"You came across the body this morning?" "I thought, my God, what is this?" "It didn't look real to me for a moment." "It looked like a mannequin." "It didn't register right away that I was looking at a dead person." "A man." "What time was this?" "About six o'clock." "I got up early to check on my perennials." "I covered them last night with plastic sheets." "There was a threat of frost in the forecast for overnight." " What time this morning?" "Six o'clock?" " Yeah." "I just said that, didn't I?" " Yeah, you did." " I wanna make sure you have it." "Don't worry." "If she doesn't I do." " Do you know the victim?" " No." " Howard, are you okay?" " Yeah, I'm fine." " You just got real pale suddenly." " Sure did." "Could you just go on with what you were saying?" "I use plastic to cover my rose bushes and Chrysanthemums." "I've been trying to conserve, everyone here in Union Square is recycling." "But the plastic keeps the plants moist." "I wouldn't have used plastic otherwise." "Call yourself an environmentalist?" "Cigarette hanging out of your mouth..." "You know how many toxins are in those cigarettes?" "Go on!" "Suck it in!" "4,000 chemicals in every puff and over 40 of them cause cancer." "You have twice the chances of hitting the heart attack lottery of somebody who doesn't smoke." "And 20 times more chance of getting lung cancer." "You have emphysema." " Chronic bronchitis..." " Come on!" "Cancer of the mouth, of the throat, of the lungs, of the stomach..." "Cataracts, loss of vision, sinus infection..." "Oh, my God, you quit smoking." "You committed this madness without consulting me?" "Are you nuts?" "No, you're selfish." "You ex-smokers are more relentless than AA, or the Moonies, or those born-again vegetarians!" "Well, I'm not gonna let you bully me about this." "I don't wanna hear about how your lungs are pinker than a newborn baby's or how you're free of mucus and phlegm." "It's a bunch of crap and nonsense." "Stop counting the days you go without a cigarette." "Just watch my back." "You're puttin' my life on the line!" "I'll put in for hazard pay." "No, I'm gonna put in for another partner." "Beau!" "Beau, would you..." "We're not finished here." "Oh, man!" "All right, what have we got?" "It's a suicide, Munch." "Or a murder staged to look like a suicide." "You've been doing this for too long." "This is pretty elaborate." "Look at these knots, the way this is rigged." "And she's not a big person." "How did she get that high?" "She was on a horse." "Died with her boots on." " Yippee kay yay yi oh!" " Gentlemen, meet Frank." " We found him a couple of blocks away." " Speeding?" "Be right back, OK?" " Was this music on when you got here?" " Yes, sir." "The country and western music is what killed her." " I don't follow." " You don't?" "Songs like "I'd Be Better Off in a Pine Box"!" " I like country and western." " Sorry to hear that." "What do you get if you play one of those songs backwards?" "What?" "You get your wife, your job, and your dog back." "That was the Lieutenant." "He said since this is a suicide and the squad is shorthanded he wants us to hop over and investigate a suspicious death." " Where?" " Harbor Hospital." "That's not a suspicious death, that's malpractice." "See you, Frank." "Take care, Roy Rogers!" "Yeah." " How you doing?" " All right." "All right." "Who did you see last night at Union Square?" " Can I help you?" " Nope." "But thanks." " Who are you?" " Don Falls." "Public Works Inspector." "I'm taking air quality measurements." " Says who?" " Says the city." "City Council passed the air quality ordinance three years ago." "Every public access building has gotta be tested." "You're now just getting around to it?" "Work order falls in my box yesterday, I come in today." " That's all I know for the paycheck I get." " This is a what?" "It's a fibrous aerosol monitor." "This shows how much dust and fibre is in the air?" " Yeah." "Continuous reading." " Is this good?" "Yeah." "It's reading less than 70." "Any reading less than 70 particles per square millimetre is OK by EPA standards." " So, it's safe to drink my coffee?" " Yeah." "This building isn't so bad." "Cos it's so old." "It's the newer buildings." "The ones built between the Sixties and Seventies." "They wrapped up those buildings tighter than a rubber ball." "Those are your hot potatoes." "Your gas chambers." " But we're safe here." " Oh, yeah." "More than safe." " You'll stop bothering my detectives?" " Me?" "Oh, I'm gone." "I'm history." "This probably doesn't say much for me, but you're about the closest thing I got to a best friend." "And so without further ado, I want you to see my baby." " Your baby?" "Ah, Meldrick!" " She's a beut, huh?" " I think it looks like an angel." " Not just an angel, Crosetti." "It's a high-riser. 