"What have we got, Frank?" "One dead woman, identity unknown." "Two fires in two days, both warehouses." "Both containing burnt corpses." " Any witnesses?" " Too many." "Everybody saw something, nobody saw anything." "Watch your step." " Body's over here." "She's not pretty." " I haven't seen a pretty one yet." "Her arms..." "She was probably killed before the fire." "Maybe in the warehouse or some place else." " We don't know that." " It's an educated guess." "Based on what, Mike?" "The position of her arms." "Muscles contract from heat." "If you're alive and you get caught by a fire you instinctively turn away, curl up... to protect yourself." " Let's see what the ME has to say." " The fire started here." "It's a flammable liquid, probably gasoline." " He used trailers." " What the hell are trailers?" "Basically a fuse." "Looks like he used several rolls of toilet paper." "Same MO as the first fire." "She looks like a saint." "This saint burned in the fires of hell." "Get that back looked at." "My brother lost his cartilage playing for the Colts." "Can't move without a walker." " Thanks for the encouragement." " What's the corpse got to say?" "There's an indentation to the skull." "Cylindrical in shape, the size of a quarter." "Also one on the forearm, two on the shoulder." " Defending herself?" " Consistent with that." " How old is she?" " Young." " How young?" " 15, 16." " You sure?" " I'm sure." "Why?" "The victim of the first fire was about the same age." " Did this blow to the skull kill her?" " It could have, yeah." " Did it?" " I don't know." "She's cooked like a hotdog." "It's not enough to pinpoint time and cause." " How about a hunch." " Unofficial?" "She was hit with a hammer." "What's that, Kay? "War and Peace"?" ""Crime and Punishment"?" ""How Men Love Women Who Love Peter Pan"?" "What I got, Munch, is the textbook that contains the answers to the questions that will be asked in the sergeant's exam, which, in case you've forgotten, is the day after tomorrow." "You're studying?" "Call me compulsive, but yes, I'm studying." "Odds are stacking up against you, Munch." "The CW is Howard is gonna whip your butt, then you're gonna owe me and everybody else in the squad room a whole lotta glue." "Like Napoleon before me, I vow that I will ace the sergeant's exam." "Tim, what's up?" "Not up, it's out, my back." "I read about this experiment, about people with back pains, and they split the patients into three groups - one went to doctors, another group went to chiropractors, another did nothing." "And you know who did the best, statistically speaking?" " Nothing worked the best." " What do you mean "nothing"?" "Nothing, just doing nothing." "Going about your normal life." "That's ridiculous, Munch." "I'm going about my normal life and it's killing me." " That's what the report says." " The report lies." "But why?" "Who's behind this big lie?" "Doctors and chiropractors have a lobby." "Who lobbies for nothing?" "Well, you do, Munch." "Every day and in every way, you just lobby for nothing." " Oh, Kay..." " What?" " Are you really gonna memorise that?" " I'm trying." "Let Zithead know that I'm looking for him." "Sometime this year would be good." "Right." "Mike Kellerman, uh-huh." "Right." " Zithead, huh?" " You believe in paying off informants?" " No, absolutely not." " You have an informant?" "I know a couple of people who know things, and they expect to be paid." " I can't condone it." " I'm asking for a loan." "There's someone burning teenagers to death in warehouses?" "It would appear so, sir." "Kellerman, is the guy a professional?" "Professionals don't kill on purpose." "So, just who are we looking for?" "Maybe someone obsessed with fire." "The image of fire, the idea of fire." "Someone maybe with fire-fighting in his background." "A father, uncle..." "Whoa!" "Hang on." "Let's just stick to the facts here." "Someone killed Mark Landry, someone killed this girl." "But Landry was killed by a fire." "This girl was killed first, then dumped in the fire." "The two fires could be unrelated." "So the way in which they were set is a coincidence?" " Yes." " Yeah, Bayliss." "Well, I tend not to