Post by TVFan on Oct 26, 2005 10:42:34 GMT -5
Recap Provided By Cellogal
November 25, 1999
Apartment kitchen, where we hear 2Pac’s “Changes.” An African-American family, a mom and five boys, is gathered around the Thanksgiving table, the oldest son carving the turkey while Mom finishes up in the kitchen. One of the younger boys indicates his cornrows and tells his mom she didn’t tell him they’d hurt. “Fashion hurts,” Mom says matter-of-factly. I hear that. One of the other boys calls him “Lutheretta,” and Cornrows is indignant. “You callin’ me a girl?” he demands. One of his older brothers, who’s wearing thick glasses, intervenes, saying the braids don’t look too tough. The youngest boy softly tells Cornrows, whose name is Luther, that he likes the braids, and Luther’s grateful for the compliment. He points to a poster of Allen Iverson on the wall and challenges his brothers to tell him he doesn’t look like “The Answer.” “You look like Brandy,” the middle brother tells him, and is rewarded with a glare from Luther and chuckles from the rest of them. The one with glasses, whose name is Cedric, starts feeding scraps to a dog under the table. The oldest brother scolds him, and so does Mom as she comes by with the last two dishes for their feast. Cedric protests that the dog needs his strength; Mom clearly doesn’t agree. Cedric argues that it’s Thanksgiving for the dog, too. Meanwhile, the youngest one asks Mom for the wishbone, and the oldest brother asks him what he’s going to wish for. “I don’t know, lots of things,” he says with a broad smile.
Luther starts to dig in, but Mom stops him, reminding him that first they’re going to say their thanks. They join hands, and Mom thanks God for the meal, and the blessings of family, then names each son. “For Vaughn,” she begins,“who stepped into his daddy’s shoes after his passing; for Cedric, always bringin’ home his stray mutts and whatnot.” Cedric protests that the dog’s not a mutt, and Mom laughs slightly before continuing. “And for Quincy, my dreamer, head in the clouds, and Luther, The Answer, who don’t look like Brandy.” “Much,” Quincy adds, and Luther silences him with a “Hey.” “And finally,” Mom continues, “for our baby Patrick; let him get any wish he wants.” “And for you, too, Ma,” Patrick adds, and Mom softly agrees. They say Amen, and then start chowing down.
At this point, I’m getting really depressed, wondering which one of these already-likable boys is going to wind up dead. We see a body with a gunshot, and a caption saying it’s Vaughn Bubley, 1999. Wait…they never do that. Uh-oh. Another gunshot victim; this time it’s Cedric, in 2001. Oh, snap. Then, we hear gunshots, and see Quincy’s body in 2003. Oh, SNAP. The three evidence boxes form a solemn line in the warehouse.
Present Day
Squad car lights whirl, sirens wail, and radios crackle outside Yin’s Market. And…oh, holy mother of SNAP. Luther Bubley lies dead in the street. On the depressing scale, this episode is already comfortably sitting at an 8.75 at least. CSUs troll for evidence as police officers try to hold the crowd back. Vera and Lilly leave the market, and an officer has a heavyset black man in handcuffs, who’s already demanding a lawyer. Lilly comes up and tells him, in no uncertain terms, to either tell her what happened, or shut up. He insists he didn’t see anything, but Lilly finds that hard to believe, reminding him that he sits on that stoop every day. He goes off on an unsavory rant about cops. “That’s a good attitude, doughboy,” Vera remarks drily. Hee. Lilly turns away from Doughboy just in time to see Scotty and Stillman arrive. Scotty asks if they’re back on the line tonight, and Stillman says they’ve got a triple, and they need all the help they can get. Scotty sarcastically remarks how quiet it is out there, what with the sirens and the helicopters, and Vera agrees, deeming it a little slice of paradise. Stillman asks what went down, and Jeffries tells him that the Ninth Street Gang had a shootout with the O’s. Scotty asks what the score is, and Lilly gives it to him: three dead, one wounded. Vera says they were all gangsters and proclaims them “community service murders.” Stillman asks if anyone’s talking, and Jeffries says there’s a lot of talk, but no help.
Suddenly, they’re interrupted by a woman’s panicked voice screaming for Luther, demanding to be let through the crime scene tape because her boy is out there. Lilly realizes she knows that woman, explaining that her son’s death was Lilly’s first homicide. “Practically makes you friends,” Vera comments. Stillman thinks maybe the mom will talk to Lilly, so Lil heads over to find Mrs. Bubley screaming at a uniformed officer to get out of her face. Lilly reintroduces herself, saying that she worked her son’s murder. “Which son?” Mrs. Bubley demands hysterically, and Lilly can’t remember the name, but says it was in 1999. “Vaughn,” Patrick says angrily. “Right…Vaughn.” Lilly replies. Mrs. Bubley continues, saying now they lost Luther, and Lilly says she’s sorry. Mrs. Bubley yells at her not to be sorry, just get out of her way. Lilly asks if she has any idea who might have done this, and Patrick asks sarcastically if Lilly’s going to solve his murder. Lil says she’s going to try, and Mrs. Bubley is incredulous. “Like you solved Vaughn’s? Or Cedric’s, or Quincy’s?” she shrieks. Lilly tries to wrap her mind around the fact that Mrs. Bubley has lost four sons, and Mrs. Bubley says that Patrick’s all she’s got left, and after he’s gunned down, Lilly won’t solve his murder either. Wow. Just…wow.
Credits.
