" Morning, Sheppard." " Hey." " Bayliss." " Hey." " What brings you here so early?" " Ryland." "The first day of a speedy trial." " Ending with a conviction." " A death sentence." "Any guy who killed two women over the internet deserves to fry." " Which courtroom are we in?" " I don't see it on here." "No courtrooms available?" "What can I tell you?" "Crime is a growth industry." "Cops make more arrests, we've got the same amount of court space." "So we waste a day waiting for another trial to end?" "Or we toss the case back to the assignment judge." "Get a new date." "Hey, Detective." "Nice pants." "We gotta go." "We're trying to close that Belvins murder." "Come on." "See you in a couple weeks." "Morning, Bayliss, Sheppard." "What brings you here so early?" " Luke Ryland." " The internet killer?" "Thought he already went to trial." "Ryland, Ryland, courtroom two." "We've got a courtroom." "We don't have a defendant." " Where's Ryland?" " Jail wagon forgot to bring him over." " Forgot?" " Blame Pre-trial Services." " So have them get him." " OK, but that'll take a few hours." "Well, we gotta go, you know?" "We're this close to closing the Belvins murder case." " Get a new trial date." " See you in a few weeks." " Sorry I'm late." "How's it going?" " It's not." "Why not?" "We've got a courtroom, a judge, a defendant." " What are we missing?" " State's Attorney." " Danvers isn't here?" " No." "He got hung up at another trial." "Your Honour, may I ask how long we're gonna wait for Mr Danvers?" "Not a moment longer." "This court is adjourned." "Defendant will be taken back to pre-trial detention until a new date is set." "Judge Devilbiss, I'd like to point out to the court that today is the 184th day of Mr Ryland's imprisonment without trial." "Hicks Rule states that if a defendant is held for more than 180 days without proceedings, it is a violation of rights." "Based on Maryland v Hicks, I move for the dismissal of all charges." "Barring evidence this defendant waived Hicks, I see no reason not to dismiss." "Defendant is set free." " Wait." "I didn't hear right, did I?" " That son of a bitch got off." "The son of a bitch is going free." "Be seeing you, Detectives." "Damn!" "Ladies and the gentlemen of the jury, during the course of this trial testimony will be given in the form of questions and answers." "Evidence... consists of both questions and answers coupled together..." " Danvers, we gotta talk." " Ssh!" " Ryland walked." " What?" " His lawyer invoked Hicks." " Hicks?" "It hasn't been 180 days." "No, it's been 184." " Mr Danvers?" " Er... yes, Your Honour." "Does your conversation relate to the State of Maryland versus Drell?" "Er..." "No, ma'am." "Then I will ask you to refrain from speaking while I do." "Yes, Judge Aandahl." " This is your damn fault." " My fault?" "You shoulda been in the right courtroom." "I was." "I was prosecuting the Cymeks' murder!" "It's not my fault Aandahl took so long instructing the jury." "It's not my fault the state won't spend the money to hire more prosecutors." "It's not my fault I haven't had a day off in three months." "Stop whining, Danvers!" "You screwed up!" " Tim, relax." " Don't tell me to relax, Rene." " You're the primary on this case." " I know that." "The killer walks free." "You're taking this in your stride." " I'm not." " My office will appeal the ruling." "We might get the Court of Appeals to overlook the Hicks rule." " Meanwhile Ryland's back on the street." " If he kills again, then what?" "The blood of the next woman who dies is on your hands, Danvers!" "Why don't you go close the Belvins murder, you asswipe?" "What are you doing?" "Danvers." "Jeez, you OK?" "You all right, huh?" "What are you, nuts?" "Hey." "Theresa, what are you doing here?" "Why weren't you at the airport?" "You told me flight 105 at 3: 15." " Flight 315 at 1:05, numbskull." " Ah, I am so sorry." " Don't sweat." "How are you, handsome?" " God, it's good to see you." "Dad never told me about his being promoted to captain." "Not a word." "If you hadn't called, I'd have missed the ceremony." " You got it?" " Yeah." "He is gonna be so surprised you're here." "So what have you been up to?" "I put down new linoleum in the kitchen." "Bought a new old car." " Quit the FBI." " What?" "The Bureau was getting hinky with a local murder case." "The greater good didn't seem so great." "I handed in my badge." " What are you doing now?" " Nothing." "Homicide." "Lewis." "Uh-huh." "Yeah." "I got it." " Falsone, you free?" " Yeah." "What have you got?" " Murder in Pigtown." " That's my favourite." "Let's roll." "Billie Lou and I have been married three times each." "We want to keep it