting in an abandoned building because she had no place else to go.
If Davenport is this high-priced killer for hire, who would have paid his fee to see her dead? I'm not sure yet.
I just know what I saw.
Excuse me.
You're the lady with the D.
A.
's office, right? I'm-I'm Frank Davenport.
I'm the captain here.
Look, one of my guys told me you were looking at some files.
That you seemed interested in that fire that happened at the abandoned building on Jefferson last year.
That's right.
Well, may I ask why the D.
A's office is interested in that particular fire? I'm not really at liberty to say.
Okay.
It's just It's just, you know, I I have a particular interest in that fire.
I mean, my daughter died in that fire.
You didn't know that? Wait.
In-In this file, it says the only victim was a girl - named - Charlotte Spencer.
I know.
She was born Charlotte Davenport.
Spencer's her stepdad's name.
Look, honestly I didn't know Charlotte really at all the last few years of her life, okay? I mean, my split with her mom messed her up pretty good.
She ran away from home when she was 15.
Lived on the streets till the day she died.
The night of the fire, I I I I didn't even realize it was her.
I mean, I saw the body.
I just assumed it was some vagrant.
Some street kid, you know? Anyway, um if you're here today 'cause you have some new information about Charlotte I mean, if there's anything that you know that might help me, help my wife know what happened, I guess I'd be curious to know.
Well, we did have some new information, Captain Davenport, but now that I've looked over the file, I think I'm pretty sure it's bad information.
I I'm pretty sure that we don't have anything important to tell you.
Okay.
I see.
I'm very sorry about your daughter.
Yeah.
Appreciate that.
Okay.
Okay.
Thanks.
You used to tell me everything.
The mayor calls, offers you his job, and I hear about it from Christina? Is this not reason to celebrate? Of course it is.
Of course it is.
So, Christina told you, huh? Mm.
She heard it from Benito.
I acted like I knew.
I figured you were in court and you couldn't use your phone.
Manuel, what's going on? You accepted, didn't you? Not yet.
I wanted to think about it, and I wanted to talk with you.
And Benito.
And Benito, yeah.
You're not gonna make this easy, are you? Lily, if I do it I want to win.
You'll win.
Who'd run against you? Benito, for one.
That's what you're worried about? Benito? Oh.
I love him to death, but he barely kept his seat on the city council last term.
You don't seriously think he could compete with you in a mayoral election? I'm not really worried about losing to him.
I'm I'm just worried about what he'd do to win.
Lily think about it.
Think about everything he knows.
Think about all the things that you've told Christina and Christina's told him.
Everything you went through after Arianna died.
What I went through? My daughter killed herself.
My doctor gave me some pills.
They worked.
And you kept on taking them even after he stopped prescribing them.
And then we realized you had a problem, and you went away and you dealt with it.
And doing that was monumental.
I know that, you know that, and Christina knows it.
And I'm pretty damn sure that Benito knows it; I'm just not sure that he cares.
What are you talking about? He's our friend.
He's your best friend's husband.
And what he lacks in character, he makes up in ruthless ambition.
And you're right: a race between us would be no race at all, so he'd have to distract everyone from his poor record.
He'd have to run a negative campaign.
Lily, he's gonna dredge up our daughter's suicide and he's going to tell everything that we went through in the wake of it, I guarantee it.
Let him.
Then take your hands off me.
What are you doing? L-Lily, where are you going? I'm gonna try and pour this champagne back into the bottle.
Can you not think so loud? Sorry.
I'll try to keep it down.
You know the other night when you said that my dream was meaningless? The one about the girl and the fireman.
We having a conversation? 'Cause as hard as it is falling asleep when you're thinking, it's next to impossible when you're actually talking to me.
I know.
Just, it wasn't really meaningless.
"Meaningless" isn't the right word.
- It was kind of reckless.
- Oh.
Okay, you got it reckless, it is.
No, not the dream.
The dream isn't reckless.
Me.
Chasing a dream, trying to make sense of it.
I was reckless.
In a sense, you were right.
I didn't see the time, I didn't see the place; I should've just left it alone.
Sorry, I'm lost.
What are we talking about? The girl.
The one that I saw the fireman try to save and then saw the fireman, you know, try to kill her.
Well, I met him today.
The fireman is her father.
The fireman who killed her was her father? No, he didn't kill her; nobody killed her.
The fire killed her.
I I mean, the subject of death came up, and he's her father.
You should have seen his face, his eyes.
I mean, he was clearly just destroyed by her loss.
I was just so wrong.
I should've just left well enough alone.