Evidence warehouse. Scotty and Stillman head in, and Scotty asks if Sutton’s coming. Stillman says she took a leave. Scotty asks if she said why, and Stillman replies that it was personal. Scotty frowns in confusion as he realizes that his do-me eyes might possibly fit that category. Meanwhile, Lilly’s pulled the evidence boxes, saying that four out of five brothers are dead; all shot in Fairhill, all unsolved. Stillman asks if the mother gave Lilly any help, and Lilly retorts bitterly that the mother gave her crap, that she hates cops. Scotty asks if the shooting last night was just another turf war between the O’s and the Ninth Streeters, and Stillman says it looks that way, but the gang unit says that the leader of the O’s, Miguel Maldonado, has a running feud with the Bubleys. Lilly asks what the feud is about, and Stillman doesn’t know, but says Miguel is in each box as a person of interest. Scotty theorizes that maybe Miguel is behind the murders, and Lilly suggests that perhaps Luther wasn’t just caught up in a turf war, maybe it was personal. Stillman says that the problem is, Miguel’s untouchable. “’Cause snitches get stitches,” Scotty remarks. Stillman agrees that Miguel is known as a real sadist. Lilly says there’s one brother left: Patrick. Stillman hopes they can get someone to finger Miguel for any of these jobs and put him away. Scotty concludes that solving one Bubley murder might result in solving them all, and Lilly says they might be able to keep Patrick from joining his brothers.
Hospital room. A young Hispanic man lies in a hospital bed, bandaged around the knee, sleeping peacefully until he’s awakened by a not-too-gentle rapping on the head from Scotty’s pen. Scotty demands of the guy, Carlos, why Luther Bubley shot him; Carlos says he didn’t see anything. Scotty’s not buying this, saying that preliminary ballistics reports say that Luther’s gun put that hole in his leg. Carlos admits that maybe Luther shot him, but says it “ain’t no thing.” Scotty continues, saying that Carlos’s boys shot up Luther outside the market. Carlos is silent for a minute, and Scotty rolls his eyes, then adds some incentive in the form of his notebook on Carlos’s bandaged knee. Carlos winces in pain, and Scotty lets up, asking him if Miguel told him to kill Luther over his problem with the Bubleys, and Carlos replies that the Bubleys are nothing to Miguel. Scotty leans on him again, asking why Miguel’s killing them off. Carlos argues that Scotty’s the police, and he can’t be “gettin’ all torture chamber” on him. Scotty begs to differ, laughs a bit, and leans harder with his notebook and wrestling Carlos back down into the bed with his right, acting like he can’t hear Carlos’s protests. Finally Carlos agrees to talk and Scotty lets up. He glares at Scotty and remarks, “You’re a terrible cop, you know that?” I bet Scotty can live with that. Sure enough, he doesn’t even blink, just asks Carlos how the shooting started. Carlos sighs and says he was goofing around on his scooter.
Yin’s Market, where Carlos is indeed goofing around on his scooter, accompanied by Citizen Cope’s “Let The Drummer Kick It.” Luther and Patrick walk in, Luther saying he’ll rent some movies and instructing Patrick to get some cereal. Patrick protests that he doesn’t want cereal, and Luther’s undeterred, saying maybe Mom will want some. Patrick argues that Mom doesn’t eat anything but smoke anymore, and Luther cheerfully says Patrick has to fill up before school. Patrick says he’s not going to school, arguing that Luther dropped out and quit playing ball. “Yeah, well, you ain’t me,” Luther retorts, and chides Patrick to stop wasting his talent and quit being stupid. “You wasted yours,” Patrick replies. Luther grabs some cereal and heads for the counter to pay, but then spies Carlos and the scooter on the security monitor. He tells Patrick in no uncertain terms to go home, now, and Patrick agrees reluctantly and heads out. The minute he’s gone, Luther pulls a gun out of the waistband of his pants, points it at Carlos, tells him it’s for Web D, and fires a shot. Carlos falls to the ground and grabs his leg, and Luther runs out of the store, quickly followed by several of Carlos’s posse. Carlos continues to writhe on the ground as we hear more gunshots.
Carlos says heatedly that the fool had no cause to do what he did. Scotty asks what Web D meant, and Carlos says that if Scotty finds out, he wants to know, so he can find out why he got capped. Scotty thanks Carlos, and gently pats his wounded knee a couple times with his notebook as he turns to leave. Heh. Nothin’ like a little Bad Cop to get things rolling.
Bubley home. Lilly introduces a very reluctant Patrick to Jeffries, then says that Carlos told them Patrick was at the market when Luther got shot. Patrick denies it. Lilly continues, saying Luther said the shooting was for Web D, and asks Patrick what that means. Patrick says angrily that what happened to Luther doesn’t concern them. Jeffries guesses that’s because Patrick plans to take care of it, and he retorts that someone’s got to. Lilly approaches Maeve Bubley, who’s in her bathrobe and affixing a black ribbon to yet another one of her sons’ school pictures. “You again?” she asks Lilly bitterly. Lilly tells her that they’re working on her sons’ murders, and she turns away in disgust. Jeffries decides to try, saying that they need her help. She says she’s clean out of help for the police. Jeffries reaches forward and extracts a crack pipe from the pocket of Maeve’s bathrobe, which isn’t unnoticed by Lilly, then tells her that they think Miguel Maldonado is responsible for killing her boys, and that if they solve Luther’s murder from last night, maybe they can close all the boys’ cases. Maeve says she doesn’t know anything, and Lilly entreats her to focus. This backfires, as Maeve orders Lilly not to talk to her like that, then asks Lil and Jeffries if either one of them have lost kids. Concluding from their silence that they haven’t, she orders them out, saying she has no use for them. Lilly reminds Maeve that that’s not how she felt back in 1999, when Vaughn died, and says she was there. She approaches Patrick, telling him he wanted her help then.