427 overhead Cam V-8 with dual holley carbs." "600 horses of power in this baby." "She flies like the Wicked Witch of the West!" " I'm gonna have to move to Nevada." " Oh, let me see." "Where are the doors and the tyres?" "See, this is the petty minor details!" "What you have in your hand is the heart and the soul of the Cobra that I'm building." "That doesn't play with me." "See, when you buy a house, you don't buy a pile of dirt with a toilet on it." "You buy four walls which constitutes a dwelling." "You, if you look very closely, have squat here." "You're making fun of me!" "But what I have there is the foundation of a classic sports car." "What you have on your tie, is ink." "Homicide, Detective Goodwrench." "Ink on my..." "Oh, that's what this was." "Tie." " What's the matter with you?" " I'm OK." "Where's my damn lighter?" " Let me have a light." " I don't have one." " Maybe you do." " I don't." " Check your jacket pocket." " I don't smoke any more." "I know." "But I thought maybe you had a match..." "I can't have lighters or matches on me." "I can't have spicy foods, drink beer or have ashtrays in my house." "OK." "I just thought maybe you had one from before." "I have the patch on." "One of those nicotine reduction systems." "It's gonna wean me off the addiction." "It's my second set." "I was coming off of, what was it?" "You know, like..." "It was three packs of these disgusting things every day." "I feel better." "You know, and..." "I sleep better, Frank." "The things that I eat, the foods that I eat..." "I gotta stay away from the spicy foods and all that, but vegetables, Frank." "Vegetables, they just never tasted so sweet." " I'm gonna get a light in the car." " No." "Stay here." "You sat in the smoking section, you get a light." "Can we have matches?" " Don't worry about it." " No." "Just sit down." "Smoke your cigarette here." "It doesn't bother me." "Just sit down." " Does this bother you?" " No." "I thought the patch took away the urge." "It does, and there's no problem." "Look it." "A-ha!" "Matches." " Oh, great." " Now I don't have the urge." " I don't want the cigarette any more." " No, you do." "Just light the match, light the cigarette." "I can't light the match because it will bring back a very negative..." " And you want me to light the cigarette?" " Yes, please." " Even thought I don't want it?" " For God's sake." "Just light it." "Yes?" "This is you lighting the cigarette and sublimating it through me!" "You're nobody's fool, Frank." " Great." "Tops off a meal, doesn't it?" " You're one sick puppy, you know that?" "Why are cops such big country and western fans?" "Bobbie Sue this, Billy Ray that." "Two-minute stories about how much a dog knows about life." "Morality tales." "Slices of life." "If dogs knew so much about life, they wouldn't hang around with humans." "So what kind of music do you like?" " I don't know." " How could you not know?" " I like Elvis." " Elvis Presley, The King?" " Yes, Munch." " The King has left the planet!" "The man was a god." " The man was a junkie." " They put him on a postage stamp." "They'd put Ted Bundy on a postage stamp if they thought it would sell!" "Patient's name is Howell." "Percy Howell." "14-years-old." "Died an hour ago of a cerebral haemorrhage." "What makes you think it was a murder?" "The haemorrhage is a result of trauma to the skull by a blunt object." " Mugging?" " Probably." " Can we talk to whoever brought him in?" " Ambo didn't bring him in." "The clerk said he just appeared on the waiting room couch." "He walked in under his own steam with a cerebral haemorrhage?" "It's possible." "According to the scan, he sustained the blows to the head a few days ago." "Oh, not another teenager." "Don't old people die around here any more?" "Why would someone get whacked on the noggin and then wait days for treatment?" "Mr Howell, we're very sorry about your loss." "God's will, be done." " Was Percy mugged recently?" " I don't know." "How do you explain the way he came home a few days ago all beat up?" " He didn't." " And you didn't ask?" "In this neighbourhood, people get attacked every day." "That may be true, but we're talking about your son." "Did he, er... complain?" "About anything?" " Pain?" " He said he had a headache." " I gave him Bufferin." " When's the last time you saw him?" "Last night." " He went out with one of his