Post by CC Fan on Jun 1, 2005 0:40:01 GMT -5
Recap Provided By Cellogal
August 9, 1987
City park. Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” accompanies a group of young men playing basketball. A car pulls up and lingers suspiciously. Meanwhile, on a nearby swing set, a little girl asks her mother, who’s pushing her in the swing, for an “underdog.” Her mom agrees, and switches sides of the swing.
Suddenly, gunfire erupts from the car, and as everyone hits the dirt, I have a sinking feeling that the little girl is going to get hit. Sure enough, the mother’s heartbroken screams pierce the night air, and she begs her daughter, Kayla, to wake up. The car has left the scene, and we see it on a nearby bridge, where it pauses for a second, and then the driver flings the gun out the window and screeches away.
Kayla Odoms’ evidence box is placed on a shelf in the warehouse. On the depressing scale, this case is already at least a 7.
Present Day
Snowy scenes show us that it’s really cold outside, and sure enough, as Scotty enters the squad room, Vera comments about the record lows. Scotty greets Lilly, who ignores him. “Kinda chilly in here, too,” he remarks. Uh-oh. Lilly casually mentions that Christina told her that Scotty and Vera stopped by McGinty’s. Scotty brushes it off, saying he and Vera went for a couple beers, not knowing Christina worked there. He asks Vera for confirmation, and Vera gives it. Lilly clearly doesn’t believe them. Scotty insists to Lilly that he’s not interested in Christina, and Lilly thinks this is good, because Chris is a train wreck. She glares at him for a minute, then asks if Chris hit on him, which Scotty immediately denies. Liar, liar, pants on fire.
This witty repartee is interrupted when Stillman places an assault weapon on Lilly’s desk. Well, I suppose that might be one way for Lil to solve her Christina problem, although I’m strongly doubting this is what Stillman has in mind. Sure enough, he says that the mayor’s gun recovery program, Guns for Sneakers, apparently, has netted this weapon, which was used in a drive-by shooting in 1987 that killed a six-year-old girl. He introduces them to Jason James and his son, Jason, Jr. Jason, Sr. is upset that his son took the gun without asking and turned it in for a pair of Allen Iverson sneakers. They argue briefly, and then Lilly asks Jason, Sr. how long he’s owned the gun. Jason, Sr. tells her he’s had it for five years and bought it at a gun show. He has no proof, but he remembers the guy he bought it from: “Uncle Sam” Murray, a “crazy guy with a hat.” Sounds pretty memorable to me. Stillman fills the James boys in on the history of the gun, and when Jason, Sr. learns the truth, he orders his son to take beloved Allen Iverson sneakers off, telling him he’s not profiting from someone getting killed. The detectives ask how much Jason, Sr. paid for the gun. “Eighty-nine bucks,” is the reply. Scotty comments that the gun was cheap, and Lilly reminds us all that it was used.
Credits.
Evidence Warehouse. Lilly, Scotty, and Stillman have pulled Kayla Odoms’ box and are going through the contents. Stillman says the theory at the time was a drug war over turf, and Lilly says Kayla was killed when a bullet ricocheted off the basketball goal. Stillman tells them the cops at the time thought the intended target was one of the players or spectators, but Lilly soon realizes that, since several of those have criminal records, it’s a large suspect pool, then goes on to say that the 911 call was made by a Rodney Johnson from a pay phone three blocks from the scene. Scotty is incredulous that the nearest phone was three blocks away, and Stillman reminds him that cell phones were science fiction in 1987. Heh. Scotty says the car was never identified, and Stillman then starts issuing orders. Vera and Jeffries will go talk to the parents, Scotty and Lil are off to visit with Uncle Sam. As they head downstairs, Lilly asks Stillman what the “time to crime” was on the weapon. Stillman guesses a week, but Scotty thinks, with the nature of the weapon (a MAC-10), that someone bought it that very day.
Odoms home. Kayla’s mother, Jessie, asks why they have to relive the nightmare, but her son says they may have a lead with the gun. Vera asks Mike Odoms for his alibi; he says he was driving a cab. The son, Darnell, says he was home watching TV, and mentions that it was his 12th birthday. Vera clarifies the tragedy; that Kayla was killed on her brother’s birthday. Jessie muses that Kayla would be 24 now. Jeffries asks her who was at the park, and all Jessie remembers was Kayla talking a blue streak on the swings.