Crime scene, 1999. We hear Moby’s “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?” Vaughn lies dead in the street as a very young-looking Lilly, along with her partner, a crusty old guy, survey the scene. Maeve rushes up, and Lil’s partner notices this. “Aw, crap,” he says disgustedly. “Critter’s got family.” Lilly, whose hair is up in an absolutely adorable ponytail, looks over and notices Maeve and Patrick, then asks her partner if she should notify the family. He encourages her to do exactly that, and she heads over, then stops and turns back to her partner, saying she’s never done it before. Aw, young naïve Lil is so tragically cute! Her partner tells this is the perfect opportunity, because it’s nothing but an NHI. “No humans involved,” Lilly concludes reluctantly, then says she doesn’t really believe in that. Her partner tells her to stick around long enough, and her bleeding heart will run dry pretty soon. Wow. Obviously he doesn’t know Lil. She reluctantly heads over to the Bubleys. Maeve reaches for her and says that can’t be her boy, but Lilly tells her it’s Vaughn Bubley, and she begins to cry. Patrick’s near tears himself, and asks her if Vaughn’s dead. “I’m afraid so,” Lilly replies softly, looking like she might cry any second, too. Believe me, I’m way ahead of her. She asks the assembled Bubleys if they have any idea who might have done this, and Cedric responds that Vaughn wasn’t buying and he wasn’t banging, if that’s what she thinks. Lilly protests that she wasn’t thinking that, and Maeve sobs that Vaughn was a good boy, that he worked hard. Cedric starts to cry and implores Lilly to find out who did this as Maeve continues her eulogy, saying that Vaughn was like a father to his brothers. All the boys and their mom embrace and cry together, but Patrick steps under the crime scene tape and asks Lil, once again, if Vaughn’s really dead. She whispers that she’s sorry, and he hugs her and cries on her shoulder, saying he’s not gonna make it without Vaughn.
Patrick tells Lilly bitterly that that was a long time back. Lilly says they know the Bubleys have had it rough. “You know…you understand my life,” Maeve says sarcastically, and Lilly, looking like she’s near the end of her rope, says she’s trying to. Maeve laughs humorlessly and tells Lilly not to waste her time doling out her fake sympathy when everyone knows it’s nothing but bull. “White, police woman’s bull.” Jeffries tries to stop her, but Maeve shrieks at him that she’s got a funeral to plan, a burial to see to, and demands if Lil knows how much that costs, then goes off on a rant on how expensive it is to pay for another boy dying and laying him to rest in any kind of decent way, but Lilly turns away with this hard, icy look in her eyes, indicating her crusty old partner’s prediction might be starting to come true. Oh, say it ain’t so, Lil!
PPD, balcony. Lilly’s out there, looking pensive and wringing her hands. Stillman comes out and asks her if she had any luck with the Bubleys. She says no, and Stillman presses her, asking if she got anything on Maldonado or Web D. She tells him that a weird thing happened today when she was talking to the mother; she was going off on a tear, and Lilly tuned her out, like she didn’t care. “You’re doin’ the J-O-B, Lil,” Stillman tells her. “Sometimes that’s all there is.” Lilly asks Stillman if he ever met her first partner, Ben Fulcrum, and he has, saying Fulcrum’s retired. Lilly says she keeps hearing Fulcrum’s voice in her head, “NHI, NHI.” Stillman tries to reassure her, saying she’s not like that, but she says she was today. Not missing a beat, Stillman tells her tomorrow will be different. Lil’s not entirely sure, but she promises vehemently that she’ll quit before she looks in the mirror and sees Fulcrum’s face staring back at her. Stillman pats her on the shoulder and says with a smile that he’s seen her old partner’s face, and nobody wants that, then turns to head back inside. He stops when Lilly tells him that the Bubleys hate them, and he says that a lot of Fairhill does. “So how do we keep from hating them back?” she asks, and Stillman just stands there, unable to answer. There are no words to describe the riveting awesomeness of this scene. Absolutely none.
PPD, Kitchen. Scotty’s rooting around in the fridge, and Vera asks him if Boss said how long Sutton was on leave. “Nope,” Scotty replies. He retrieves a bottle of water as Vera theorizes that Sutton ran off with Sgt. White, and Scotty says that Gil Sherman told him what really went down. They head into the squad room, and Vera, clearly dying for a bit of juicy gossip, instructs Scotty to dish. He complies, saying that it was a one-way thing, that Sgt. White made Sutton’s life hell chasing her skirt around. Vera concludes that nothing happened, and says that she could have set the record straight. Scotty says Sutton didn’t think she had to.
They approach Stillman and Lilly, and Scotty slips a videotape into the player as Stillman asks if that’s the security tape from the market. Scotty reminds them drily how nobody saw anything, then presses play, and we see a stream of young men hurrying out of the store. Vera says he interviewed every one of those guys; no help. “Same old, same old,” Stillman remarks, but Lilly notices a tall kid wearing a lot of bling and says he’s in Quincy Bubley’s file, too. Stillman takes a look and realizes that the kid is Theodore Clausen, street name “Cartier,” and Lilly adds that he was busted for selling rock. Stillman says Cartier was questioned as a witness in Quincy’s murder. Vera asks if Cartier talked back then, and Stillman reads the notes, saying that Cartier claimed to not recall “the tragic events in question.” Scotty thinks it’s something that Cartier has been a witness to two Bubley murders, but Vera reminds him that Cartier lied to their faces the other day and wonders why he’d talk now. Stillman says they have to give him some incentive, and Lilly muses that he has to make a living. “Pay for all that bling,” Scotty adds. Oh, are they going where I think they’re going?? “No Drugs Today?” Vera suggests. Oh, they are indeed. “Shut ‘em down,” Stillman orders. I LOVE No Drugs Today!