believe in coincidences." "Great..." "Thank you." "OK..." "The ME lab matched the teeth from the body in the second warehouse to a missing person's report, and it is a Bonnie Nash, 313 Putnam Drive." " Talk to the family." " OK." " Let's go." " That's OK." "You don't have to come." "Excuse me?" "We can handle this." "How many times you figure we've done this, Frank?" " What?" "Deliver the bad news?" " Yeah." "How many times have we gone to someone's house and said," ""Excuse me, we're sorry, but..." ""your mother is dead, your daughter is dead," ""your uncle is dead"?" "I don't know." "We've been working together for three years, right?" "Mm-hm." "So you figure twice a month, that's... 72 times, right?" "Yeah, but I've been in the unit for seven years, so for me it's more like..." "a hundred and sixty-eight times." "168 times you had to knock on somebody's door and tell them that a loved one's dead?" "Yeah." "It didn't used to be like that." "You ever see "I Love Lucy" on Nickelodeon?" "No." " "The Dick Van Dyke Show"?" " No." "People weren't so violent back then." "There wasn't so much killing." "The shows are a reflection of the times." "Mm-hm." "This is the Fifties you're talking about?" "Yeah, Fifties, early Sixties." "Did any of these shows feature guys in white sheets burning crosses and lynching people on their front lawns?" " Um..." "No, not that I recall." " Mm-hm." " It's your turn." " Nice try." "No, two days ago, the Uptons." "Who had to tell them that their 8-year-old son had been found in a dumpster with his hands and feet cut off?" "That was me, Frank." "It's your turn." " Hey!" " Hey yourself." " What are you doing here?" " Looking for Zithead." "You seen him?" "No." "Two brews." " None of this makes any sense." " What?" "You." "This." "Why you waitress here." "You work all day at the lab." "That's my job." "When I clock out, I leave it behind." "This is fun, Mike." "I serve a few drinks and every once in a while they let me get up on that stage and sing." "Annie, this is only something an ex-husband would tell an ex-wife, but you can't sing." " Neither can you." "That didn't stop you." " What?" "You remember that night up at the Cat's Eye?" "You got up on stage and belted your own X-rated version of "My Way"." "But I was brilliant." "They have no sense of humour at the Cat's Eye." "I may make a fool of myself, but at least I still take risks." "What?" "I take risks." "I go into burning buildings." " Yeah, after the fire's out." " Thanks!" "I need you criticising me!" "I got two warehouses burned to the ground and no clue who torched them." "I got two very dead bodies and no clue who killed them." "I got Detective Frank Pembleton making my life miserable." " These Homicide guys are really smart." " Hey... so are you." " Yeah?" " Yeah." " Then how come you left me?" " What?" "How come you left me?" " Your smoking drove me crazy." " I'm trying to quit." "Again?" "I got a great idea." "Let me take you out to breakfast." "We'll go to Scunny's Place, and have taquitos with extra hot sauce?" " I'd love to... but I can't." " Come on." "Take a risk." " I'm waiting for Ivan." " Oh..." "Ivan." " Order another beer." "It's on me." " OK." "How do you eat that crap for breakfast?" "You're sweating." "Of course I'm sweating, Zithead, I'm eating chilli peppers." "This is hot." "You shouldn't sweat while you're eating." "That's not healthy." "Are we gonna talk about my health or what you know about these fires?" " I don't know anything." " You don't know anything?" "If they were profit jobs, then I'd know something." "You've got a high opinion of yourself, don't you, Zithead?" "Two kids died in those fires." "That was unprofessional." "That's not right." "Look, Zithead, you said you had something for me." "I do." "Not about the fires, per se, but a buddy of mine told me a story." "A story about a guy who walks into my buddy's gas station and buys five gallons of gasoline, regular." "My friend goes to take a leak, notices that someone has stolen all six rolls of his toilet paper." " You got a description on this guy?" " Male, white, mid-30s, glasses..." "Wearing a tie and coat." "Nothing fancy, strictly