Kayla and Jessie are on the way to the park, Kayla asking if Darnell liked the fish she got him, and Jessie saying he did. Kayla prattles, as only a little girl can, about how she already named the fish; that gouramis have to be called kissy-face because of the way their mouths go, then she says that Darnell wants to be an ichthyologist, a “fish doctor,” when he grows up. Jessie is amazed that Kayla knows such a big word, and she says she learned it from Darnell, who’s “real smart.” Jessie starts to swing Kayla, and she asks to go higher, then requests her underdog. Jessie gives her the underdog, and then gunfire erupts and the car screeches away. We hear Jessie’s heart-wrenching screams again, and people start to gather around. A guy in a black tank top is first to arrive, but Jessie screams at him not to touch her. He yells for someone to call an ambulance, and someone else tells him the closest phone is three blocks away, and it’s no use anyway, because Kayla’s already dead. Jessie protests that Kayla’s still alive. Tank Top Guy, who we now know is Rodney, scales the fence and takes off to find a phone while Jessie cradles Kayla in her arms.
Jessie says she didn’t let go of Kayla until the paramedics got there half an hour later. Jeffries asks what they were doing at the park at 10:00 PM, and Jessie says it was too hot to sleep that night, so they went out for a walk. She says if she’d just stayed home, Kayla would still be alive, and Vera reassures her, telling her there was no way she could have known what was going to happen. Mike and Darnell say they’ve both been trying to tell her that for 18 years. Jessie says it doesn’t matter; it’s still her fault, and always will be.
Gun show, with Master Source’s “I Can’t Wait” and bimbos in red, white, and blue bikinis. Scotty and Lilly look like fish out of water as they take in the sights, sounds, and stereotypes of the gun show. Suddenly, they stumble upon Uncle Sam, who, true to description, is dressed exactly like the famous character. I can see how Jason, Sr. remembered this guy. Uncle Sam tells our fearless detectives that they make a handsome couple, and guesses that Scotty’s looking for a gun for the missus, strictly self-defense. Wrong! Lilly whips out her badge and asks about Jason James. Uncle Sam says he’s been in the business for 20 years, and they can’t expect him to remember one sale. Scotty pulls out a picture of Jason, and Uncle Sam asks if Jason did something wrong. “His gun did,” Scotty replies. Uncle Sam protests that this isn’t his fault. Lilly asks where he got the gun, and he immediately gets defensive, asking if they think he was involved. If he owned it 1987, he sure was, Lilly replies, and Uncle Sam hops up on his Second Amendment soapbox. Scotty isn’t in the mood for his rhetoric and cuts him off, saying they’ve tracked the gun back to 2000, but need to get it to 1987, so they need to know where and when Uncle Sam got it. He says he got it in 1999, visiting his dad in the Delaware Downs housing projects.
Hallway of an apartment in Delaware Downs. Everlast’s “What It’s Like” serenades two young boys playing with what we assume are toy guns. Uncle Sam comes up and playfully raises his hands, telling them not to shoot because he’s unarmed. One of them asks if he’s with the housing authority, and Uncle Sam realizes that the gun the kid has is a real MAC-10. He orders the kid to put it down, then snatches it out of his hand and asks him if he’s crazy, telling him it’s a real gun. The kid protests that it’s unloaded, Uncle Sam proves him wrong. He asks where the kid got it, the kid just demands his gun back. Uncle Sam keeps it, telling the kids they’re lucky to be alive, and orders them to scram, “before I really bust a cap in your scrawny asses.”
Uncle Sam reiterates how close the kids came to meeting their maker, then says they ran into an apartment across the hall and slammed the door. Lilly asks Uncle Sam if he just walked on out of there, and Uncle Sam reminds her that those kids were lucky to be alive. Lilly realizes it was lucky for him, too, and Scotty points out that, after all, he did get a free gun out of the deal. Uncle Sam protests that he saved their lives. “And made eighty-nine bucks to boot,” Scotty congratulates him sarcastically. Heh. I love sarcastic Scotty.
Squad room. Vera and Jeffries watch a home movie of Darnell’s birthday party at the park, where Kayla has just given him a pair of gouramis. Mike worries how the fish will hold up on such a hot day, but Jessie says they’ll be fine for a while, and Kayla says that if they’re not, Darnell can fix them, because he’s going to be a fish doctor. The video then shows two young men arguing, and Vera pauses the tape, noticing that something’s going down. Jeffries says they need to enhance the tape. Vera grumbles that they’ll have to do it the Philly PD way; then they both move closer to the screen, Vera complaining that the department’s too cheap to spring for real equipment. Jeffries tells Vera to quit griping, that he has better eyes, and they both squint at the screen. Vera recognizes one of the guys as Cedric Browning, who he arrested a couple years ago.