Cartier’s corner. Scotty comes back to where the guys have set up camp and hands out some sort of frozen confection to Jeffries and Vera, saying he’s got lemon, lemon, and…lemon. “No cherry?” Vera pouts. “Lemon,” Scotty replies. Hee. A BMW pulls up, and a smarmy-looking college boy nods cordially at them and asks if they’re friends of Cartier’s. “Family, actually,” Vera responds. Heh. Scotty asks College Boy if he’s looking to score, and he responds with a directive to hook a brother up. “One sec, we’ll get him for you,” Jeffries says, as he gets up and knocks on the boarded-up window to Cartier’s lair. He calls to Cartier, telling him he’s got another customer. The detectives asks where they should send College Boy: to his competition in the next village over, or further east into O-Town. Cartier emerges, protesting petulantly that they’re messing with his livelihood. College Boy calls to Cartier, repeating his request for him to hook a brother up. He so can’t pull that off. Scotty apparently agrees with me, because he turns around with a question for College Boy. “Are you really as stupid as you are?” he asks. College Boy looks confused, but it all becomes crystal-clear when the detectives show him their badges and Scotty announces that it’s No Drugs Today. College Boy looks terrified and immediately peels out with a screeching of tires.
Cartier’s had enough, and he finally says he’s playing. Jeffries asks why Luther Bubley shot Carlos, and Cartier says he doesn’t know, for real. “For real,” Scotty repeats. “What’s Web D?” Cartier whines at them to ask him a question he can answer, since he cannot afford to have them on his stoop. Vera coolly reminds Cartier that he was there for Quincy Bubley’s murder, and Jeffries asks what happened. Cartier answers that Quincy messed up and went out of bounds, that he got desperate to support his family after Vaughn and Cedric passed.
Bubley home, where we hear Norah Jones’ lovely “The Long Day Is Over.” Cartier and Quincy come in with buckets of fried chicken, asking if anybody knows what day it is. “Thanksgiving,” Patrick replies. “And look what I brought,” Quincy announces. Patrick’s incredulous that Quincy brought chicken for Thanksgiving, and Cartier adds that he’s got the sides, and they instruct Patrick to get some plates on the table. A pajama-glad Maeve emerges from the hallway, asking Quincy if he brought her some, but his only reply is “Come on, Ma. Not now.” She smiles at him and tells him he’s right. Patrick tells her Luther’s fixing her a plate, but she says she’s not hungry, she’ll just watch them eat. Patrick suggests that they say a blessing, like they used to, and after some encouragement from the others, Maeve agrees, saying she thinks she remembers how it’s done. They join hands, and the empty spaces at the table are very poignant and tear-inducing. Maeve thanks God for the meal they’re about to receive and for the blessings of family, but is unable to continue. The boys look up, and Luther encourages her to keep going, telling her that she’s doing good. She shakes her head and tearfully says that she can’t, and she’s sorry. They release hands, and Quincy says they’ll just eat. He digs into the bags, and Maeve tells them to wait until next year, that she’ll be back to her old self. “There you go,” Quincy encourages her with a smile. She continues, saying she’ll get her job at the beauty shop back and get Quincy off the streets. That sounds good to him. His phone rings as Patrick suggests pumpkin pie next year, and Quincy smiles and says, “Aw, now you’ve got me thinkin’ about it.” Maeve’s hopeful, saying maybe she can still whip one up, and Patrick offers to go to the store and get her what she needs. They’re interrupted by Quincy protesting over the phone that it’s Thanksgiving, and he’s having dinner with his family. The others look crestfallen as he reluctantly agrees and says he’s coming. He apologizes to Maeve, saying he has to leave, and Patrick says they’ll save a slice of pie for him. “Maybe,” Luther says with a smile. Quincy grabs Cartier and they start to leave. As they head out, Maeve tells Quincy that it’s all gonna be different. He nods, and they leave. The second the door shuts, gunshots split the air, and tires screech away. Patrick and Luther get up and run out, and this case just hit a 9.5 on the depressing scale.
Scotty asks Cartier if he saw who pulled the trigger, and Cartier shakes his head. “Flash of light, screech of tires,” he says. Scotty thinks Cartier has a notion, and he argues that Quincy was desperate to do right for his family, and he branched out and started selling on the wrong block. “Whose block?” Vera asks, and Cartier is silent for a moment before answering that the block in question belonged to Jesus Maldonado, Miguel’s cousin.
Apartment complex. Scotty and Vera approach Jesus’s apartment, where he’s inside arguing with a pregnant woman, who’s demanding to know why Miguel doesn’t call her. Jesus guesses he’s busy, and the woman argues that Miguel’s going to be a daddy. Scotty’s listening to this exchange and concludes that the pregnant woman is Miguel’s girl. A little girl approaches, and Scotty smiles adorably at her and motions for her to be quiet, but she shrieks “Five-O, Five-O!” Scotty asks her what she’s doing as she runs off. The door to the apartment opens, and the pregnant woman walks out. Vera stops her, while Scotty talks to Jesus.
Vera asks the woman when the baby’s coming, and she says she doesn’t know. Vera says it’d be good to see a doctor, and she demands to know why Vera cares. “Ain’t like you knocked me up,” she says. Oh, now there’s a picture. Vera says he knows a clinic nearby; he offers to take her there, they can talk about the daddy-to-be. The woman says she’s not a snitch.