Sears." "Anything else?" "He told my buddy, in passing, that he was a chemist." "A chemist." "Shared an interest in arson folklore." " Why are you so good to me, Zithead?" " Because you pay me." "Hey, good morning." " Good morning." " What have you been up to?" "I've been talking to Bonnie Nash's friends and associates." "What about you?" " Just getting some information?" " What kind?" "Confirmation, actually." "Fire related." "So, how did it go notifying Bonnie Nash's parents?" "I'm not sure they were convinced her death was a bad thing." "Confirmation of what?" " Good morning." " Morning." "You have good news for me this morning, I hope." "Bonnie Nash came down to Fell's Point around 6:00 on Saturday." "Any reason she chose Fell's Point?" "She wanted to get her nipple pierced." "Any connection to Mark Landry?" "They lived in different neighbourhoods." "I interviewed her teachers, classmates, relatives, boyfriends, counsellors..." "Bonnie was a wild girl, not Landry's type." "Keep looking." "There's gotta be a hook in there." "Unless our guy just likes killing teenagers." "I got a good lead that tells me our suspect is a white male, wearing glasses and a cheap suit." " What kind of lead?" " An informant." "A 100 percent reliable informant who tells me our guy is a chemist." "Chemist?" "Well, see where it leads you." " Where's Bayliss?" " The emergency room." "His back." "Well, can you two work together?" "Assemble the pieces of our puzzle?" "Of course you can." "Frank, try and appeal for help on TV." "Someone must have seen something." "There's always someone." "All right, we're back from commercial in five... four... three... two..." "A series of arson fires has ravaged two downtown warehouses in two days." "The fires have also claimed the lives of two Baltimore youths." "'With us is Frank Pembleton, who is in charge of the investigation." "'Can you tell us anything about the case?" "'" "Er..." "Yes, um..." "Er... both warehouses were downtown." "Both victims were teenagers and we're, er... we don't wanna see that happen again, obviously." "'So if anyone saw anything in the vicinity 'of either of the two fires that might be helpful, 'please give us a ring down at the, er..." "Baltimore Homicide Unit.'" "Frank, can I have your autograph, please?" "You were magnificent, Frank." "My heart damn near burst with pride." " Now, just tell me you found the killer." " I've not yet found the killer." "This chemist angle is getting me nowhere." "I've run checks on arsonists with degrees in chemistry, arsonists who have worked anywhere near chemicals and convicted murderers with an interest in chemicals." "I've done everything but call Timothy Leary." "Have you considered the possibility that this guy lied about being a chemist?" " Homicide." "Pembleton." " Did you find the gasoline can?" "You're the guy who called me about the first fire, right?" "'I can't believe this freak is going around killing kids." "'I got kids." "This is really upsetting to me.'" "How come I never heard about the gas can?" "'We don't know where to call you.'" "You could have mentioned on the news how I helped out." "Well, we don't like to give away all our information." "Listen, why don't you come on down and talk to me?" " 'I can't!" "'" " Why?" "I'd just rather not, OK?" "Listen, I've got something that might help you catch this creep." "He got into a blue van." "A blue van?" "Where?" "When?" "'The first fire." "I saw that guy toss the gas can and drive off in the van.'" " Can you describe this van?" " It was blue." "A van." "'Licence plates?" "Make?" "Model?" "'" "Windows?" "No windows?" " It had a bumper sticker." " 'What did it say?" "'" "It was dark." "I don't know." "I don't read bumper stickers." "They're moronic." "Listen, I gotta go." "Hey..." "I got him." "No one's home." " What now?" " We wait." "Nah." "No thanks, I quit." " Since when?" " Since an hour ago." "A little willpower is all it takes." "Every puff is a tiny defeat, a display of weakness." "Oh..." "What do you do for fun, Frank?" "Define "fun"." "It's when you do something exciting, maybe dangerous, hoping that you'll feel really good before it's over." " You