Lilly and Stillman walk in to see Vera and Jeffries with their noses practically pressed to the screen. “Girls Gone Wild?” Lilly asks. Heeee. Funny Lil is the best! Jeffries explains that it’s a video of Darnell’s birthday party, and Vera points out the scuffle. Lilly explains that there’s a snafu with the gun, and Stillman fills them in: the gun left the factory in August, 1987, bound for The Second Amendment, a gun shop in West Philly, but that store has no record of receiving the gun. Stillman’s theory is that someone “kidnapped” the gun between its “birth” and “going home from the hospital.” I’m sorry, writers, this particular analogy just didn’t work for me.
Squad room. Stillman announces that the store owner has agreed to allow the detectives to sift through the records. Vera starts to complain, but Stillman says they need to find out whether the gun actually got there, got delivered to the wrong store, or was stolen. Scotty and Lilly would love to help, of course, but they’re going to Delaware Downs to see if they can find anyone who knew the two boys. Lilly comments that a gun can pass through a lot of hands in 18 years; Stillman says all they need to know is who had it in 1987. Lilly and Scotty start to leave, but Vera stops Scotty for a little heart-to-heart. He tells Scotty that the whole “Christina didn’t hit on me” story isn’t how he saw it, and Scotty retorts with a grin that Vera left, so he didn’t see much of anything. Vera, whose fears have come to pass, quickly instructs Scotty to call it off, and Scotty tells him not to worry about it. Vera re-issues the warning, saying it’s ill-advised. Scotty grouchily insists that he’s on it. Why do I not believe him? Oh, right, because his pants are still very much on fire.
Delaware Downs. Scotty and Lilly locate the apartment and knock on the door. Scotty says they’re tracking a murder weapon, last seen in this apartment in 1999. The woman, Truly Sinclair, says as she lets them in that she was here in 1999, that she was here in 1989, that she feels like she’s been there since 1909. This gets her a smile. Lilly says a man saw two boys run into the apartment, and Truly identifies them as her grandsons. Lilly asks where they got the gun, and Truly answers that they got it from under her floorboard where she kept it, thinking they’d never find it. Scotty asks if the gun was hers, and she replies, “Not exactly.” After confirming that the statute of limitations on theft is up, she confesses to stealing the gun from a family she worked for in 1993.
The home of a wealthy family, where we hear Alice In Chains playing “Man In The Box.” Truly is vacuuming, and a punk-looking teenage boy with eyeliner asks if he can have a word with her. She agrees and heads into his room. The boy, Eric, asks her if there’s something she’d like to tell him, and she says there isn’t. He thinks Truly found something under his mattress; she denies it. Eric grabs her arm, tells her she’s the only one who comes into his room, and demands that she give it back. Truly, not the least bit intimidated, tells him she’s seen the pictures he draws, and the hit list he has, and says she’s not going to let him shoot up his school, the house, or anything else. Eric says he’ll just get another gun and hunt her down with it; she reminds him that now he won’t be the only one armed, then leaves.
Truly says she took the gun for Eric’s own good, then her grandsons nearly got killed with it. Scotty asks where Eric got the gun, and Truly says she doesn’t know and never found out, as she got fired the next day. “No good deed goes unpunished,” she remarks wryly. Lilly says it sounds like she might have saved some lives that day, and Truly says maybe, maybe not.
Gun Dealership. The owner escorts Vera and Jeffries down the row, and after some gun-rights banter, Vera asks if they sold many MAC-10s in 1987. The owner tells them it was the weapon of choice for “certain populations” back then. Jeffries asks for invoices, and the owner indicates a filing cabinet where all the pre-1992 records are kept. Jeffries looks less than thrilled, and Vera proclaims this unfortunate. The owner, Mr. Barkin, asks if he’s responsible if some of his guns made it to the wrong store. Jeffries tells Barkin that they’re just looking for the shooter, and Vera tells him that unless he pulled a drive-by in 1987, he’s got nothing to worry about. Heh. Barkin is relieved, then says he just makes the guns, can’t control who buys them, and tells the detectives to take all the time they need.