November 25, 1999
Apartment kitchen, where we hear 2Pac’s “Changes.” An African-American family, a mom and five boys, is gathered around the Thanksgiving table, the oldest son carving the turkey while Mom finishes up in the kitchen. One of the younger boys indicates his cornrows and tells his mom she didn’t tell him they’d hurt. “Fashion hurts,” Mom says matter-of-factly. I hear that. One of the other boys calls him “Lutheretta,” and Cornrows is indignant. “You callin’ me a girl?” he demands. One of his older brothers, who’s wearing thick glasses, intervenes, saying the braids don’t look too tough. The youngest boy softly tells Cornrows, whose name is Luther, that he likes the braids, and Luther’s grateful for the compliment. He points to a poster of Allen Iverson on the wall and challenges his brothers to tell him he doesn’t look like “The Answer.” “You look like Brandy,” the middle brother tells him, and is rewarded with a glare from Luther and chuckles from the rest of them. The one with glasses, whose name is Cedric, starts feeding scraps to a dog under the table. The oldest brother scolds him, and so does Mom as she comes by with the last two dishes for their feast. Cedric protests that the dog needs his strength; Mom clearly doesn’t agree. Cedric argues that it’s Thanksgiving for the dog, too. Meanwhile, the youngest one asks Mom for the wishbone, and the oldest brother asks him what he’s going to wish for. “I don’t know, lots of things,” he says with a broad smile.
Luther starts to dig in, but Mom stops him, reminding him that first they’re going to say their thanks. They join hands, and Mom thanks God for the meal, and the blessings of family, then names each son. “For Vaughn,” she begins,“who stepped into his daddy’s shoes after his passing; for Cedric, always bringin’ home his stray mutts and whatnot.” Cedric protests that the dog’s not a mutt, and Mom laughs slightly before continuing. “And for Quincy, my dreamer, head in the clouds, and Luther, The Answer, who don’t look like Brandy.” “Much,” Quincy adds, and Luther silences him with a “Hey.” “And finally,” Mom continues, “for our baby Patrick; let him get any wish he wants.” “And for you, too, Ma,” Patrick adds, and Mom softly agrees. They say Amen, and then start chowing down.
At this point, I’m getting really depressed, wondering which one of these already-likable boys is going to wind up dead. We see a body with a gunshot, and a caption saying it’s Vaughn Bubley, 1999. Wait…they never do that. Uh-oh. Another gunshot victim; this time it’s Cedric, in 2001. Oh, snap. Then, we hear gunshots, and see Quincy’s body in 2003. Oh, SNAP. The three evidence boxes form a solemn line in the warehouse.
Present Day
Squad car lights whirl, sirens wail, and radios crackle outside Yin’s Market. And…oh, holy mother of SNAP. Luther Bubley lies dead in the street. On the depressing scale, this episode is already comfortably sitting at an 8.75 at least. CSUs troll for evidence as police officers try to hold the crowd back. Vera and Lilly leave the market, and an officer has a heavyset black man in handcuffs, who’s already demanding a lawyer. Lilly comes up and tells him, in no uncertain terms, to either tell her what happened, or shut up. He insists he didn’t see anything, but Lilly finds that hard to believe, reminding him that he sits on that stoop every day. He goes off on an unsavory rant about cops. “That’s a good attitude, doughboy,” Vera remarks drily. Hee. Lilly turns away from Doughboy just in time to see Scotty and Stillman arrive. Scotty asks if they’re back on the line tonight, and Stillman says they’ve got a triple, and they need all the help they can get. Scotty sarcastically remarks how quiet it is out there, what with the sirens and the helicopters, and Vera agrees, deeming it a little slice of paradise. Stillman asks what went down, and Jeffries tells him that the Ninth Street Gang had a shootout with the O’s. Scotty asks what the score is, and Lilly gives it to him: three dead, one wounded. Vera says they were all gangsters and proclaims them “community service murders.” Stillman asks if anyone’s talking, and Jeffries says there’s a lot of talk, but no help.
Suddenly, they’re interrupted by a woman’s panicked voice screaming for Luther, demanding to be let through the crime scene tape because her boy is out there. Lilly realizes she knows that woman, explaining that her son’s death was Lilly’s first homicide. “Practically makes you friends,” Vera comments. Stillman thinks maybe the mom will talk to Lilly, so Lil heads over to find Mrs. Bubley screaming at a uniformed officer to get out of her face. Lilly reintroduces herself, saying that she worked her son’s murder. “Which son?” Mrs. Bubley demands hysterically, and Lilly can’t remember the name, but says it was in 1999. “Vaughn,” Patrick says angrily. “Right…Vaughn.” Lilly replies. Mrs. Bubley continues, saying now they lost Luther, and Lilly says she’s sorry. Mrs. Bubley yells at her not to be sorry, just get out of her way. Lilly asks if she has any idea who might have done this, and Patrick asks sarcastically if Lilly’s going to solve his murder. Lil says she’s going to try, and Mrs. Bubley is incredulous. “Like you solved Vaughn’s? Or Cedric’s, or Quincy’s?” she shrieks. Lilly tries to wrap her mind around the fact that Mrs. Bubley has lost four sons, and Mrs. Bubley says that Patrick’s all she’s got left, and after he’s gunned down, Lilly won’t solve his murder either. Wow. Just…wow.
Credits.