friends." " What's his friend's name?" "I don't know." "He didn't introduce me." "Are you a Jew?" " I'm Jewish, yes." " Mmm." "I can always tell." "Let me get that coffee." "I don't think it was a mugging." "I wonder if it was child abuse." " The father." " What a cold fish, huh?" "I mean, he had no feelings." "Just nothing about his son." "I've never been a father, but how can you have no feelings about your kid?" "You regret never being a daddy?" "I regret everything." "What's happening with you and Doctor Blythe?" "I just..." "I haven't called her lately." " Well, you've been preoccupied." " Yeah." "Went over last night to pick up the last of my things from the old house, cos my wife is moving to California." "She wants to be somewhere where it's always sunny." "She says to me," ""You ruined my life." Like I did it on purpose, right?" "Like, you know, I had a plan when we met, on that first date, to ruin her life." "So, er..." "I'll call District and see if Hal Senior has any priors on child abuse." "Good." "Let's do it." "Let's get this one fast." "Looking good, Gee." "I'd give everything to have a child that size again." "If you want a baby, you gotta get you a new wife." " It's like riding a bike." " I had a wife." "Yeah, well, you know, one dies..." "and you get another one, huh?" "Jim Sinter and I would watch the same football game every weekend." "We'd read the same newspaper, we'd buy our clothes and ties from the same store at the same clearance sale." "Every day when the shift changes we'd pass each other, we'd talk about open cases, being understaffed, our ulcers, sports... 12 hours later, we'd repeat the dance." "Uh-huh." "Every day of those 12 years Jim Sinter was there." "I guess I thought he always would be." "You know, well, it's..." "I don't like... change." " So what is it?" "Sex or money?" " What?" "Somethin' powerful to make you give up smoking." "Either you made a bet, or you're sharing your party favours with a significant other." "Sex and money are the only two things in this world more potent than tobacco." " What are you talkin' about?" " I hear rumours." "Rumours about you and Assistant States Attorney Ed Danvers." "What kind of bet you got going with him?" "I don't have any bet going with him." "Oh!" "So, you went out to dinner and then back to your place, and after a night of hot, steamy, bone rattling, you light a cigarette." "And he gets on your case about the smoking, right?" "C'mon, it's about love." "Right?" " Shows, huh?" " Yeah." "I feel tawdry just thinking about it." "I must be crazy." "Certifiable." "I should go see the Department shrink about it." " Frank?" " What?" "Ed Danvers is an alpha male." "He's a stallion among ponies." "He's a man larger than life itself." " Large." "You mean large as in, er..." " Mm-hm." " Ah..." " Why else would I quit the habit?" "Whoa, whoa!" "We're talking about Ed Danvers, right?" "The midget dweeb?" " C'mon, cut it out." " No, he drives me insane." "Makes me see stars." "I walk around feeling all this sweet pain." "I shouldn't be hearing this." "How do you talk about something like this?" " And he's constant." " Howard!" "I mean, anywhere." "All day, all night." "In the park, in the car, in the movie theatre." "I've had to set some ground rules." "He can't touch me in restaurants or in a church." "Howard, I think you're going too far." "Frank." "Frank." "I was only kidding." "I didn't give up cigarettes for Ed Danvers but for me." " You were kidding?" " Yes." " About everything?" " Yes." "Yeah." "No." " Oh, come on Howard." " Hey, see?" "I guess you'll never know." "Do you know where those Polaroids are?" "This girl wants to talk to someone about the Howell case." "Why don't you sit down, honey?" " I'm going to get some coffee." " Yeah." "Go ahead, it's all right." "You can sit down." "Pretty sweater you got on." "My name is Stanley." "What's your name?" " Anna Prager." " Anna Prager." "Beautiful name." "No, it's not." "It's pretty terrible what happened to Percy, huh?" "Did you come to tell me something about Percy?" "I was up in my room, and I couldn't sleep." "This was the night that Percy was hurt?" "Yeah." " You know what time it was?" " No." "I was supposed to be asleep and then I heard yelling." "I went to the window and saw Percy with another boy." " Do you know the other boy's name?" " No." "Have you seen that other boy around before?" "Yeah." "A lot." "I've seen him with Percy all the time." " He has a car." " What kind of car?" "Red." "This other boy." "Er... did you see his face?" "Sort of." "He had on a hat..." "One of those ones