All I did today was dredge up a bunch of awful memories and create some new pain for somebody who's clearly had more than their share.
Hey, do you think it's too late to call our daughter? New Hampshire? Yes.
Come here.
What is what are we doing? I was, um, just hoping that maybe we could have some meaningless dreams together.
Hmm? And then it would be morning, and then we could call our daughter.
Mm-hmm.
Hmm? Give it to me.
Right now, college boy, come on.
Don't make me ask you again.
Good.
Now, uh, put your card back in and, uh, take out everything that's left in your account.
But-But that was everything I had left in my account.
Please, please, I am not lying.
My parents control the account.
They only put a hundred bucks in a week.
Check the receipt if you don't believe me.
It'll show you there's nothing left.
I'm sorry I don't have more.
I'd give it to you if I did.
But my bike's right over there if you want it.
What the hell am I supposed to do with your bike, man? Huh? What am I supposed to do with a hundred bucks and your bike?! How am I supposed to get me and my girlfriend our drugs tonight, huh?! Huh?! Huh?! Answer me, college boy! How am I supposed to get us our drugs?! Eddie, stop! Please! He gave us everything he has.
Let's just take it and go.
Was it something I said? Mm.
It's 3:17 in the morning.
I roll over, there's nobody there on the other side of the bed.
What are you doing, huh? What's going on? That girl the one who died in the fire turns out, she was involved in a robbery at gunpoint.
So I dreamt about it, and then I found it here.
That's her.
That's Charlotte Spencer.
That's the girl who died in the fire.
Can you really be sure? She's been dead over a year now; it'd be kind of hard to arrest her at this point, don't you think? I'm just saying, is this really worth losing sleep over? I mean, even if the girl in that picture is the girl that you've been dreaming about, so what? It doesn't change anything, does it? I mean, is her father any more likely to kill her just because she was a petty criminal? No disrespect, this is all very interesting, I just don't think that it's very meaningful.
Come on, shut that thing down.
Let's get back to bed.
Lily what-what are you doing out of bed? It's the middle of the night.
- Are you a coward? - What? Did I marry a coward? I need to know.
Lily, you're talking nonsense.
Get in bed.
Manuel, as God is my witness, I have never done anything that I was ashamed of.
I I have had some regrets but nothing I'd ever deny.
And up until about six hours ago, I would have said the same thing about you.
Would it really humiliate you if everything I went through were to come out? Is that why you won't run? Because it wouldn't humiliate me.
Our daughter killed herself.
That's just a fact.
And we had to keep on living.
And I, for one, have nothing to hide.
Maybe you're right.
Maybe I am a coward.
But I just can't bear the thought of that man trifling with our memories, using the tragedies we've endured as a weapon against us.
Then you get a weapon.
Manuel.
Benito.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming by.
I have a trial starting in 20 minutes, but I couldn't bear the thought of doing this over the phone.
No problem.
Like I said the other day, the district attorney calls, I jump.
At least for the moment.
I wanted you to be the, um, third to know.
After a great deal of consideration, I've decided to accept the mayor's endorsement.
I'll announce my candidacy tomorrow.
Hmm.
I'm surprised, Manuel.
I've always known you to be a thoughtful man.
A careful man.
I don't sense you've been very thoughtful or careful about this decision.
And what about Lily? You honestly think that she's up for this? You said it yourself the other day.
This could be all very unseemly.
I appreciate your concern, Benito, but I've learned to never underestimate my wife.
I think she'll do just fine.
And besides, we're friends.
And I know that we're both committed to running campaigns that focus strictly on the issues.
- Absolutely.
Of course.
- Good.
Then it's hard to imagine that, uh, Lily or Christina will have anything to worry about.
Christina? Worried? Let me tell you a secret.
My Christina's a bit of a ham.
I think she's actually gonna enjoy the whole thing.
Well, good for her.
You know, I'm actually jealous of our wives.
The way they've come to depend on each other.
Lily confiding her deepest secrets to Christina, and vice versa.
Oh, my goodness.
The district attorney is a card player.
Fine.
I'm gonna call your bluff and raise you four months of falsified prescriptions and six months at Betty Ford.
And I'm not even gonna mention your daughter.
Very well.
And I'll see you with $25,000 of municipal funds that paid for an abortion and hush money for a what did you call her a campaign aide? Spoke with her last night.
Lovely young lady.
Very articulate.
Anyway I'm due in court.
Just wanted to share the good news with you.
The hell you think you're doing?! Mr.
Foley, sorry.
I didn't think you were home.
Frank Davenport, Engine Company 55.
You want to tell me why you're in my basement? We got a call there might be a gas leak in this house.