mean work?" " No." "I mean... sucking unfiltered Camels until you get headaches, and snagging a 50 pound marlin on the line, and guzzling Wild Turkey until you puke." "Or running around the block all night, and shooting pool for money against mentally defective bikers." " I don't have time for fun." " You've gotta believe in something." "Well, you can't believe in fun." "That's not a faith." "Yeah?" "Fun is my god, Frank." "I worship fun." "I live for fun." "And when I die, I hope I'm having fun." "Like that upstate car dealer, Gallard." "He had a heart attack while nailing his beautiful young mistress." "He came and went." "Now that's the way to die." "Smoke a cigarette, please?" " Arthur Anderson?" "This your residence?" " Yes." "Detective Pembleton, Detective Kellerman, Baltimore City Police." " Yes?" " You made a phone call from here." " To the police." "To me, actually." " No." " Anybody else live here?" " No." " Can we come in and talk?" " Shouldn't you read me my rights?" "Normally that's just if you're under arrest." "What have we got here?" "No wonder our anonymous Good Samaritan won't come in, he's a burglar." " Hey." " Hang on..." "Nothing on the prints from the burglary." "He wore gloves." "I ran a check on burglaries in the vicinity of the first fire." "That night, a computer warehouse down the block was knocked off." "I'll put a teletype out on blue vans with stickers." "Assuming this blue van actually exists." "You're not listening, Kay." "I'm talking about the stress of failure." "The kind that will crash down on you if you study too hard and flunk the exam." " I'm not gonna flunk." " How do you know?" " I know." " But how do you know?" "I just know." "I've got keen instincts, remember?" "Hey, Tim, how's the back?" "The doctor says I have a degenerative disc." "Can you believe that?" "Degenerative." " Yeah, where is it?" " Where do you think?" "In my back." "This friend of mine, he got pains in his arms." "Turned out it was a degenerative disc in his neck." " Oh..." " I had that." " You did?" " Yep." " It went away?" " Yes." " Really?" " Well... no, not really." "What I had was a degenerate disc." "A degenerate disc, Munch?" "Yeah." "You see, every time a pretty girl walked by, my neck would move like this..." "completely and involuntarily." " It cured when I matured." " When did that happen?" "I must have missed it." "You guys think this is funny, but this is no joke." "Degenerative means that it is degenerating." "It will get worse." "Only one thing in this world is certain..." "Two things are certain - sex is fun and sex will break your heart." "OK then, three certain things." "So what's the third?" "Various pieces of our body get worse." "It's the human condition." "Ha!" " Patrol car just called this in." " Hang on." "OK, we got a blue van." "Call you back." " No." " No?" "No, I don't know yet who killed Mark Landry or Bonnie Nash, nor do I know how their deaths are related." "But I've got my crack detectives on it." "You can assure Barnfather I'll have answers within the hour." "Days." "Months." "Maybe even years." " I'll pass your reassurances on to him." " Good." "But that's not why I'm here." "Why did you come down here?" "To tell you that I've gotten Barnfather to agree to your taking on a new detective." "Great." "His only condition, of course, is that you close this case." "Ah..." "That's blackmail." "I've heard his promises before." "Yeah, but this time I've gotten it in writing." " How did you get it?" " I am good." " How..." " I'm very good." "She's great!" "They camp in different places, the neighbours complain, then they go." " Who's it registered to?" " A Miss Candy Jacobs." "Does this Miss Candy Jacobs have a record?" "Pandering and solicitation." "This ain't the one." "Let's check it out anyway." "These Volkswagens got good suspension." " Anyone naked?" " Hey!" " You found a whorehouse?" " On wheels." "It's kind of a Good Humor truck for sex." "I wonder if they ring a bell." "Am I to understand that we've got nowhere in this investigation?" "Half the city is burning down and we've gotten nowhere." " Frank?" " Um..." " Bayliss?" " Er..." " Start over." " What?" "Start