with the funny snap in the front." " Funny snap in the front?" " Yeah." "One of those ones from the old man golfers..." "Er..." "Look at that." " Is that the hat we're talking about?" " Yeah, but it wasn't snapped." "That's me." "I'm a real old man golfer myself." "It wasn't snapped, huh?" "You know what, Anna?" "We're gonna go to another room, and we're gonna look at some pictures of boys, and we're gonna see if we can find the one who was with Percy that night." "I wasn't supposed to say anything." "I know what could happen if that boy came back." "I've seen red cars all around my house." "He must be coming around." "But you came because Percy was your friend?" "Yeah." "I never told him, but..." "I was hoping he'd be my boyfriend." "I understand." "Let's go look at those pictures." "Come on." "Hey, Gee." " Anything on the Union Square murder?" " Had a witness in here yesterday." "All I gotta do is find the killer and hope the witness can ID them." "Well, keep me posted." "The mayor hates the idea that someone got whacked in Union Square." " It scares the tourists." " Wouldn't want that." " Hey, Gee." " Tim." "You look... contemplative today, sir." "Must be that grappa you turned me on to." "I did?" "I hate grappa." "It tastes and smells like kerosene." "I tell you, Bayliss, I had two shots of it last night and for the first time, I actually like having myself for company!" "Everything's empty." " Tim." " Er..." " You took the last Coke, Tim." " I didn't." "Really." "But I can run up to the third floor and get you something." "Do you need a Coke?" "It's all right." "Just give me some money." "You're hung-over." "I'll go." " No." " C'mon, Gee." "I'm willing to run up to the third floor for you and only you." "No." "Then I'd be beholden to you." "I'd owe you." "You make it sound like you're playing chess with death." "Maybe I am." "What the hell is going on here?" "I know you're upset, Al." "I'd be upset too." "I didn't know you hadn't been informed of this asbestos removal." "It didn't seep into the air." "The insulation and fireproofing is still intact." "No money is being spared in the budget on this removal." "This clean up is in strict adherence to Federal guidelines and procedures." "This building would be safe if you didn't remove the asbestos." " I'm gonna make a couple of calls." " Who are you calling?" "We have the makings of a great story here." "I have asbestos flying around here and no one tells the rank and file?" "The men and women who put their lives on the line every day working out of this homicide unit?" "There are no asbestos fibres flying around in the air!" "Let's see what the Baltimore Sun, radio, and local TV stations do with this story!" " It's a non-story, Al." " Oh, it is, huh?" "Is that why the two of you are down here, to tell me how non a non-related story this is?" " What do you want?" " I want something?" "Come on!" "You're cute, but not that cute." "Oh, I'm a heartbreaker!" " Tell me what you want." " What do you want?" "If you didn't want something, you'd have made your phone calls a long time ago." "Right." "I want my people to have chest x-rays and physicals paid for by the city." "I want the information about the asbestos removal given to them." "I want them to be able to make the choice of whether or not to come here while this asbestos removal is going on." "Done." "I want there to be a follow-up every year about this, paid for by the city, for every detective in this department." "Done." "None of the work should proceed until this health issue is resolved." "Hey, I'm on a tight schedule." "I can't afford any delays." "If I hear one air compressor going off, if I see anyone walking up to that top floor, then I will post six of my biggest detectives in front of that exit and seal the place until next spring." "You can't take this personally." "That's what they tell prisoners before they punk 'em." "Are you tryin' to punk me?" " I wouldn't say that to you." " You got us on this one!" "You want an ounce of blood out of us?" "You want some kind of revenge?" "Would that satisfy you?" "An ounce of your blood to satisfy me?" "My Sicilian ancestors believed that revenge is best served cold." "I want you to pray with all your heart, my friend, that if any one of my detectives comes down with asbestos sickness, if any one of those detectives even has a funny cough, then I want you to remember the Sicilian's blood oath " "Ti sotterrerò, my friend." "I will bury you." "Ah, the glamour boys are here." "DeSilva, you thinkin' about movin' in?" " You'd ruin the neighbourhood." " We ran out of