small." "Her, me, witnesses and the priest." " The priest?" " Friend of Billie Lou's dad." "She can't be married Catholic if she's been divorced three times." " Annulled three times." " Oh." "That's gotta be a record." "Yes, the woman has been unlucky with men... till now." "Big doings today." "Gee's promotion, Munch's wedding." "I hear Munch asked Gee to be his best man." "I'm glad old Munchkin didn't invite the rest of us to his matrimonial shindig." "Don't get me wrong, I wish him and Billie Lou truckloads of happiness." "But you've been married, you know what I'm talkin' about." "The rabbi or the preacher, whatever, they start talkin' about how these two people should be together and how men and women ought to be two by two." "I'm thinking, "We had a shot at what you call wedded bliss and we blew it."" "Most people we know blew it." "And I look at that couple walking up the aisle and I think to myself," ""They got as much chance of surviving a nuclear holocaust" ""as they do staying happily married."" "Bayliss..." " Bayliss?" " Yeah, Gee." " The big day, huh?" " Yes." "Captain Giardello." "So they tell me." "You look good, Gee." "Gee." "I ever tell you how I got that nickname?" "I was a rookie, eager, naive." "My first day out on the street, I walked onto the crime scene." "The only thing that come out of mouth was, "Gee."" "I remember another rookie who stumbled into my squad room." "Full of innocence." "Full of himself." "Yep." "I watched you grow from a boy to a man, Bayliss." "I watched you do excellent work." "Oh, there were some mistakes." "What are you talking about?" "Ed Danvers." "He's threatening to take you before the Trial Board." " Screw him, the little midget." " No, Bayliss." "No." "On this day, I'm being elevated to captain." "It's a day I've worked hard for." "It's a day I've waited for with great anticipation." "I don't want anything to happen to spoil this day with unpleasantness." "So I'm gonna ask you to apologise to Ed." "I'll put it to you in a request, in the hopes that you'll do me this favour in honour of my promotion." " I can't." " Bayliss..." "I can't, sir." "Then I'll have to withdraw my request, and put it to you in the form of an order." "I refuse." " My order?" " Yes." "I'm gonna give you until this evening to reconsider." "After that the Furies will be unleashed." "Ciao." "You know... seven years ago," "I walked in here with a file box and a lot of idealism." "I had a clear vision of justice, of morality." "And no matter what has happened to me, whatever's happened around me," "I still have that." "Maybe." "But on this job, I've seen people change, sometimes for the worse." "Those that change the most are the ones who don't admit it." "Victim is Johanna Foster McQueen." "Female." "White." "Driver's licence says late 20s." " Johanna?" " Johanna." "Jo mama." " Stabbed at least ten times." " Someone was trying to make a point." "You sure you read her ID right?" "She looks closer to 40." "Here." "Hmm..." "Must have led a rough and tumble life." "Check out these needle marks." "And this." "Goes hand in hand." " Anyone else in the house?" " Nope." " Witnesses?" " Neighbour got nothing but background." "All day, all night, people going in and out." " They?" " Her and her husband, Shane." " Shane McQueen is his name?" " Yeah." "It should be Shane McLowlife." " They do drugs?" " Do drugs, sell drugs." "Was she killed by some dealer Shane screwed over?" "It's too soon to postulate, ma'am." "Thanks for your time." "If you ask me, he murdered her." "Shane." "He's a lowlife, I tell ya." "Postulate?" "Ms McQueen?" " Ms McQueen!" " Yes?" "Baltimore City Police, ma'am." "Can we come in?" "No." "We gotta talk to you about somethin' here." "I don't open the door for nobody." " We need to talk about Johanna." " Go ahead." "Tell me." "It's not what you want screamed through the door." " Is she dead?" " Yes." "OK." "Thanks." "Goodbye." "Ms McQueen, we need to ask you about her death." " She was murdered." " Murdered?" " Yes." " Stupid bitch." " We need you to identify the body." " No." "I'm in a wheelchair." " Maybe your son can come." " Shane's out of town." " Where is he?" " Er..." "Alaska." "Maybe some other relative?" "She's got a sister who teaches in the Catholic school up in Philly." "What's the sister's name?" "Mary-Catherine, I think." "Last name's Foster." "Ms McQueen, do you have idea who might have murdered Johanna?" "Talk to her druggie friends." " We'd like to talk to your son." " Well, like I said, he ain't here." "I'm gonna have to ask you to open this door so we can come in and talk to you." " Look, open up the damn door!" " I got a shotgun in my hand." "We're gonna come back with