Evidence warehouse. Scotty and Stillman head in, and Scotty asks if Sutton’s coming. Stillman says she took a leave. Scotty asks if she said why, and Stillman replies that it was personal. Scotty frowns in confusion as he realizes that his do-me eyes might possibly fit that category. Meanwhile, Lilly’s pulled the evidence boxes, saying that four out of five brothers are dead; all shot in Fairhill, all unsolved. Stillman asks if the mother gave Lilly any help, and Lilly retorts bitterly that the mother gave her crap, that she hates cops. Scotty asks if the shooting last night was just another turf war between the O’s and the Ninth Streeters, and Stillman says it looks that way, but the gang unit says that the leader of the O’s, Miguel Maldonado, has a running feud with the Bubleys. Lilly asks what the feud is about, and Stillman doesn’t know, but says Miguel is in each box as a person of interest. Scotty theorizes that maybe Miguel is behind the murders, and Lilly suggests that perhaps Luther wasn’t just caught up in a turf war, maybe it was personal. Stillman says that the problem is, Miguel’s untouchable. “’Cause snitches get stitches,” Scotty remarks. Stillman agrees that Miguel is known as a real sadist. Lilly says there’s one brother left: Patrick. Stillman hopes they can get someone to finger Miguel for any of these jobs and put him away. Scotty concludes that solving one Bubley murder might result in solving them all, and Lilly says they might be able to keep Patrick from joining his brothers.
Hospital room. A young Hispanic man lies in a hospital bed, bandaged around the knee, sleeping peacefully until he’s awakened by a not-too-gentle rapping on the head from Scotty’s pen. Scotty demands of the guy, Carlos, why Luther Bubley shot him; Carlos says he didn’t see anything. Scotty’s not buying this, saying that preliminary ballistics reports say that Luther’s gun put that hole in his leg. Carlos admits that maybe Luther shot him, but says it “ain’t no thing.” Scotty continues, saying that Carlos’s boys shot up Luther outside the market. Carlos is silent for a minute, and Scotty rolls his eyes, then adds some incentive in the form of his notebook on Carlos’s bandaged knee. Carlos winces in pain, and Scotty lets up, asking him if Miguel told him to kill Luther over his problem with the Bubleys, and Carlos replies that the Bubleys are nothing to Miguel. Scotty leans on him again, asking why Miguel’s killing them off. Carlos argues that Scotty’s the police, and he can’t be “gettin’ all torture chamber” on him. Scotty begs to differ, laughs a bit, and leans harder with his notebook and wrestling Carlos back down into the bed with his right, acting like he can’t hear Carlos’s protests. Finally Carlos agrees to talk and Scotty lets up. He glares at Scotty and remarks, “You’re a terrible cop, you know that?” I bet Scotty can live with that. Sure enough, he doesn’t even blink, just asks Carlos how the shooting started. Carlos sighs and says he was goofing around on his scooter.
Yin’s Market, where Carlos is indeed goofing around on his scooter, accompanied by Citizen Cope’s “Let The Drummer Kick It.” Luther and Patrick walk in, Luther saying he’ll rent some movies and instructing Patrick to get some cereal. Patrick protests that he doesn’t want cereal, and Luther’s undeterred, saying maybe Mom will want some. Patrick argues that Mom doesn’t eat anything but smoke anymore, and Luther cheerfully says Patrick has to fill up before school. Patrick says he’s not going to school, arguing that Luther dropped out and quit playing ball. “Yeah, well, you ain’t me,” Luther retorts, and chides Patrick to stop wasting his talent and quit being stupid. “You wasted yours,” Patrick replies. Luther grabs some cereal and heads for the counter to pay, but then spies Carlos and the scooter on the security monitor. He tells Patrick in no uncertain terms to go home, now, and Patrick agrees reluctantly and heads out. The minute he’s gone, Luther pulls a gun out of the waistband of his pants, points it at Carlos, tells him it’s for Web D, and fires a shot. Carlos falls to the ground and grabs his leg, and Luther runs out of the store, quickly followed by several of Carlos’s posse. Carlos continues to writhe on the ground as we hear more gunshots.
Carlos says heatedly that the fool had no cause to do what he did. Scotty asks what Web D meant, and Carlos says that if Scotty finds out, he wants to know, so he can find out why he got capped. Scotty thanks Carlos, and gently pats his wounded knee a couple times with his notebook as he turns to leave. Heh. Nothin’ like a little Bad Cop to get things rolling.
Bubley home. Lilly introduces a very reluctant Patrick to Jeffries, then says that Carlos told them Patrick was at the market when Luther got shot. Patrick denies it. Lilly continues, saying Luther said the shooting was for Web D, and asks Patrick what that means. Patrick says angrily that what happened to Luther doesn’t concern them. Jeffries guesses that’s because Patrick plans to take care of it, and he retorts that someone’s got to. Lilly approaches Maeve Bubley, who’s in her bathrobe and affixing a black ribbon to yet another one of her sons’ school pictures. “You again?” she asks Lilly bitterly. Lilly tells her that they’re working on her sons’ murders, and she turns away in disgust. Jeffries decides to try, saying that they need her help. She says she’s clean out of help for the police. Jeffries reaches forward and extracts a crack pipe from the pocket of Maeve’s bathrobe, which isn’t unnoticed by Lilly, then tells her that they think Miguel Maldonado is responsible for killing her boys, and that if they solve Luther’s murder from last night, maybe they can close all the boys’ cases. Maeve says she doesn’t know anything, and Lilly entreats her to focus. This backfires, as Maeve orders Lilly not to talk to her like that, then asks Lil and Jeffries if either one of them have lost kids. Concluding from their silence that they haven’t, she orders them out, saying she has no use for them. Lilly reminds Maeve that that’s not how she felt back in 1999, when Vaughn died, and says she was there. She approaches Patrick, telling him he wanted her help then.
