Post by cellogal on Jul 20, 2008 13:01:01 GMT -5
March 24, 1947
Coal mine, where we hear Big Bill Broonzy’s “Sixteen Tons.” Miners ride down the elevator, shout instructions to one another, and do other miner-ly things. A boss-looking figure, casually leaning on a box of dynamite, lights a cigarette and shouts more instructions. A blonde guy, who, as one person on the TWoP board put it, is “three kinds of delicious topped with yummy and sprinkled with daaaaaaamn,” compliments a fellow miner, Nate, on his shiny new helmet. Nate, a black man with a very cool accent from some Caribbean island, says that his wife wouldn’t let him down in the hole without a hardhat. Smart wife he’s got there. Three Kinds of Delicious comments that at least Nate’s wife cares if he gets cracked in the dome, and another guy is skeptical that his sister’s treating TKoD that badly these days. “Whaddaya mean these days?” TKoD retorts. Nate says he’d tell TKoD what Alice cooked up last night, but he doesn’t want to rub it in, and TKoD replies that he’s lucky he’s got a woman like that. The appreciative laughter is cut off by the boss-man coughing. Nate comments on the cough, and we learn that Boss-man is TKoD’s father-in-law, and TKoD says the guy ought to retire. Nate tells TKoD, whom he calls Donnie, that he should go for foreman, since Alice is counting on him to bring all of them up out of there. Donnie says that, with all the stories Nate tells, it’d be nice to finally meet Alice. “Not in this here world,” Nate replies, but Donnie points out that, down in the mines, everyone’s blood runs brown. “But not up there,” Nate points out, and then Boss-man gets another nasty coughing fit. His son expresses concern, but Boss-man insists he’s fine and orders him to get back to work. They’re interrupted by a runaway mine cart, and Donnie leaps into its path to knock Nate out of the way. He’s just in time, as the cart misses them by inches. Donnie’s brother-in-law tells Nate to watch it, and Nate comments that there are eight million ways to die every day. “Not today,” Donnie says.
The scene changes, and there’s an eerie calm in the mine. We don’t immediately see any miners, but suddenly, there’s an explosion, and when the dust clears, we see Donnie’s bloodied body lying on the floor of the mine.
Present Day
Crime scene. Scotty and Vera walk toward the squad cars, and Scotty asks Vera if he figures on stretching out that shirt another day. “Wanna check my shorts there, too, Pops?” Vera retorts. Hee. Scotty turns his attention to the matter at hand, which is that transit workers expanding the subway found the body, five stories under. Vera’s not going down there, and Scotty asks why; doesn’t he like tunnels? It’s not the tunnels that bother Vera, apparently, but rats the size of badgers. Scotty reassures him by saying that even the rats hate it down there. They arrive at the scene then, and Jeffries explains that a bulldozer broke through an old service tunnel and found the bones. Stillman adds that the victim is an adult male who died of blunt force trauma to the skull. Jeffries continues, saying that the body was found behind a tunnel that got sealed in 1948. “Guy needs a paleontologist, not a detective,” Vera remarks, while Scotty suggests that it could be one of those “mole people.” Heh. Stillman says it wasn’t a mole, but a sandhog: an urban miner, who died with his boots on. He hands Scotty the victim’s badge, which identifies him as Compression Worker #505 and contains emergency instructions to return said miner, if found sick or unconscious, to the medical decompression lock at the construction site. That sounds…ominous. Stillman explains that miners were required to carry those badges at all times in case of an attack of the bends. Vera asks how a miner gets the bends, and Stillman tells him that it’s the compressed air that does it: mines, subway tunnels, sewers, etc. Jeffries reports the old saying that, if it’s deeper than a grave, a sandhog dug it, and Vera comments that it looks like this poor schmuck might have dug his own. Scotty, a little perplexed, remembers those trapped miners on the news, saying they’ll move heaven and earth to get a guy out. “Or at least recover a body,” Jeffries adds, leading Stillman to conclude that the victim didn’t get left behind: he got buried on purpose.
Credits.