Eric Morrison’s workplace, where he’s mixing paint for a mural on a wall. Scotty and Lilly have found him, and he asks if he did something. The detectives tell him that Truly Sinclair says she took a gun from Eric in 1993, and Eric confirms that it was the MAC-10, which he only owned for six to seven months. He asks if Truly is in trouble, because she saved his life. Lilly asks how, and Eric says he told his parents that Truly stole money from him, but she told them what she really took. The parents believed her, he says, and came down on him “like a ton of bricks.” Scotty reminds him that Truly was fired the next day, and Eric says she was fired, for stealing, because his parents were jerks. Lilly asks how Eric got his hands on a MAC-10. He says it was a funny story…well, maybe not that funny. He says he used to go to a nearby riding club to draw pictures, “of Satan and stuff,” to freak out the riders. Charming.
Riding club, where we hear Master Source’s “Trailer Trash.” Eric spray paints a pentagram on a sign of stable rules, then hears two jackasses laughing. We hear geese honking, and I am about to get sick, because I am a serious animal lover, and this scene is going to be really hard to recap. Anyway, they joke for a while, then start spraying bullets everywhere. One of these fine young men hits a goose and holds it up triumphantly, like a freakin’ hunting trophy, and then Dumb and Dumber realize that their problems just got worse, because they shot a horse. It’s not quite dead, but obviously in pain, and they argue about who’s going to put it out of its misery. Neither one has the guts, and they split, tossing the gun away as they run. Wow. Eric really is charming compared to these two winners.
Eric says the horse didn’t suffer long, because he found the gun in the bushes and did what “Chip and Dale” couldn’t. Lilly asks if he ever got another gun, but Eric says his parents watched him like a hawk, then he graduated, left home, got away from guys like “Peyt,” (presumably either Chip or Dale), and his anger just disappeared. Scotty asks if he knows where Chip and Dale got the gun; Eric replies that they bragged about getting it from the yacht club, from some guy named Witherspoon. They start to leave, and Eric asks them to apologize to Truly for him, for being such a demented kid. Scotty regains a small amount of my respect when he answers, “Why don’t you tell her yourself? Ain’t like she lives in Antarctica.” Heh.
August 9, 1987
City park. Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” accompanies a group of young men playing basketball. A car pulls up and lingers suspiciously. Meanwhile, on a nearby swing set, a little girl asks her mother, who’s pushing her in the swing, for an “underdog.” Her mom agrees, and switches sides of the swing.
Suddenly, gunfire erupts from the car, and as everyone hits the dirt, I have a sinking feeling that the little girl is going to get hit. Sure enough, the mother’s heartbroken screams pierce the night air, and she begs her daughter, Kayla, to wake up. The car has left the scene, and we see it on a nearby bridge, where it pauses for a second, and then the driver flings the gun out the window and screeches away.
Kayla Odoms’ evidence box is placed on a shelf in the warehouse. On the depressing scale, this case is already at least a 7.
Present Day
Snowy scenes show us that it’s really cold outside, and sure enough, as Scotty enters the squad room, Vera comments about the record lows. Scotty greets Lilly, who ignores him. “Kinda chilly in here, too,” he remarks. Uh-oh. Lilly casually mentions that Christina told her that Scotty and Vera stopped by McGinty’s. Scotty brushes it off, saying he and Vera went for a couple beers, not knowing Christina worked there. He asks Vera for confirmation, and Vera gives it. Lilly clearly doesn’t believe them. Scotty insists to Lilly that he’s not interested in Christina, and Lilly thinks this is good, because Chris is a train wreck. She glares at him for a minute, then asks if Chris hit on him, which Scotty immediately denies. Liar, liar, pants on fire.
This witty repartee is interrupted when Stillman places an assault weapon on Lilly’s desk. Well, I suppose that might be one way for Lil to solve her Christina problem, although I’m strongly doubting this is what Stillman has in mind. Sure enough, he says that the mayor’s gun recovery program, Guns for Sneakers, apparently, has netted this weapon, which was used in a drive-by shooting in 1987 that killed a six-year-old girl. He introduces them to Jason James and his son, Jason, Jr. Jason, Sr. is upset that his son took the gun without asking and turned it in for a pair of Allen Iverson sneakers. They argue briefly, and then Lilly asks Jason, Sr. how long he’s owned the gun. Jason, Sr. tells her he’s had it for five years and bought it at a gun show. He has no proof, but he remembers the guy he bought it from: “Uncle Sam” Murray, a “crazy guy with a hat.” Sounds pretty memorable to me. Stillman fills the James boys in on the history of the gun, and when Jason, Sr. learns the truth, he orders his son to take beloved Allen Iverson sneakers off, telling him he’s not profiting from someone getting killed. The detectives ask how much Jason, Sr. paid for the gun. “Eighty-nine bucks,” is the reply. Scotty comments that the gun was cheap, and Lilly reminds us all that it was used.