Crime scene, 1999. We hear Moby’s “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?” Vaughn lies dead in the street as a very young-looking Lilly, along with her partner, a crusty old guy, survey the scene. Maeve rushes up, and Lil’s partner notices this. “Aw, crap,” he says disgustedly. “Critter’s got family.” Lilly, whose hair is up in an absolutely adorable ponytail, looks over and notices Maeve and Patrick, then asks her partner if she should notify the family. He encourages her to do exactly that, and she heads over, then stops and turns back to her partner, saying she’s never done it before. Aw, young naïve Lil is so tragically cute! Her partner tells this is the perfect opportunity, because it’s nothing but an NHI. “No humans involved,” Lilly concludes reluctantly, then says she doesn’t really believe in that. Her partner tells her to stick around long enough, and her bleeding heart will run dry pretty soon. Wow. Obviously he doesn’t know Lil. She reluctantly heads over to the Bubleys. Maeve reaches for her and says that can’t be her boy, but Lilly tells her it’s Vaughn Bubley, and she begins to cry. Patrick’s near tears himself, and asks her if Vaughn’s dead. “I’m afraid so,” Lilly replies softly, looking like she might cry any second, too. Believe me, I’m way ahead of her. She asks the assembled Bubleys if they have any idea who might have done this, and Cedric responds that Vaughn wasn’t buying and he wasn’t banging, if that’s what she thinks. Lilly protests that she wasn’t thinking that, and Maeve sobs that Vaughn was a good boy, that he worked hard. Cedric starts to cry and implores Lilly to find out who did this as Maeve continues her eulogy, saying that Vaughn was like a father to his brothers. All the boys and their mom embrace and cry together, but Patrick steps under the crime scene tape and asks Lil, once again, if Vaughn’s really dead. She whispers that she’s sorry, and he hugs her and cries on her shoulder, saying he’s not gonna make it without Vaughn.
Patrick tells Lilly bitterly that that was a long time back. Lilly says they know the Bubleys have had it rough. “You know…you understand my life,” Maeve says sarcastically, and Lilly, looking like she’s near the end of her rope, says she’s trying to. Maeve laughs humorlessly and tells Lilly not to waste her time doling out her fake sympathy when everyone knows it’s nothing but bull. “White, police woman’s bull.” Jeffries tries to stop her, but Maeve shrieks at him that she’s got a funeral to plan, a burial to see to, and demands if Lil knows how much that costs, then goes off on a rant on how expensive it is to pay for another boy dying and laying him to rest in any kind of decent way, but Lilly turns away with this hard, icy look in her eyes, indicating her crusty old partner’s prediction might be starting to come true. Oh, say it ain’t so, Lil!
PPD, balcony. Lilly’s out there, looking pensive and wringing her hands. Stillman comes out and asks her if she had any luck with the Bubleys. She says no, and Stillman presses her, asking if she got anything on Maldonado or Web D. She tells him that a weird thing happened today when she was talking to the mother; she was going off on a tear, and Lilly tuned her out, like she didn’t care. “You’re doin’ the J-O-B, Lil,” Stillman tells her. “Sometimes that’s all there is.” Lilly asks Stillman if he ever met her first partner, Ben Fulcrum, and he has, saying Fulcrum’s retired. Lilly says she keeps hearing Fulcrum’s voice in her head, “NHI, NHI.” Stillman tries to reassure her, saying she’s not like that, but she says she was today. Not missing a beat, Stillman tells her tomorrow will be different. Lil’s not entirely sure, but she promises vehemently that she’ll quit before she looks in the mirror and sees Fulcrum’s face staring back at her. Stillman pats her on the shoulder and says with a smile that he’s seen her old partner’s face, and nobody wants that, then turns to head back inside. He stops when Lilly tells him that the Bubleys hate them, and he says that a lot of Fairhill does. “So how do we keep from hating them back?” she asks, and Stillman just stands there, unable to answer. There are no words to describe the riveting awesomeness of this scene. Absolutely none.
PPD, Kitchen. Scotty’s rooting around in the fridge, and Vera asks him if Boss said how long Sutton was on leave. “Nope,” Scotty replies. He retrieves a bottle of water as Vera theorizes that Sutton ran off with Sgt. White, and Scotty says that Gil Sherman told him what really went down. They head into the squad room, and Vera, clearly dying for a bit of juicy gossip, instructs Scotty to dish. He complies, saying that it was a one-way thing, that Sgt. White made Sutton’s life hell chasing her skirt around. Vera concludes that nothing happened, and says that she could have set the record straight. Scotty says Sutton didn’t think she had to.
They approach Stillman and Lilly, and Scotty slips a videotape into the player as Stillman asks if that’s the security tape from the market. Scotty reminds them drily how nobody saw anything, then presses play, and we see a stream of young men hurrying out of the store. Vera says he interviewed every one of those guys; no help. “Same old, same old,” Stillman remarks, but Lilly notices a tall kid wearing a lot of bling and says he’s in Quincy Bubley’s file, too. Stillman takes a look and realizes that the kid is Theodore Clausen, street name “Cartier,” and Lilly adds that he was busted for selling rock. Stillman says Cartier was questioned as a witness in Quincy’s murder. Vera asks if Cartier talked back then, and Stillman reads the notes, saying that Cartier claimed to not recall “the tragic events in question.” Scotty thinks it’s something that Cartier has been a witness to two Bubley murders, but Vera reminds him that Cartier lied to their faces the other day and wonders why he’d talk now. Stillman says they have to give him some incentive, and Lilly muses that he has to make a living. “Pay for all that bling,” Scotty adds. Oh, are they going where I think they’re going?? “No Drugs Today?” Vera suggests. Oh, they are indeed. “Shut ‘em down,” Stillman orders. I LOVE No Drugs Today!