Street. Lil’s walking with Joseph, who’s apparently just picked up donuts for the two of them, and Lilly asks if this is some kind of cop joke. Joseph asks if cops are the only ones who are allowed to eat fried dough, and Lilly points out that she never eats donuts. Joseph doesn’t quite believe her and takes a bite of his, exaggerating his enjoyment, and then Lilly points out that he’s got sugar on his cheek. I’m not sure what’s more sickeningly sweet at this point: the donuts, or these two. Lilly wipes the sugar off Joseph’s cheek and flirtatiously orders him to get over there, but he tells her she has to eat a donut first. Okay…definitely these two. Lilly insists she doesn’t want a stupid donut, but Joseph persists, and finally she tells him to give her the bag, after which she removes the donut and takes a big bite. Joseph congratulates her, and she’s forced to admit that the donut is pretty good, and Joseph chooses this moment to tell Lilly that he loves her. Wow. Okay, then. Lilly’s slightly taken aback. “Yeah?” she asks. “Yeah…definitely,” Joseph says. Lilly doesn’t know what to say, but Joseph’s confident she’ll figure it out, since she’s a detective. She doesn’t take the bait, and Joseph gets the hint, then says he has to run, tells her he’ll call her later, and gives her a very sweet kiss. After he leaves, Lilly stands there looking like all the sugary sweetness has gotten to her, because all of a sudden she’s a wee bit green around the gills.
Squad room. Scotty informs Stillman that he had OSHA check the state archives on this one, and Lilly identifies Compressed Air 505 as John Donovan. Stillman remembers John “Boomer” Donovan as head of Local 37, and Lilly adds that he was reported missing in 1948. Stillman explains that Donovan turned hero after taking on management, then mysteriously disappeared. Lilly comments that Boss sure knows his sandhog history, and Stillman replies that, in the neighborhood he grew up in, you either became a cop, a fireman, or a sandhog, and he’s got this thing about being burned or buried alive. Heh. Lilly asks how they know it wasn’t just an accident, and Stillman says that Donnie disappeared on a Sunday, leading Scotty to conclude that he wasn’t down there working. Stillman explains that the theory was that he took on management in a labor dispute, and Scotty surmises that this essentially bought him a pair of cement shoes and a ticket to the bottom of the river. Lilly points out that they couldn’t prove it without a body. Scotty tells us that the only surviving next of kin is a brother-in-law, Robert McAllister, an old sandhog and head of the union. Stillman tells them that, if Bobby’s not at home, check at Mulrooney’s in Devil’s Pocket. Scotty asks if that’s a sandhog bar. “We got Jones’ Tavern, they got Mulrooney’s,” Stillman replies.
Mulrooney’s. Bobby comments that they keep Donovan’s photo up there, with the top shelf whiskey, and are still buying him shots. Scotty asks about Donovan being married to Bobby’s sister, and Bobby says he introduced them. Vera comments that there are a lot of sandhogs in Bobby’s family, and Bobby proudly says he’s 3rd generation: his old man spent thirty years in the hole. He indicates his father, Big Mac’s, photo, and then whips out a silver lighter with a cross to light his cigar. “Nice lighter,” Scotty comments, and Bobby says it was a gift from Big Mac on his wedding day; it’s the only thing that holds a flame in the tunnels. Scotty tells him they hear management had it out for Donovan, and Bobby says that Sam Bertleman, the head of Bertleman Construction, did, and everyone knew it. He says even guys going deaf, being maimed, and being killed didn’t stop that greedy bastard. “Donovan tried to,” Vera points out, and Bobby replies that Donovan was the only one with the stones to take the boss-man on. Vera asks when Donovan started organizing the miners, and Bobby says it was right after his pal, Nate, died in the hole. After that, there was no stopping him.
Mine site. Over Son House’s “John the Revelator,” an alert horn sounds as miners run out of the mine, some carrying other miners on stretchers, others limping on their own. Big Mac runs up to Bobby and asks where Donovan is, and we then see him coming out of the mine. Big Mac shoves Bobby aside and rushes up to Donovan, asking if he’s okay. Donovan sees Bertleman, though, and runs up to him, yelling at him and getting into a shoving match, saying that “he had no chance in there.” Big Mac separates them, and Donovan winds up scuffling with him instead. All scuffling comes to a stop, though, with the arrival of a woman calling for Nate. Donovan rushes up to her and asks if she’s Alice, and she frantically asks where Nate is. Donovan doesn’t answer. “You left him down there?” she shrieks. Donovan’s starting to explain, but then two other miners drag Nate’s body out of the mine, and Alice falls to her knees beside him, sobbing hysterically that he promised her. Donovan gently pulls her away and apologizes, but she shoves him away, then slaps him and screams that he was supposed to watch over Nate, that he was his friend.