Credits.
Evidence Warehouse. Lilly, Scotty, and Stillman have pulled Kayla Odoms’ box and are going through the contents. Stillman says the theory at the time was a drug war over turf, and Lilly says Kayla was killed when a bullet ricocheted off the basketball goal. Stillman tells them the cops at the time thought the intended target was one of the players or spectators, but Lilly soon realizes that, since several of those have criminal records, it’s a large suspect pool, then goes on to say that the 911 call was made by a Rodney Johnson from a pay phone three blocks from the scene. Scotty is incredulous that the nearest phone was three blocks away, and Stillman reminds him that cell phones were science fiction in 1987. Heh. Scotty says the car was never identified, and Stillman then starts issuing orders. Vera and Jeffries will go talk to the parents, Scotty and Lil are off to visit with Uncle Sam. As they head downstairs, Lilly asks Stillman what the “time to crime” was on the weapon. Stillman guesses a week, but Scotty thinks, with the nature of the weapon (a MAC-10), that someone bought it that very day.
Odoms home. Kayla’s mother, Jessie, asks why they have to relive the nightmare, but her son says they may have a lead with the gun. Vera asks Mike Odoms for his alibi; he says he was driving a cab. The son, Darnell, says he was home watching TV, and mentions that it was his 12th birthday. Vera clarifies the tragedy; that Kayla was killed on her brother’s birthday. Jessie muses that Kayla would be 24 now. Jeffries asks her who was at the park, and all Jessie remembers was Kayla talking a blue streak on the swings.
Kayla and Jessie are on the way to the park, Kayla asking if Darnell liked the fish she got him, and Jessie saying he did. Kayla prattles, as only a little girl can, about how she already named the fish; that gouramis have to be called kissy-face because of the way their mouths go, then she says that Darnell wants to be an ichthyologist, a “fish doctor,” when he grows up. Jessie is amazed that Kayla knows such a big word, and she says she learned it from Darnell, who’s “real smart.” Jessie starts to swing Kayla, and she asks to go higher, then requests her underdog. Jessie gives her the underdog, and then gunfire erupts and the car screeches away. We hear Jessie’s heart-wrenching screams again, and people start to gather around. A guy in a black tank top is first to arrive, but Jessie screams at him not to touch her. He yells for someone to call an ambulance, and someone else tells him the closest phone is three blocks away, and it’s no use anyway, because Kayla’s already dead. Jessie protests that Kayla’s still alive. Tank Top Guy, who we now know is Rodney, scales the fence and takes off to find a phone while Jessie cradles Kayla in her arms.
Jessie says she didn’t let go of Kayla until the paramedics got there half an hour later. Jeffries asks what they were doing at the park at 10:00 PM, and Jessie says it was too hot to sleep that night, so they went out for a walk. She says if she’d just stayed home, Kayla would still be alive, and Vera reassures her, telling her there was no way she could have known what was going to happen. Mike and Darnell say they’ve both been trying to tell her that for 18 years. Jessie says it doesn’t matter; it’s still her fault, and always will be.
Gun show, with Master Source’s “I Can’t Wait” and bimbos in red, white, and blue bikinis. Scotty and Lilly look like fish out of water as they take in the sights, sounds, and stereotypes of the gun show. Suddenly, they stumble upon Uncle Sam, who, true to description, is dressed exactly like the famous character. I can see how Jason, Sr. remembered this guy. Uncle Sam tells our fearless detectives that they make a handsome couple, and guesses that Scotty’s looking for a gun for the missus, strictly self-defense. Wrong! Lilly whips out her badge and asks about Jason James. Uncle Sam says he’s been in the business for 20 years, and they can’t expect him to remember one sale. Scotty pulls out a picture of Jason, and Uncle Sam asks if Jason did something wrong. “His gun did,” Scotty replies. Uncle Sam protests that this isn’t his fault. Lilly asks where he got the gun, and he immediately gets defensive, asking if they think he was involved. If he owned it 1987, he sure was, Lilly replies, and Uncle Sam hops up on his Second Amendment soapbox. Scotty isn’t in the mood for his rhetoric and cuts him off, saying they’ve tracked the gun back to 2000, but need to get it to 1987, so they need to know where and when Uncle Sam got it. He says he got it in 1999, visiting his dad in the Delaware Downs housing projects.