room next door." "I don't expect you to be the Welcome Wagon lady, but we made the biggest drug bust in Baltimore history." " Uh-oh." "Get out the body bags!" " Why?" "Because these narcs make a seizure, get a few headlines, next day we gotta clean up three, four bodies - dealers, middlemen, innocent bystanders." " And that's my fault." " It's the law's fault." "Hey Russ, what's up?" " It's the biggest bust in history." " You know what that means." "I'm not bitter." "I can use the overtime." " But just this week." " All right." "Marijuana's illegal cos of William Randolph Hearst." " You mean the Citizen Kane Hearst?" " Yes." "And the DuPonts." "Marijuana's the flowering tops of the hemp plant, which also produces a high quality fibre." "Better than wood fibre." "The Hearsts owned lots of timber." "They would've lost a fortune." "And the DuPonts wanted to introduce a new synthetic to the world, nylon." " To replace hemp rope." " Ah, so then they outlawed the hemp?" "Until World War Two." "Then Japan invaded the Philippines, took over the hemp plantations." "There was a shortage of rope during the war, so American farmers grew hemp." "They made a film, Hemp for Victory." " I saw it." " They showed it to all the 4-H clubs." "Then Hearst, after the war, helps the government get hemp illegal again, which made marijuana illegal again." "Yeah, it's well put but I've heard that Hearst theory before." "How do you explain that marijuana is illegal in most other countries?" "First, it's not a theory." "Second, Hearst had a very far reach." " You really believe that?" " I do." "No wonder you guys can't solve a murder." "Well, I wouldn't solve yours." "All right, so I'll be the primary." "Cool?" " OK." "Why?" " I need the money." "Two hours here, three hours interrogation, three hours of paperwork, four hours for the autopsy." "It's 12 hours at time and a half." " You're a whore." " I'm a man building a Cobra." " Can I make a call?" " Who would you like to call?" "My ride." "I've been here an hour." "As soon as we're through here, we'll get you a ride." "Evan, you own a red Camaro, don't you?" " Yeah." " Do you know Percy Howell?" "No." "We have a witness who saw you with Percy the night he was attacked." " Me?" "Nope." " We have a witness." " I don't care." "I don't know the man." " Evan?" "Do you mean that you don't know the man in the philosophical sense, as in "no man really knows another man", or are you referring to the Biblical sense in like, say, "Lot knew his wife"?" "What's he jagging' on about?" "You're a lying bastard!" "Do you think we're stupid?" "Answer me!" "I don't know." "I don't know you." "You don't know me, or him, or Percy." "Do you know anybody?" " Huh?" " Huh?" "You're a lying liar." "You're just a liar!" "You make me sick!" " You're charged!" " Charged with what?" "Charged with what?" "With being a lying liar, OK?" " You lying piece of detritus!" " I didn't lie." "What is detritus?" "Detective Munch, I'm afraid that we're going to have to subject Mr Hess here to an electrolyte neutron-magnetic scan test." "A what?" "Detective Bolander, I think that's an excellent idea." "A very good idea." "We're going to neutron this little bastard!" "And I can't wait." "You want me to section off a non-smoking area for you two?" "Not just for the two of us, for any non-smokers." "A-ha!" "Where are all these non-smokers?" " If you build it, they will come." " Is that right?" "Where do you suggest I find a space to build this non-nicotine Field of Dreams?" " Would the coffee room suit you?" " You'd give us that?" "Sure." "I'd give you permission to post a notice." "You put up a sign to ban all cigarette smoking in the coffee room." "No, I think that the coffee room is sacred to the guys, Gee, you know?" " You're not as dumb as you look." " Thanks." "Coffee and nicotine, mom and apple pie, hot dogs and mustard, sex and latex..." "Mess with any of the combination of those, you take your life in your hands." "There's a statute from OSHA that mandates that no smoking areas be designated in each and every public working place." "Oh, OSHA?" "All right, there are federal statutes and state statutes and city statutes mandating that people curb their dogs, play their stereos at a reasonable volume, and respect the office of the Presidency." "But who cares about any of that?" "OSHA." "You refuse to enforce a federal law?" "Yes, I do." "I most certainly do." "Gee, sometimes being in command means issuing unpopular orders." "Are you calling me a coward?" " No, sir." " Sure you are." "In so many words, you're saying that I'm