Bobby says he didn’t blame her, but her anger was misdirected, since Bertleman didn’t care about the safety of his workers. Scotty concludes that this is when Donovan started organizing the men, and Bobby says that a few months later, Donovan disappeared. Bobby says Mary told him Donovan went off to the pub and never came home. Scotty realizes that Bobby thinks Bertleman arranged to have Donovan killed, and Bobby says that Donovan was about to lead a walkout. “You tell me,” he says.
Construction site. Lilly and Kat approach Sam Bertleman, who claims to be busy. “So are we,” Kat replies, then explains that John Donovan’s body was just found in a tunnel under the Schuylkill. “Not to slow you down or anything,” Lilly remarks drily. Heh. Sam insists it’s got nothing to do with him, but Kat says it might have with his old man. Sam says his father built this city, every tunnel, and this isn’t the first body that’s turned up underground. Lilly says that this was one of his workers, and a union leader, too. Sam says that the last thing his old man wanted was to make John Donovan some kind of martyr. “Kinda funny that he turned up dead, then,” Kat comments, and Sam explains that they blamed his father because it was easier than looking at one of their own. Lilly asks if he’s saying that another sandhog did it, and Sam proclaims all that “band of brothers union stuff” a bunch of BS, then says that one guy, Zaccardo, was always causing trouble.
Mine site, where we hear Hank Williams, Sr.’s “Move It On Over.” Young Sam is playing with a toy airplane and making cute little-boy toy airplane noises while Donovan and Zaccardo argue. Donovan tells him that what happened to Nate isn’t right, and it isn’t going to change until they make it change. Zaccardo tells him he’s barking up the wrong tree, but Donovan argues that Nate was one of them, and they owe him. Zaccardo tells Donovan that if he wants to walk off the job over some dead (some word I can’t understand, but in any event, I presume is a racial slur), he should go ahead. “What’d you call him?” Donovan demands, and Zaccardo continues, accusing Donovan of making a fool of himself with “that bugaboo widow” in front of everyone. As Big Mac and the others look on, the two begin to fight, but when Zaccardo goes for one of his mining tools, Big Mac stops him. Zaccardo insists it’s not his concern. Donovan charges Zaccardo, ordering him not to talk about Alice like that, but before he gets there, Big Mac shoves him back and tells him to shut up, then turns to Zaccardo and says it’s over. Zaccardo begs to differ, promising that it is, in fact, not over.
Lilly and Kat surmise that one could bash a man’s skull in with that mining tool, which we learn is called a scaling bar. Sam says that Donovan had guts, but Zaccardo was a mean SOB who didn’t appreciate being humiliated. Lilly asks if he thinks Zaccardo killed Donovan, and Sam says he was a sandhog, and down in that hole, anything can happen. Lilly asks Sam if he has any idea where Zaccardo ended up, and Sam says the last he heard, prison, for caving someone’s head in during a bar fight.
Prison. Scotty reminds Zaccardo of his life sentence for second-degree murder, killing a guy with a crowbar outside a bar. “Guy had it comin’,” Zaccardo says calmly. Why? Was he watching little boys on the playground? “Did John Donovan?” Jeffries asks, pointing out that Zaccardo had motive, opportunity, and a serious beef. “He work for you?” Zaccardo asks Scotty, indicating Jeffries, and the two exchange a glance before Scotty continues, telling Zaccardo it’s time to set the record straight and clear his conscience. Jeffries adds that, at Zaccardo’s age, the DA might work out a deal. “I’ll talk to you,” Zaccardo tells Scotty, and Jeffries starts to leave, but then turns and offers this parting shot. “Or you can rot in prison for all I care.” Go, Jeffries. Zaccardo comments that “it’s always something with them,” and Scotty, showing remarkable restraint, asks him about Donovan. Zaccardo says they had a difference of opinion, but just because he wasn’t going to strike doesn’t mean he killed the guy. Scotty asks who did, and Zaccardo says it was “the coloreds,” who blamed Donovan for Nate’s death. “You mean the West Indian sandhogs?” Scotty corrects, with a roll of his eyes. Zaccardo says, West Indians, Afro-Americans, they can call themselves whatever they want, but they had it in for Donovan in the worst way. “And how would you know?” Scotty demands, and Zaccardo says that the only place near the dig to get refills was a coffee shop that served coloreds. “So long as you didn’t touch the silverware, it was fine,” he says with a leer. Man, Scotty, anytime you wanna smack the crap out of this guy is fine by me. He has it coming.