I mean, I knocked, no one answered.
So I figured, under the circumstances, I should get inside, have a look.
You guys do that? Just break into someone's home? Well, when we smell gas.
What's in the container? Oh, it's, uh, it's just water.
You know, run it along the pipes.
If it bubbles, we know there's a leak.
Doesn't smell like water.
Here.
See for yourself.
Allison.
Can I help you? Sorry, sir.
I didn't realize you were in the middle of something.
No, it's all right.
We might be in here for a while, though.
Is it urgent? I think it might be.
His name is Aaron Foley.
He was about to be indicted on corruption and embezzlement charges.
He was killed when he came upon an intruder in his basement.
Somebody was trying to burn down his house.
I think that somebody was Frank Davenport.
But, Allison, we can't prove that.
Well, actually, I think we can.
When the police showed up at Foley's basement, they found the killer's DNA.
There was blood on the floor.
Foley had skin under his fingernails.
Of course, nobody connected it with Davenport.
He's a fireman, he's a hero.
But when he realized that his daughter had been caught on tape robbing that man, he knew it was just a matter of time before the police arrested her.
And when they did, her DNA would go into the system.
And it would be compared to all the DNA samples that we find in all the unsolved crimes in our file, and the Foley murder would come up.
It would be a slightly imperfect match.
It would be the kind of match you get when you got the right family but the wrong family member.
Familial DNA.
That's why he killed his daughter.
He had to.
With her out-of-control life, he knew it was only a matter of time before she led us to him.
Now what do we do about it? What do you mean? Davenport's a firefighter with a record of distinguished service.
I can't compel him to give us a DNA sample just on your say-so.
So can't you just have him followed? Come on.
He'Il-He'll throw something away with his DNA on it.
A soda can, a plastic utensil.
Allison, the firefighter's union would crucify me if they knew I was tailing one of their own without probable cause.
Not to mention that any decent defense attorney would have a field day in court if we tried to go to trial with a DNA sample that we snuck onto the record.
He killed his own daughter.
I know.
I know you believe that, and I'm inclined to think you're right.
But at the moment, we just can't prove it.
I'm sorry.
Hello? Mrs.
Spencer? Hello.
My name is Allison Dubois.
I'm with the district attorney's office.
I was hoping to speak with you about your daughter Charlotte.
You're telling me you think my ex murdered my daughter? Our daughter? I'm telling you, I think your ex-husband made himself available to people with money who wanted someone done away with.
Yes.
I don't think he did it often, but I think when he did it, he was very well-paid.
Does any of this make sense? Does any of it ring any kind of bells? Is that a serious question? This house.
Is this the house the two of you shared? He gave it to me in the divorce.
Why? Is this the house of a city worker? A fireman? What is it you want? I need something of Charlotte's.
Maybe something that you saved.
Some of her old clothing or maybe an old toy or anything that could possibly have her DNA left on it.
It was from her first haircut.
Frank Davenport was arrested today in connection with the unsolved murder of Aaron Foley, a union leader accused of corruption.
In exchange for a plea bargain, Davenport will testify that he was hired to kill Wilfredo Soto by accused drug trafficker Javier De La Vega.
On the heels of this stunning development, District Attorney Manuel Devalos, who has long sought a conviction against De La Vega, made a surprise announcement.
I am humbled by the mayor's endorsement, and I am honored to ask the people of this great city to choose me to fill his shoes.
Mr.
Devalos! - Mr.
District Attorney? - Mr.
District Attorney? Mr.
District Attorney, do you have any comment? Now, this one's almost done.
She's in college.
The ones you're supposed to be looking in on are in the other room.
Seems like every time I turn around, someone's moving on with their life.
Ariel's at college.
Devalos is running for mayor.
# Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.
# That's the way of the world, my dear.
Hey, you know, if Devalos does become mayor, I may not have a job.
Why do you say that? Well, because, if he's mayor, he's not gonna have any use for me.
And who's to say the next D.
A.
is gonna want to have me around? I mean, I'm not a lawyer.
Let's recap.
You just solved a series of unsolved murders and put a contract killer, who passed himself off as a hero, behind bars.
And now, filled with a sense of achievement and accomplishment, you've decided to stare into your daughter's unoccupied room and muse about all the things that could go wrong with your life.
Allison, you're an inspiration to manic depressives everywhere.
I want to go back to school.
I want to get my law degree.
I'Il-I'll just do it a little bit at a time.
I know full-time doesn't makes sense, but I want to go back to school.
Will you marry me? We are married.
Then I suppose you can go.
Can we go to bed first? This is such an easy yes.