Hallway of an apartment in Delaware Downs. Everlast’s “What It’s Like” serenades two young boys playing with what we assume are toy guns. Uncle Sam comes up and playfully raises his hands, telling them not to shoot because he’s unarmed. One of them asks if he’s with the housing authority, and Uncle Sam realizes that the gun the kid has is a real MAC-10. He orders the kid to put it down, then snatches it out of his hand and asks him if he’s crazy, telling him it’s a real gun. The kid protests that it’s unloaded, Uncle Sam proves him wrong. He asks where the kid got it, the kid just demands his gun back. Uncle Sam keeps it, telling the kids they’re lucky to be alive, and orders them to scram, “before I really bust a cap in your scrawny asses.”
Uncle Sam reiterates how close the kids came to meeting their maker, then says they ran into an apartment across the hall and slammed the door. Lilly asks Uncle Sam if he just walked on out of there, and Uncle Sam reminds her that those kids were lucky to be alive. Lilly realizes it was lucky for him, too, and Scotty points out that, after all, he did get a free gun out of the deal. Uncle Sam protests that he saved their lives. “And made eighty-nine bucks to boot,” Scotty congratulates him sarcastically. Heh. I love sarcastic Scotty.
Squad room. Vera and Jeffries watch a home movie of Darnell’s birthday party at the park, where Kayla has just given him a pair of gouramis. Mike worries how the fish will hold up on such a hot day, but Jessie says they’ll be fine for a while, and Kayla says that if they’re not, Darnell can fix them, because he’s going to be a fish doctor. The video then shows two young men arguing, and Vera pauses the tape, noticing that something’s going down. Jeffries says they need to enhance the tape. Vera grumbles that they’ll have to do it the Philly PD way; then they both move closer to the screen, Vera complaining that the department’s too cheap to spring for real equipment. Jeffries tells Vera to quit griping, that he has better eyes, and they both squint at the screen. Vera recognizes one of the guys as Cedric Browning, who he arrested a couple years ago.
Lilly and Stillman walk in to see Vera and Jeffries with their noses practically pressed to the screen. “Girls Gone Wild?” Lilly asks. Heeee. Funny Lil is the best! Jeffries explains that it’s a video of Darnell’s birthday party, and Vera points out the scuffle. Lilly explains that there’s a snafu with the gun, and Stillman fills them in: the gun left the factory in August, 1987, bound for The Second Amendment, a gun shop in West Philly, but that store has no record of receiving the gun. Stillman’s theory is that someone “kidnapped” the gun between its “birth” and “going home from the hospital.” I’m sorry, writers, this particular analogy just didn’t work for me.
Squad room. Stillman announces that the store owner has agreed to allow the detectives to sift through the records. Vera starts to complain, but Stillman says they need to find out whether the gun actually got there, got delivered to the wrong store, or was stolen. Scotty and Lilly would love to help, of course, but they’re going to Delaware Downs to see if they can find anyone who knew the two boys. Lilly comments that a gun can pass through a lot of hands in 18 years; Stillman says all they need to know is who had it in 1987. Lilly and Scotty start to leave, but Vera stops Scotty for a little heart-to-heart. He tells Scotty that the whole “Christina didn’t hit on me” story isn’t how he saw it, and Scotty retorts with a grin that Vera left, so he didn’t see much of anything. Vera, whose fears have come to pass, quickly instructs Scotty to call it off, and Scotty tells him not to worry about it. Vera re-issues the warning, saying it’s ill-advised. Scotty grouchily insists that he’s on it. Why do I not believe him? Oh, right, because his pants are still very much on fire.