Coffee shop, where “Buzz Me Blues” by Louis Jordan plays. Zaccardo comes in to get his thermos refilled, and who should be doing the refilling but Alice! Donovan comes in a few seconds later, takes a seat at the end of the counter, and asks for coffee. Alice says it’ll be ready in a minute, and Donovan and one of the West Indians eye each other uncomfortably. Alice approaches and asks him if he wants cream or sugar. “Just black,” he replies. “Just like this place used to be,” she comments. Donovan then takes out an envelope and hands it to Alice, saying that the boys at the hoghouse passed a hat; it’s not much, he says, but it’s the best they can do. Alice looks surprised, and Donovan says that Nate was right, she gives a man no quarter. I’m not sure what that means, but Alice seems to, because she seems pleased that Nate told him that. Donovan says Nate told him a lot of things, and that he misses him, too. “Not like I do,” Alice says sadly, in that absolutely beautiful accent of hers. The West Indian sandhog pipes up, asking what’s going to be done about it, and Donovan says that the union’s working on getting a settlement. The other guy points out that he and Nate paid their dues, and it’s bad enough that they still got shut out for the best jobs. Donovan says he hears him, but the other guy doesn’t seem to believe him, cynically surmising that maybe a white man has to die down in that hole for the union to sit up and take notice. Donovan decides to leave, picks up his thermos, and tells Alice to take care. “I will,” she replies.
Scotty concludes that Zaccardo thinks that the other guy, Bishop, made good on his threat, and Zaccardo points out that he’s not the only sandhog who ever served time. Scotty asks if Bishop served time, and Zaccardo says he had a record, and a bad attitude. Well, that makes two of ‘em.
PPD, kitchen. Kat’s trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Alice was never paid a settlement, and Alice confirms it. “Bertleman wouldn’t give a dime for a black man’s life,” she says. Lilly reminds her that Bishop was pretty upset about it, but Alice says he was all bark, no bite. Kat asks if the two of them kept in touch, and Alice explains that he passed twenty years ago, and no, they didn’t. Well, looks like Bishop’s in the clear, since he’s dead and all. Lilly asks Alice about her own beef with Donovan, and Alice says that she was upset because her husband died, but Donovan helped her in a time of need. Lilly asks if Donovan came by regularly to give her money, and she says it was to check on her, to see how she was getting by. Kat asks if he ever talked about work, or about anybody who might have had it in for him, but Alice says that mostly they just talked about Nate. Lilly surmises that Alice enjoyed talking to Donovan, and Alice says that he was the first person to make her laugh again after Nate died, and she began looking forward to seeing him on his way home from his shift. She’s got this adorable little smile, even after all these years, and the detectives are picking up on it. “Sounds like Donovan was there quite a bit,” Kat says slyly, and Alice explains that he didn’t have much to go home to: Mary couldn’t get pregnant, so she crawled up inside a bottle. He didn’t talk about it much, she says, and she didn’t ask. Kat observes that, back then, people stuck it out, even when it didn’t make sense, and Alice says it was the times: “He was married and white, and I was neither.” Lilly asks if that stopped her. Alice says that, one evening, they were talking later than usual, and finally, they just ran out of things to say.
Coffee shop, where Donovan’s the only customer, and Alice looks like she’s preparing to close for the night. Louis Armstrong’s “I Wonder” is on the jukebox, and Alice smiles and remarks that there’s nothing quite like the blues. Donovan remarks that Nate always said Alice liked her music, and Alice says it’s not just music. “Then what?” Donovan asks. She says it makes her feel like she’s not alone, and Donovan looks up at her, grins adorably, and says it’s good to see her smile again. He explains that Nate used to say that Alice’s smile could light up every tunnel in the city, and he always used to wonder what Nate meant, but now he knows. Wow. That was very, very smooth. Props. They gaze at each other for a minute, scoot their hands closer together, touch them briefly, and then Alice says she ought to be getting home. Donovan agrees, pays for his meal, and wishes her good night. He leaves, but after a few seconds, he returns, asking her what she said this song was called again. She never said, but surmises that he likes it. Donovan does, saying he likes everything about it. It ain’t just the music he likes, folks, and Alice seems to have figured this out, because she approaches him, and he holds his arms out in a wordless invitation for her to dance with him. She agrees with a smile, and they sway back and forth for a few seconds before he asks who the singer is. “Satchmo,” she says. Donovan whispers to her that she’s not alone, and they then start kissing in what has to be one of the most beautifully romantic moments I’ve ever seen on this show.