over." "You've missed something." "Get on it." "Start over?" "Start over where?" "The scene of the first fire." "There's nothing here." "There's no one here." "I gotta sit down." " I thought you were better." " I was." "Now I'm not." "Something changed." "Things do." "So what are we looking for exactly?" "Ghosts." " Excuse me, can I get a hand here?" " Come on." "How you doing, folks?" "We're from the Baltimore City Police." "We'd like to ask you about the fire across the street a couple of nights ago." "What we know will cost you." " What do you know?" " Ask Mrs Rosen." "She was yakking about some good looking guy." " Where's Mrs Rosen?" " Back there." " Mrs Rosen?" " She's not here." " Tim, check it out." " What?" " Check it out." " I can't." " Why not?" " My back." " Your back?" " Yeah, my back." "Kellerman." "You're the primary, Pembleton, or so you keep insisting." "Mrs Rosen?" "I'm Frank Pembleton." "I'm a police officer." "I'd like to ask you a few questions, then I'll be gone." "Did you see the fire across the street a couple of nights ago?" "Did you notice a blue van anywhere near the fire before or after?" " You leave Mr Robb alone." " Who's Mr Robb?" "Does Mr Robb have a blue van?" "He earned it with his own money." "Told me so himself." "Beautiful blue van." "He told you this the night of the fire?" "He took me for a ride." "Oh..." "Mr Robb took you for a ride in his blue van." "Did he say anything?" "Did he tell you anything about himself?" "He admired my house." "Said it was as beautiful as Monticello." "Thank you very much." "Do you know how many vans were registered in the past 20 years?" "Yeah, but how many could be registered to a Mr Robb?" "Patience is the key to life." "You bring crystals to work?" "Chant for inner peace?" "I suppose an action guy like you finds it hard to just sit and concentrate." "An action guy like you would rather run in and out of fires, wearing nifty outfits." "He's like this, Mike." "Ignore him." " I want a cigarette." " You can't have one." " Give me a cigarette." " You don't want one." "You're playing a game." "You're testing your self-discipline." "If you cave in, you'll hate yourself." "I don't wanna see that." " Can I have a coffee?" "Is that allowed?" " Yes." " So how's Mary?" " Fine." "Hey, how pregnant is she, anyway?" " Two months." " Can you hear a heartbeat yet?" " Yes." " Wow." "You must be excited, huh?" " Yes." "You don't sound excited." "I said I'm excited." "Oh, the other day when you told me it sounded like you were announcing the end of the world." "Well, what am I supposed to do?" "Jump up and sing?" "Click my heels, twirl an umbrella, pass out Cuban cigars?" "Yeah, a Cohiba would be nice." " How's your back?" " Fine, thank you, Frank." " You know what I hate?" " No, but I'm sure you'll tell us." "I hate people who think they know what's best for other people." "I hate people who look down on people who can't control every little feeling." "I hate people who sit around judging other people." " Anything else?" " No, that about covers it." "OK, according to our ever vigilant DMV we have a Mr Gavin Robb who lives at 2025 Gough Street and owns a 1985 Ford van." " 2025 Gough." " Yeah." "Can I get a hand?" "Thanks." "Don't forget, Kay, my money's on you, babe." "Can I help you?" " Gavin Robb?" " Yes." "We're from the Baltimore City Police." "Call off the dog." " Attila's harmless." " All the same, call the dog off." "Attila!" "Good boy." "Can you come downtown and answer some questions?" "What about?" "It would really be much better if we discussed that downtown." " How long you taught at Polk High?" " Four years." " Chemistry?" " Correct." "What were you doing driving in your van Tuesday night?" "Who says I was driving in my van?" " You know Mrs Rosen, lives on Glover?" " Sure." "I know her." "How did you meet her?" "I saw her trying to get her shopping cart right side up." "It had fallen over." "So I stopped and helped." "So you were driving your van Tuesday night?" "I drive in my van a lot of nights." "Is that against the law?" "I don't think so." "Frank, maybe we've got the wrong guy here." " Let's talk about Bonnie Nash." " I didn't know