Delaware Downs. Scotty and Lilly locate the apartment and knock on the door. Scotty says they’re tracking a murder weapon, last seen in this apartment in 1999. The woman, Truly Sinclair, says as she lets them in that she was here in 1999, that she was here in 1989, that she feels like she’s been there since 1909. This gets her a smile. Lilly says a man saw two boys run into the apartment, and Truly identifies them as her grandsons. Lilly asks where they got the gun, and Truly answers that they got it from under her floorboard where she kept it, thinking they’d never find it. Scotty asks if the gun was hers, and she replies, “Not exactly.” After confirming that the statute of limitations on theft is up, she confesses to stealing the gun from a family she worked for in 1993.
The home of a wealthy family, where we hear Alice In Chains playing “Man In The Box.” Truly is vacuuming, and a punk-looking teenage boy with eyeliner asks if he can have a word with her. She agrees and heads into his room. The boy, Eric, asks her if there’s something she’d like to tell him, and she says there isn’t. He thinks Truly found something under his mattress; she denies it. Eric grabs her arm, tells her she’s the only one who comes into his room, and demands that she give it back. Truly, not the least bit intimidated, tells him she’s seen the pictures he draws, and the hit list he has, and says she’s not going to let him shoot up his school, the house, or anything else. Eric says he’ll just get another gun and hunt her down with it; she reminds him that now he won’t be the only one armed, then leaves.
Truly says she took the gun for Eric’s own good, then her grandsons nearly got killed with it. Scotty asks where Eric got the gun, and Truly says she doesn’t know and never found out, as she got fired the next day. “No good deed goes unpunished,” she remarks wryly. Lilly says it sounds like she might have saved some lives that day, and Truly says maybe, maybe not.
Gun Dealership. The owner escorts Vera and Jeffries down the row, and after some gun-rights banter, Vera asks if they sold many MAC-10s in 1987. The owner tells them it was the weapon of choice for “certain populations” back then. Jeffries asks for invoices, and the owner indicates a filing cabinet where all the pre-1992 records are kept. Jeffries looks less than thrilled, and Vera proclaims this unfortunate. The owner, Mr. Barkin, asks if he’s responsible if some of his guns made it to the wrong store. Jeffries tells Barkin that they’re just looking for the shooter, and Vera tells him that unless he pulled a drive-by in 1987, he’s got nothing to worry about. Heh. Barkin is relieved, then says he just makes the guns, can’t control who buys them, and tells the detectives to take all the time they need.
Eric Morrison’s workplace, where he’s mixing paint for a mural on a wall. Scotty and Lilly have found him, and he asks if he did something. The detectives tell him that Truly Sinclair says she took a gun from Eric in 1993, and Eric confirms that it was the MAC-10, which he only owned for six to seven months. He asks if Truly is in trouble, because she saved his life. Lilly asks how, and Eric says he told his parents that Truly stole money from him, but she told them what she really took. The parents believed her, he says, and came down on him “like a ton of bricks.” Scotty reminds him that Truly was fired the next day, and Eric says she was fired, for stealing, because his parents were jerks. Lilly asks how Eric got his hands on a MAC-10. He says it was a funny story…well, maybe not that funny. He says he used to go to a nearby riding club to draw pictures, “of Satan and stuff,” to freak out the riders. Charming.
Riding club, where we hear Master Source’s “Trailer Trash.” Eric spray paints a pentagram on a sign of stable rules, then hears two jackasses laughing. We hear geese honking, and I am about to get sick, because I am a serious animal lover, and this scene is going to be really hard to recap. Anyway, they joke for a while, then start spraying bullets everywhere. One of these fine young men hits a goose and holds it up triumphantly, like a freakin’ hunting trophy, and then Dumb and Dumber realize that their problems just got worse, because they shot a horse. It’s not quite dead, but obviously in pain, and they argue about who’s going to put it out of its misery. Neither one has the guts, and they split, tossing the gun away as they run. Wow. Eric really is charming compared to these two winners.
Eric says the horse didn’t suffer long, because he found the gun in the bushes and did what “Chip and Dale” couldn’t. Lilly asks if he ever got another gun, but Eric says his parents watched him like a hawk, then he graduated, left home, got away from guys like “Peyt,” (presumably either Chip or Dale), and his anger just disappeared. Scotty asks if he knows where Chip and Dale got the gun; Eric replies that they bragged about getting it from the yacht club, from some guy named Witherspoon. They start to leave, and Eric asks them to apologize to Truly for him, for being such a demented kid. Scotty regains a small amount of my respect when he answers, “Why don’t you tell her yourself? Ain’t like she lives in Antarctica.” Heh.