a warrant and you're gonna let us in." "Get a warrant, then." "Till then get lost." "I'll get us a radio car to keep an eye on Shane in case he takes a powder." " Then we need to get a warrant, pronto." " And someone to eyeball the body." "I'll go back to Johanna's house and look for an address book." "Get a lead on the sister." "¶ I don't need no wheels I don't need no gasoline" "¶ Cos the wind that is blowing Is blowing like a smoke machine" "¶ If I said to you that I was looking For a place to get to" "¶ Cos my neck is broken And my pants ain't gettin' no bigger" "¶ I got a stolen wife And a rhinestone life" "¶ And some good old boys" "¶ I'm writing my will on a $3 bill" "¶ In the evening time ¶" "Sorry about your loss." "We need you to come down and identify the body." "As soon as possible." "Thanks." " Hey." " Hey, I located the sister." "She says she'll drive down right away." "Uh-huh." "And Shane is not at his mama's house." " Maybe he is in Alaska." " Yeah, and I'm the nook of the north." " Hey, Stivers?" " Yeah?" "Got anything on Shane or Johanna McQueen?" "Small-timers." "Use more than they sell." " Any idea where Shane might linger?" " Used to be Cross and Light Streets." "Well, maybe we'll get lucky." "Maybe his habits haven't changed." " Hey, it's the blushing bride!" " Have fun at your wedding." "Thanks, boys." " Mrs Munch." " Mrs Munch." "Billie Lou Munch." "Has a ring to it, huh, baby?" "Actually, my full name now will be" "Lillian Louise Bardeen Cushman Piatrowski McCoy Munch." "Yikes!" "That's gonna be hard to monogram." " Did you sign the papers?" " Right here." " What papers?" " The Church has made me promise to respect her obligation to raise our kids Catholic." " Your kids?" "Well, are you guys?" " No." "So why fight the Vatican, a patriarchy virtually unassailable for 2,000 years?" "Don't get me started about the death of John Paul..." " John." " Yes, dear?" "Hey, partner." "Got a call." "Slam dunk." "Corner boy kills corner boy." "Gets caught holding the gun." "What say we head over Fayette Street and wrap this up?" "No, no." "You go ahead, Rene." "Still stewing about Luke Ryland?" "Me, too." "Gives me the dry heaves knowing a guy like Ryland's on the street." "What can we do, right?" "Except move on to the next case." "Did I say something funny?" "You just sounded like Frank." " The almighty Pembleton." " Yeah." "Yeah, you can't believe how many times" "Frank and I chewed over a case, spat it out, tried to get that nasty taste out of our mouths." "And we'd weigh the value of every life lost." "Tried to figure out what it all really means, this whole life thing." " He was your partner." " Yeah." "He was your best friend." "No, Frank didn't have best friends." "I worked with him for six years, and we spoke maybe two times since he left here." "He quit here once before." "He got on his high horse, rode out of here." "So I thought, you know, he'd come back this time too, but he's really gone for good now." "And you need his advice." " Yeah." " Give him a call." "Huh." "Yeah, maybe I'll call." "I'm sorry I'm not Frank." "I'm sorry I'm not someone you can talk to." "What?" "I can talk to you." "Yeah, I know, but it's different." "I mean, you loved him, didn't you?" "Yeah." "I did." "I loved him." " So you said it was a slam dunk?" " Yep." "Good." "I could use a little righteous justice about this time." "I'll drive." "Frank hated when I drove." "All right." " You're moving to Property Crimes?" " Right." "You're not gonna be in Homicide any more?" "You go where the vacancies are." "Al Giardello out of Homicide." "This is the end of the millennium." "Aren't you gonna miss it, Dad?" "Sure, but..." " They do good work in Property." " What do you mean by that?" "Nothing, nothing." "Just that they'll keep you busy." "You OK?" "It's this uniform." "I'm not used to wearing it." " You better get used to it." " Reminds me of being a patrolman." "I was always so proud seeing you in dress blues." "There's nothing like walking a beat." "I knew every criminal in the neighbourhood on a first-name basis." "Big Sammy, Tony Two-Ties, Carl the Jew." "The shopkeepers." "Old Man Tortelli used to give me that baked bread" "I used to bring home for you and your mama." "It was good times." "Here's to good times." "Here's to these good times." "I ain't seen Shane in days." "You aware of any business transaction that might have gone sour?" " I don't know what you mean." " At Homicide, that's all we care about." "Shane's never gonna win any awards with the Better Business Bureau, so there's a lot of guys might have gone lookin' for him." "Done the wife bodily harm." "She's no prize, neither." "Stealin' drugs, whoring' behind