her." "Well, she was in your chemistry class, right?" "Last year." "Last year she was in my chemistry class." "I get a lot of kids passing through my life." "You didn't maybe have a crush on Bonnie?" "You didn't maybe get a little carried away with your affections?" "Maybe she said that she was gonna tell someone." "Maybe her parents?" "The school principal?" "I said no, Detective." "You can keep asking the same question but the answer's not going to change." " Tells us more about Mrs Rosen." " She's crazy." " Correct." " I feel sorry for crazy people." "So do I. That's why I helped her." "More people should be like you, willing to help the disenfranchised." "If you don't, the problem won't get better." "You two want to talk about mental health, do it when I'm done, OK?" " Jeez, Frank, we're just talking." " Heads or tails?" " What?" " Head or tails?" "Heads." "You win." "I'm going to grab a smoke." "Flipping the coin, Frank." "Nice touch." "He's gonna lose this guy." "This is that good cop-bad cop thing, right?" "You're smart, but mistaken." "How so?" "He's not the bad cop." "I am." "He's the good cop, on top of the job." "Me, I'm just an arson guy." "Homicide is not my expertise." " We can't be an expert on everything." " True enough." "Your dog, Attila." "How long you had him?" " Eight years." " I've had dogs myself." " It's funny how attached you get." " OK, I'm gonna get a pill." "Um..." "Get either of you guys anything?" "Me?" "No." "But thanks." "You're welcome." "He's not an animal lover." "To me, the hardest part of these fires was finding that dog." " What dog?" " In the first fire." "A street dog." "A shepherd-terrier mix." "Attila's size." "When I think how painfully that dog must have died." "Do you really think I had something to do with these fires?" "Gavin, you don't have to convince me." "It's the good cop I'd worry about." "'Wanna know a trade secret?" "'No one expects any honest answers here.'" "A good cop expects you to lie." "Lying digs you in deeper." " If I'm lying." " Everybody lies." "When a good cop asks you about that fire, do you think he expects you to say," ""Well, Detective, funny you should ask." ""I carried in a can of gasoline and a few rolls of toilet paper" ""so I could burn up a dead body."" " Are you so stupid, you would say that?" " No." "Of course not." "That's my point." "A good cop is like a good lawyer." "He's not gonna ask you a question he doesn't know the answer to." "OK, before Detectives Pembleton and Bayliss get back, let's review what we know and don't know so you can go home and make sure Attila's got his puppy chow, OK?" " Sure." "Fine." " OK." "The good cop knows you were driving your blue van at the scene of the fire." "Says Mrs Rosen... who's crazy." "True." "Good point." "Not much of a witness." "On the other hand, you've got a blue van, and the blue van has a nice big bumper sticker." "People tend to notice nice big bumper stickers." "Who?" "On the other hand, lots of people got blue vans." "Lots of people have bumper stickers." "You didn't know Mark Landry, did you?" " No." "Who's he?" " The kid who died in the first fire." "OK, just so I've got this straight Bonnie Nash was in your chemistry class, but you don't remember her." " You certainly didn't know her?" " Correct." "OK... we're finished here." "You can go home." " I can?" " 'Yeah, you can.'" "Why did you kill the dog?" "I didn't know the dog was there." "What about Mark Landry?" " I didn't know he was in there." " Then why did you set the first fire?" "To make Bonnie's death look like an accident." "Give me a second." "I'm slow here." "You planned all this out?" "You set the first fire to distract us?" "You looked for empty warehouses to burn?" "I figured if I set the fire with Bonnie's body in it first, you would be more likely to suspect murder." "So I did the first one to make it look like a serial arsonist." " But you only intended to kill Bonnie?" " Correct." " 'Where's the hammer?" "' - 'Ln my basement." "'A carpenter's hammer manufactured by Plumb." "Very reliable.'" "I hit her four times." "How did you get so handy at setting fires?" "Off the Internet." "Where else?" " Why