too scared to put a cigarette ban in this squad room." "I watched Crosetti try to quit smoking." "Crosetti without smoking is an unnecessary terror." "You may be right, I may be a coward, but you may be right, and needlessly stupid and reckless at the same time." "Now get out of here." "Evan computes as a member of a loosely formed gang called the Zeps." " Think it was them that mugged Percy?" " I don't know." "What'd you say we find out?" "All right, bring him in!" "Mr Hess, according to Federal regulation seven dash seven, dash B, dash point six," "I have to inform you that continued exposure to this machine - the electrolyte neutron-magnetic test scanner - can be lethal." "For your own health, I urge you to answer these questions quickly and truthfully." " Understand?" " But... that's only a copy machine." "Copy machine?" "You know, a machine that makes copies." "Hey, Beau." " Stanley, your ex-wife's on the phone." " Right." "I'll get back to her." "You guys doin' the electrolyte neutron-magnetic test scan?" "Yes." "I don't even wanna be in the building when that thing's turned on, all right?" "Right, Mr Hess, take your right glove off and place your right hand in the designated area." "Let's go." "I don't want to waste time with this thing." " Mr Hess, is your name Evan Hess?" " Yes." "So far, so good." "Do you belong to a gang known as the Zeps?" "Yes." "Very good." "Just keep telling the truth, Evan." " You ready?" " I don't wanna be gamma-rayed, man!" " Do you know who killed Percy Howell?" " Er..." " Come on." " No!" "You can't fool it." " It's the space age." " Keep doing it until he tells the truth." "I have to get outta here cos I can't afford to lose any more of my sperm count." " Yo!" "What?" " I guess we didn't tell you." "There's an 11 percent chance of penile stustification." "Penile..." "Oh, jeez!" "OK..." "OK, OK." "It was Colin, man." "Colin Dietz." "The leader of the Zeps." "He hit Percy with a baseball bat." "Baseball bats." "Weapon of choice of the Nineties." "Cheap, legal and you can get 'em in any sporting goods store." "I can remember when kids used to use baseball bats to hit baseballs with." "Am I gonna die from these neutron rays?" "Oh, no, man." "You're not gonna die from neutron rays because, smart guy, this is a copy machine." "Come on!" "That Union Square killing?" "I just got the address of a bar our suspect frequents." " Dean Foreman." " Great." "Let's go." "Dean Foreman?" "I got a warrant on him for one of my cases." "The Lily murder." "Hey, Howie, there's no way I'm riding with you if I can't smoke." "You're not smoking in the car, Beau." "I'll ride with Kay." "OK?" "Oh, salvation." " It's for you." " What?" "What you doin' man?" "What's it, a diamond engagement ring, some kind of necklace or something?" "Hey, hey!" "That's a genuine Cobra rear view mirror, and look who is behind the wheel!" "Where did you get this?" "I still got some connections, you know?" "Hey!" "Wow." "Man, what can I say?" "Well, you could say..." "You could say you're gonna buy me a round at the Wharf Rat." "Yeah, I could say that." "You could say you're gonna buy me a pack of cigarettes." "I could say I'm buying you one, but I'm gonna bum one for you from somebody else." " You're such a cheap person." " I'm cheap?" " I spent my money on that!" " Where did you get this?" " I'm not gonna tell you!" " OK, one beer." " One beer!" " And a shot." "A shot and a beer." " You get your own cigarettes." " And the cigarettes!" "I want the cigarettes too, you dirty, rotten, son of a..." "I can't partner up with someone who wants to quit smoking." "It's their guilt trip, right?" "I feel like I gotta post bond when I want a cigarette." "When I light one up, I feel Howard's eyes burning a hole through my head, like I abandoned her." "I quit once." "I'll quit again." " Someday for good." " Me too." " I quit for three months once." " Eight months." "Eight months?" "That's impressive." "Eight months?" "Well, not straight, no." "Over the years, I've quit smoking ten times for a total of eight months." " You bought a pack of cigarettes?" " Yeah." "But I threw it away." "Yeah, but you bought a pack." " How'd it feel?" " Great." "And real calm, I said, "A pack of Winstons, please."" "Oh, Winstons!" "Good choice." "Yeah, so I paid for 'em, and I walked out, my heart is just... pounding away, and, you know, my hands are all sweaty, and I opened the pack." "Oh, yeah!" "That little red band on the Winstons that opens the cellophane." "Mm-hm." "Threw the pack away as soon as I opened it, though." "You see?" "That's