his back." "She's been nailing' his best friend, Teague Ford." " Where does Mr Ford live?" " Over on West Street, Montgomery." "Thank you very much, Mr Richert." "You've been very helpful." "Tell it to my parole officer." "Let's pay Mr Teague Ford a visit." "What kind of name is that, anyway?" "Teague." "Teague." " We gotta go to headquarters." " Why?" " Gee's promotion." " Damn." "It's almost time." " How do I look?" " You look ready." "I feel like a fool." "I think I wanted this promotion because it's there, because Russert and Gaffney got promoted over me, because it's time for black men to rise up." " It's my ego that wants this promotion." " But your heart doesn't." "The higher I go up, the further I get away from the streets." "I know the streets of Baltimore." "The avenues and alleys, every corner." "I don't want the bird's eye view." "You know, at lunch we were waxing nostalgic about the old days." "But Dad, the old days weren't happy or quaint." "This city was poor, broken." "It hated us because of the colour of our skin and that enraged us." "So it burned." "What's changed?" "Even more reason for me to stay on the streets." "I'm needed down there." " So?" " So..." "I'm afraid I'm gonna disappoint a lot of people." "Well, you always do." "But let me tell you something." "I've never been prouder of you than I am right now." " Ain't that a kick in the head?" " What?" "We go to that trouble to rearrange our lives." "We go and buy Gee expensive going-away presents and all, and he ain't going away." "Where I come from that's inconsiderate." " You didn't buy him a present." " Now I'm glad I didn't." "Lewis, Falsone, someone here to see you." "Says she's the sister of the murder victim." "Johanna and I, we were the only two left." "Even though we lived in different cities, we stayed in touch." "We'd talk every single Saturday and she'd come up to visit on holidays." "A year ago April, I had a conference in San Francisco." "Johanna came along." " We had great fun together." " I see." "Sister, what can you tell us about her husband, Shane?" "They've been together about a year." "I haven't met him yet." " Is he here?" "I'd like to talk with him." " We're hoping he's on his way." "Did she ever say anything about her relationship with Shane?" "Only that they were having the usual first-year ups and downs." "I understand they were separated a lot because of his job." "His job?" "He's an architect." "Designs office buildings all over the world." "Hong Kong, Paris." "Alaska?" " What's the matter?" " Nothing." "Can we have a second?" " Meldrick." " Excuse us." "I got a feeling she doesn't know anything about what her sister's been into." " The drugs or anything." " Well, I agree." "It'll be hard to give her the sordid details." "Do we have to?" "Look at her." "She's been living her life serving God." "Doing good works." "Protected." "Do you wanna shatter all that and tell her Johanna was a thieving crack whore?" "I don't wanna, but I gotta." "If she doesn't know anything about her sister, what is she gonna tell us about the murder?" "Lewis, Stivers just called from a crime scene." "Says you might be interested." "Victim's name is Teague Ford." "Teague?" "Damn." " Stabbed to death?" " Yeah." "And she's got the suspect." "Shane McQueen." " We're there." " What about her?" "OK, sister, thank you for coming down." "We got all we need at this point." "Thank you for coming so quick." "We'll keep you posted." "I'll be staying at the convent over at St Stan's until the funeral." "When you talk to my brother-in-law, would you ask him to phone me?" " Yeah." "Uh-huh." " Absolutely." "Thank you, Sister." "I told you we should have told her the truth about her sister, man." "She's gonna find out soon enough." "Let her live a lie a few more hours." " Hey." " Hey." " Hey." " Hey." " It's a shame about Ryland." " Yeah." "Especially knowing how important it is to you." "Your first red ball, your first real case since the beatdown." "I'll see you upstairs, Tim." " Why do you keep doing that?" " Doin' what?" "Bringing up the beatdown every time you get a chance." "Because it happened, Bayliss." "And no amount of wishful thinkin' or good karma is gonna change anything." "You're such an ass." "I'm an..." "You callin' me an ass?" "Yeah." "I didn't kick Ed Danvers down a flight of stairs, did I?" " Hey." "Remember the Felder murder?" " Yeah, yeah." "You didn't want me involved in the investigation, cos you thought that I get a little too wrapped up in certain cases." " That I can't let go of the past!" " You hear of Adena Watson?" "That's this chump's first case." "Deader than dead." "He's still trying to clear