did you kill her?" " That's none of your business." "You see, my private life is my private life." "Would you write a statement, your own words?" "Look..." "I want a lawyer." "I want a lawyer!" "Yeah." "I bet." "Hey, hey, hey!" "It's Sergeant Kay!" "Not so fast." "The results won't be posted for a while." " You aced it, though, right?" " I got a good feeling." "Maybe we should change those odds." "They're so one-sided." "What are you protecting that mook for?" " He never showed." " He never showed?" " You're kidding me?" " No." "I tried to get them to wait but the examiner was a stickler for the rules." "What?" "What?" "What can I say?" "It was a comedy of errors." "There I was, totally prepared to take the sergeant's exam." "After an exhilarating eight hour cram fest, my brain packed with useful facts, I discover one of my socks is missing." "I wanted to wear my yellow striped socks, and one of them was missing." "I don't take exams without my yellow socks." "I went to the landlady's apartment to see if she found the sock in the laundry room, only she's passed out cos of the Beefeaters she poured down her gullet." "Then I go back to my place and I realise I've locked myself out." "And so it went..." "But, er..." "I don't feel bad, because I would have passed." "I was ready." "Psyched." "In the zone." " How did you do, Kay?" " She aced it, Munch." "Hey, now, I've got a good feeling, that's all I'm saying." "Great." "Fabulous news." "Congratulations all around." " Oh, er..." "Munchkin!" " What?" "You owe me some moolah." "I didn't know there was a dog in that fire." "There wasn't." "Here, at Homicide, we're not often outsmarted." "There are no real masterminds out there." "Mostly, we're dealing with people who think they are, if they think at all." " Problem is there's so many of them." " Why did he do it?" "Gavin Robb is a very ordinary chemistry teacher." "But at night, he drives around and he helps homeless people and kills teenagers." "I don't get it." " You don't have to get it." "You sleep better if you don't know." "Give me the where, the what, the when, the how." "Why is a thing we can live without." " You think you can do that?" " I'm not sure I follow you." "Homicide is the elite of the police force." "There is no higher calling." " Are you offering me a job?" " If you're interested." "Are you?" "I'm sorry, Lieutenant." "I think I'll stick where I am." "I'm pretty good at arson." "Thanks anyway." "Are you sampling the supplies?" " Mikey!" " Hi, Dad." " Son, you're not in trouble, are you?" " No." "I was in the neighbourhood." "I thought I'd stop by." "You're looking for a friendly face." "Nah, I thought I'd talk to someone who's had a worse day than me." "My feet hurt." "My arthritis is so bad I can barely work the machine." "The reason I don't retire is I can't afford to." "And you?" "Pain in the ass case." "I heard about them fires." "Kids got burned." "Yeah, kids got burned." "Dad, did you ever want to do something and think you weren't good enough?" "The secret of my success is I never did anything I didn't know I was good at." "Life's too short." "Who needs the extra hassle, right?" "That's right, you know." "Play it close, get through the day, go home in one piece." "Right." "Hey, hey!" " Hey." " Hey!" "You know, maybe I should quit too." "Sorry I missed you on TV, Frank." "I heard you were stellar!" "This damn thing's gonna kill me." "Wanna get a beer?" "Nah." "I should go home, see how Mary's doing, you know." "Is she OK, huh?" "My child is..." "My child..." "My child is, er this big right now." "Very small." "Very helpless." "You wanna know why I'm not celebrating, Tim?" " Yeah." " I'll tell you." "Because I'm scared." "Everywhere I look," "I see a reason not to bring a child into this world." "People setting other people on fire." "People living like animals in the streets." "No one can protect them not even their fathers." "Not even their fathers." "How am I gonna protect my baby, Tim?" "A beer?" "A beer sounds pretty good right about now." "Yeah." "Get a frosty, huh?" "Hey, Lieutenant Giardello still here?" "Yeah, he's in his cave." "Hard at work, glaring at some papers." "Enter."