willpower." "Absolutely." "Then I walked over and I picked 'em up again, cos that package just felt so good in my hands, you know?" "You know how a new pack of cigarettes, how it just lies in the palm of the hand so lightly yet so solidly." "You say what you want about America, but we still make a damn fine pack of cigarettes." "Yeah." "We should stop smoking." " Our partners know what they're doin'." " They do." "Self-righteous bastards!" " They're right to quit." " You're right, they're right." "I quit for three months." "I said to myself, "I got this thing beat"." "Then I go out on this one case standin' in this room with all these burned bodies." "Yeah?" "It was all so quick." "So sudden." "Things come out of the blue." "Wire shorts out." "Family's dead." "Bing!" "Just like that." " It's all random." "Every damn thing." " It is." "I stepped out on the street, after seeing this family burned to death." "I don't know." "I don't know how the cigarette wound up in my mouth, but there it was, all lit up." "Yeah." "Colin Dietz." "You Colin?" "I want you to face the front of this truck." "Turn around, son." "Reach up into the bed of the truck." "You have the right to remain silent." "You have the right to have an attorney." "If you can't afford an attorney, Colin, I'm gonna get you one, all right?" "You understand that?" "You understand?" " He asked you a question!" " I understand!" "Let me ask you somethin' else then." "Percy Howell was what, 14 years old?" "He's not a very big guy physically." "But you and your gang beat him with a baseball bat." "Now why?" "Money?" "How much money did he have on him?" "That's funny to you, isn't it, Colin?" "I wanna try to understand the humour here, son!" "We weren't mugging him, we were making him." "Percy wanted to be a Zep." "He wanted to be in the gang." "So..." "You hit him in the head to see how tough he was?" "Some kind of initiation?" "No." "I hit him with that bat because we're brothers." "Brothers in pain." "Not everyone in this world's born rich, not everyone in this world's smart, but there's one thing we all know, everybody knows pain." "I hit him with that bat to show him that I understand his pain." "I hit him with that bat..." "to show him that I love him." "Well, you killed him." "Get him outta here." "Man, you don't get it, do you?" "Do you?" "Oh, that's cool." "Murder ain't what it used to be." "How about those nicotine patches?" "They work?" " Huh?" " Patches?" "Ah, yes." "Absolutely." "I just remembered." "I got to talk to Frank for a minute." "Why do you have to talk to Frank about?" "Hey, Tim?" " Hi, Frank." "Can I get a cigarette?" " What?" "Just give me a damn cigarette." " Give me a cigarette, Beau." " He's cracking up already." "Look at him." "That's so funny!" "OK..." "Hey, that's him." "That's the guy." "We killed him, you know?" "Yeah, we killed Elvis." "It's just as if we'd taken a gun and put it to his head." "Think so?" "He's just a country boy." "He's looking for some loving you know..." " Like everybody else, he's no different." " Yeah." "We turned him into a bloated, drug-addicted monster." "That's what we do, you know." "The people that we identify with..." "Somebody comes along, and they sing what's in our hearts, and we love them so much for that, that we push them away." "We make them isolate themselves." "And I'm not just talkin' about building yourself a fortress, like Graceland or anything like that." "I'm talking about..." " You know, Elvis got fat." " Yeah." " He got famous, he got fat." " Real fat." "Boy, he ate." "And he ate." "He turned himself into an island, you know?" "Orson Welles, did the same thing." "Brando." "Liz Taylor." "What for, though?" "I mean really, what for?" "For love?" "Is it for love?" "Just the other day, I saw the body of a kid." "Just a teenage kid." "Some other kid killed him with a baseball bat." " Mmm." " Yeah." "The kid lets the other kid hit him with a baseball bat, because the kid just had no love in his life." "Yeah, the bat." "I mean, getting hit with that bat." "Maybe that's the most affection he ever got." " Yeah." " Hmm..." "My wife and I danced to Elvis on our first date." "You did?" "I'd like to have seen that!" " We were hot, we were hot." " Sure." "My ex." "We just got divorced after 23 years of marriage." " That's a long time." " I know." "We loved each other when we were married." "We did." "Yeah." "I really think..." "I mean, I don't..." "I don't know if I remember." "I'm not sure." " Here's to tomorrow!" " Yeah." "# Take my heart" "# Take this ring" "# I give it all to you" "# I give you all eternity..."