Cartier’s corner. Scotty comes back to where the guys have set up camp and hands out some sort of frozen confection to Jeffries and Vera, saying he’s got lemon, lemon, and…lemon. “No cherry?” Vera pouts. “Lemon,” Scotty replies. Hee. A BMW pulls up, and a smarmy-looking college boy nods cordially at them and asks if they’re friends of Cartier’s. “Family, actually,” Vera responds. Heh. Scotty asks College Boy if he’s looking to score, and he responds with a directive to hook a brother up. “One sec, we’ll get him for you,” Jeffries says, as he gets up and knocks on the boarded-up window to Cartier’s lair. He calls to Cartier, telling him he’s got another customer. The detectives asks where they should send College Boy: to his competition in the next village over, or further east into O-Town. Cartier emerges, protesting petulantly that they’re messing with his livelihood. College Boy calls to Cartier, repeating his request for him to hook a brother up. He so can’t pull that off. Scotty apparently agrees with me, because he turns around with a question for College Boy. “Are you really as stupid as you are?” he asks. College Boy looks confused, but it all becomes crystal-clear when the detectives show him their badges and Scotty announces that it’s No Drugs Today. College Boy looks terrified and immediately peels out with a screeching of tires.
Cartier’s had enough, and he finally says he’s playing. Jeffries asks why Luther Bubley shot Carlos, and Cartier says he doesn’t know, for real. “For real,” Scotty repeats. “What’s Web D?” Cartier whines at them to ask him a question he can answer, since he cannot afford to have them on his stoop. Vera coolly reminds Cartier that he was there for Quincy Bubley’s murder, and Jeffries asks what happened. Cartier answers that Quincy messed up and went out of bounds, that he got desperate to support his family after Vaughn and Cedric passed.
Bubley home, where we hear Norah Jones’ lovely “The Long Day Is Over.” Cartier and Quincy come in with buckets of fried chicken, asking if anybody knows what day it is. “Thanksgiving,” Patrick replies. “And look what I brought,” Quincy announces. Patrick’s incredulous that Quincy brought chicken for Thanksgiving, and Cartier adds that he’s got the sides, and they instruct Patrick to get some plates on the table. A pajama-glad Maeve emerges from the hallway, asking Quincy if he brought her some, but his only reply is “Come on, Ma. Not now.” She smiles at him and tells him he’s right. Patrick tells her Luther’s fixing her a plate, but she says she’s not hungry, she’ll just watch them eat. Patrick suggests that they say a blessing, like they used to, and after some encouragement from the others, Maeve agrees, saying she thinks she remembers how it’s done. They join hands, and the empty spaces at the table are very poignant and tear-inducing. Maeve thanks God for the meal they’re about to receive and for the blessings of family, but is unable to continue. The boys look up, and Luther encourages her to keep going, telling her that she’s doing good. She shakes her head and tearfully says that she can’t, and she’s sorry. They release hands, and Quincy says they’ll just eat. He digs into the bags, and Maeve tells them to wait until next year, that she’ll be back to her old self. “There you go,” Quincy encourages her with a smile. She continues, saying she’ll get her job at the beauty shop back and get Quincy off the streets. That sounds good to him. His phone rings as Patrick suggests pumpkin pie next year, and Quincy smiles and says, “Aw, now you’ve got me thinkin’ about it.” Maeve’s hopeful, saying maybe she can still whip one up, and Patrick offers to go to the store and get her what she needs. They’re interrupted by Quincy protesting over the phone that it’s Thanksgiving, and he’s having dinner with his family. The others look crestfallen as he reluctantly agrees and says he’s coming. He apologizes to Maeve, saying he has to leave, and Patrick says they’ll save a slice of pie for him. “Maybe,” Luther says with a smile. Quincy grabs Cartier and they start to leave. As they head out, Maeve tells Quincy that it’s all gonna be different. He nods, and they leave. The second the door shuts, gunshots split the air, and tires screech away. Patrick and Luther get up and run out, and this case just hit a 9.5 on the depressing scale.
Scotty asks Cartier if he saw who pulled the trigger, and Cartier shakes his head. “Flash of light, screech of tires,” he says. Scotty thinks Cartier has a notion, and he argues that Quincy was desperate to do right for his family, and he branched out and started selling on the wrong block. “Whose block?” Vera asks, and Cartier is silent for a moment before answering that the block in question belonged to Jesus Maldonado, Miguel’s cousin.
Apartment complex. Scotty and Vera approach Jesus’s apartment, where he’s inside arguing with a pregnant woman, who’s demanding to know why Miguel doesn’t call her. Jesus guesses he’s busy, and the woman argues that Miguel’s going to be a daddy. Scotty’s listening to this exchange and concludes that the pregnant woman is Miguel’s girl. A little girl approaches, and Scotty smiles adorably at her and motions for her to be quiet, but she shrieks “Five-O, Five-O!” Scotty asks her what she’s doing as she runs off. The door to the apartment opens, and the pregnant woman walks out. Vera stops her, while Scotty talks to Jesus.
Vera asks the woman when the baby’s coming, and she says she doesn’t know. Vera says it’d be good to see a doctor, and she demands to know why Vera cares. “Ain’t like you knocked me up,” she says. Oh, now there’s a picture. Vera says he knows a clinic nearby; he offers to take her there, they can talk about the daddy-to-be. The woman says she’s not a snitch.