it." "You're doing the same thing, Meldrick." "You're not letting go!" " The beatdown is ancient history!" " Let me tell you the difference here." "Sheppard almost got me killed." "That's an ugly fact." "I got a right to my feelings about that." "But you've been around this dump seven years, and you still ain't learned the key to good police which is this..." "Whatever you see, whoever's around you, you keep them away, you keep them at a distance." "But not you." "You come to a crime scene, you wanna put a chalk outline around yourself." "Well, you comin'?" "I really appreciate you taking the time out to do this." " My pleasure, John." "Hello, Billie Lou." " Hello." "Laura Ballard, maid of honour." "You know Al Giardello." "Yes, of course." "Shall we begin?" "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony." "'John Munch and Billie Lou McCoy have come here today 'through the grace of God 'and the blessing of their love for one another." "'They are carried by the love of their families, friends, 'and their commitment will not be shaken." "'Do you, John Munch, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" "'" "'I do.'" "'Do you, Billie Lou McCoy, take this man to be lawfully wedded husband?" "'" "Now repeat after me." "I, John Munch, take you, Billie Lou McCoy, to be my lawfully wedded wife." "'I, John Munch, take you, Billie Lou McCoy, 'to be my lawfully wedded wife.'" "'I, Billy-Lou McCoy, 'take you, John Munch, to be my lawfully wedded husband.'" "I, Billie Lou McCoy, take you, John Munch, to be my lawfully wedded husband." "'To have and to hold, to honour and obey, 'in sickness and in health, from this day forward, till death do us part.'" "'To have and to hold, to honour and obey, 'in sickness and in health, from this day forward, till death do us part.'" "With this ring, I thee wed." "With my body, I thee worship." "And with all my earthly goods, I thee endow." "'Lf anyone can see fit 'why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, 'speak now or forever hold your peace." "'I now pronounce you man and wife.'" "You may kiss the bride, John." "You must be wrong." "My sister is a good soul." "We're not sure how long she's been involved in this nonsense." "Maybe it's only since she married Shane McQueen." "As kids, Johanna and I were like two peas." "How could our lives have ended up so differently?" "How could I not have known about her distress?" "Not have heard it in her voice?" "We spoke every week." "She was probably putting her best foot forward, so you wouldn't worry." "When you love somebody, you want to think the best of 'em." "Yes." "We'll let you be." "Would it be possible for me to see Shane McQueen?" "Er..." "Sister, in all honesty, I don't think you want to put yourself through that." "Johanna loved him." "At least for a while." "They shared a bed, a life." "It might help me to make sense of this if I could meet him, talk a little, offer him my forgiveness." " You want to forgive the man?" " Yes." "Sister, I..." "With all due respect, the man is a piece of crap." "This has less to do with who he is than who I am, with what I believe about the frailty of man, about the love of God." "I'll take you down there, Sister." "Thank you." "I'll get my coat." "Forgiveness." "It's a hell of a concept, huh?" "You should ask Sheppard about that." " The dishes are done." " That sauce was good." "Yeah." "I make a mean pesto." " Where's your sister?" " Oh, she's on the phone." " What do you think?" " It's a domestic squabble." "That couple in there, they don't get along." "Well, I guess I'll be headed home." "So what have you got tomorrow?" "Oh, I take Theresa to the airport, and, well, after that, I'm not sure." "There's only so many times that you can visit the National Aquarium." "Yeah." "Yeah, I know." "So what are you gonna do with yourself?" "Dad, I've spent my entire life trying not to be like you." "Here I am." "You say you belong to the streets." "Well, so do I." " I have to figure out how to get back." " I can help." "Yeah, I know." " Goodnight, Dad." " Night." "Drive carefully." "Get your hands off of me!" "You wait till I get back, you bitch!" "Get off of me!" "I'm gonna kill you, you bitch!" "Hello, Shane." "I'm Mary-Catherine." "Would you mind if I come in?" "Hey, Ryland." "What do you want?" "To warn you." "I'm gonna be watching." "All day." "Every day." "Just waiting for you to screw up." "I hope you like New Orleans." "That's where I'm moving." "I hear the chicks down there are beautiful, friendly... easy." "The best part is, if you don't come along, you can still see everything I'm gonna do on the internet." " Munch." " Meldrick." "Business as usual." "Crappy." "It's your wedding night." "I know." "Wasn't that me next to Billie Lou, saying those two words I've said so many times before, "I do?"" "Those other three times, didn't you spend the night with your bride?" "But in order to break the pattern and avoid divorce," "I figured I'd stay away from her, maybe get a load on." " Somethin' happened." " Astonishing powers of detection." " You had a fight?" " No." "Then what?" "Are we sure he's asleep?" "About six or so weeks ago, I agreed in a moment of imbecility that I wouldn't have sex with Billie Lou until our wedding." "I've been anticipating nightfall with rising expectations." "We get back to our place, we got in bed." " Expectations failed to rise." " Worse." "I'm in the World Series." "Bottom of the ninth." "Bases loaded." "I swing before she pitches the ball." "Ouch." "But you still got two more strikes." "Not at my age." "Pour." "Look what the wind blew in." "How you doin' there, Timmy?" "John, you got a second?" "Seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months, years." "Come take a walk with me." "Keep that warm for me." "She's a grand old building, isn't she?" "Yeah, if you like a leaky roof and a men's room with a backed-up toilet." "Think of the men and women who've walked in and out over the last 85 years." "Not just cops but everybody." "All of 'em with their lives involved in some sort of crime." "Robbery, fraud, missing persons, homicide." "Criminals, victims." "I'm getting a chill." "You know who I started thinking about today?" "Gordon Pratt." "That little weasel who shot Bolander, Felton and Howard?" "Yeah." "What the hell are you thinking about that little scumwad for?" "Well, when he got released," "Pratt was found shot to death and I was put in charge of the investigation." "And a swell job you did too." " I never really closed that case." " That's what I mean." "When somebody shoots three of ours, they deserve an unavenged death." " You really believe that?" " Yes." " You believe that he deserves to die?" " Yes." " And that his murderer should go free?" " Yes." "You know, when I got shot, my whole perception of the universe just completely changed." "But when I shot that homeless guy, that Larry Moss, suddenly I knew what it was like to take another person's life." "Suddenly I was just like the person who killed Adena Watson." "Frank said that I would never be a good homicide detective because I didn't have a killer's instinct." "Frank was wrong." "You know, I always suspected you." " Of what?" " Killing Gordon Pratt." "Why, in God's name, after all this time, you dredge up Gordon Pratt out of the muck?" "I don't know." "Just... came to my mind." "Goodnight, John Boy." "What do you want?" "To tell you... that I'm sorry." "I'm truly sorry for what I've done." "Apology accepted." "OK." "We'll get Luke Ryland, Tim." "Yeah, I know." "Yeah." "These things, they take time and patience." "Of course, being a murder police, I've learned one inescapable truth." "Justice is a bitch." "See ya." "I start my vacation tomorrow." " That's right." "Where you going?" " Paradise Island." "Oh, Jeez, that sounds nice!" "Paradise Island." "Sure sounds a lot nicer than Baltimore." "I start my vacation too." "I'm going to the Towson Mall." "Hey, Ballard, with Terri and Stu gone, we're both gonna need partners." "That's right." "Homicide." "Lewis." "Yeah." "Uh-huh." "All right." "Got it." " Hey, Sheppard, you busy?" " No." "Why?" "I got a murder over on Fourth Avenue." "And what?" "You want applause?" "No, I'm wonderin' if you want to join me on the case." "Be my partner." "That's not funny, Lewis." "I'm bein' serious." "Why is it nobody could tell the difference between me bein' serious and joking'?" " You really want me?" " Not if it's gonna take any more beggin'." " I'm there." "Let's go." " Let's go." "Hey, Lieutenant." "You worked out things with Ed Danvers, right?" "Yeah." "Came to my senses on that one." "Spring cleaning?" "Just gettin' rid of a few things I don't need any more." "It's good in May to sweep things clean." "Yeah." "Let me say something, sir." "This is where I've always wanted to be." "Homicide." "Thinking cops." "Not a gun." "This." "Luke Ryland." "Looks like justice finally caught up with him." "No witnesses, no fingerprints, no shell casings." "No clues of any kind, no leads of any sort." "Whoever killed Ryland sure knew what he was doing." " He or she." " Yeah." "If I could just find this thing, I could go home." " You won't find what you're looking for." " What?" "Why not?" " It's a mystery." " Huh?" "Life is a mystery." "Just accept it." "Yeah, well, that's what's wrong with this job." "It ain't got nothin' to do with life."