“White married man, black woman…that could get you in trouble today,” Kat remarks. Alice nods, and she says she knew it couldn’t last, and it didn’t. Lilly surmises that it must have been tough to let that go. Kat asks if anyone else knew, and Alice says it was just the brother-in-law. “Bobby MacAllister,” Lilly realizes, and she and Kat exchange a meaningful glance.
Coal mine, where we hear Big Bill Broonzy’s “Sixteen Tons.” Miners ride down the elevator, shout instructions to one another, and do other miner-ly things. A boss-looking figure, casually leaning on a box of dynamite, lights a cigarette and shouts more instructions. A blonde guy, who, as one person on the TWoP board put it, is “three kinds of delicious topped with yummy and sprinkled with daaaaaaamn,” compliments a fellow miner, Nate, on his shiny new helmet. Nate, a black man with a very cool accent from some Caribbean island, says that his wife wouldn’t let him down in the hole without a hardhat. Smart wife he’s got there. Three Kinds of Delicious comments that at least Nate’s wife cares if he gets cracked in the dome, and another guy is skeptical that his sister’s treating TKoD that badly these days. “Whaddaya mean these days?” TKoD retorts. Nate says he’d tell TKoD what Alice cooked up last night, but he doesn’t want to rub it in, and TKoD replies that he’s lucky he’s got a woman like that. The appreciative laughter is cut off by the boss-man coughing. Nate comments on the cough, and we learn that Boss-man is TKoD’s father-in-law, and TKoD says the guy ought to retire. Nate tells TKoD, whom he calls Donnie, that he should go for foreman, since Alice is counting on him to bring all of them up out of there. Donnie says that, with all the stories Nate tells, it’d be nice to finally meet Alice. “Not in this here world,” Nate replies, but Donnie points out that, down in the mines, everyone’s blood runs brown. “But not up there,” Nate points out, and then Boss-man gets another nasty coughing fit. His son expresses concern, but Boss-man insists he’s fine and orders him to get back to work. They’re interrupted by a runaway mine cart, and Donnie leaps into its path to knock Nate out of the way. He’s just in time, as the cart misses them by inches. Donnie’s brother-in-law tells Nate to watch it, and Nate comments that there are eight million ways to die every day. “Not today,” Donnie says.
The scene changes, and there’s an eerie calm in the mine. We don’t immediately see any miners, but suddenly, there’s an explosion, and when the dust clears, we see Donnie’s bloodied body lying on the floor of the mine.
Present Day
Crime scene. Scotty and Vera walk toward the squad cars, and Scotty asks Vera if he figures on stretching out that shirt another day. “Wanna check my shorts there, too, Pops?” Vera retorts. Hee. Scotty turns his attention to the matter at hand, which is that transit workers expanding the subway found the body, five stories under. Vera’s not going down there, and Scotty asks why; doesn’t he like tunnels? It’s not the tunnels that bother Vera, apparently, but rats the size of badgers. Scotty reassures him by saying that even the rats hate it down there. They arrive at the scene then, and Jeffries explains that a bulldozer broke through an old service tunnel and found the bones. Stillman adds that the victim is an adult male who died of blunt force trauma to the skull. Jeffries continues, saying that the body was found behind a tunnel that got sealed in 1948. “Guy needs a paleontologist, not a detective,” Vera remarks, while Scotty suggests that it could be one of those “mole people.” Heh. Stillman says it wasn’t a mole, but a sandhog: an urban miner, who died with his boots on. He hands Scotty the victim’s badge, which identifies him as Compression Worker #505 and contains emergency instructions to return said miner, if found sick or unconscious, to the medical decompression lock at the construction site. That sounds…ominous. Stillman explains that miners were required to carry those badges at all times in case of an attack of the bends. Vera asks how a miner gets the bends, and Stillman tells him that it’s the compressed air that does it: mines, subway tunnels, sewers, etc. Jeffries reports the old saying that, if it’s deeper than a grave, a sandhog dug it, and Vera comments that it looks like this poor schmuck might have dug his own. Scotty, a little perplexed, remembers those trapped miners on the news, saying they’ll move heaven and earth to get a guy out. “Or at least recover a body,” Jeffries adds, leading Stillman to conclude that the victim didn’t get left behind: he got buried on purpose.
Credits.
Street. Lil’s walking with Joseph, who’s apparently just picked up donuts for the two of them, and Lilly asks if this is some kind of cop joke. Joseph asks if cops are the only ones who are allowed to eat fried dough, and Lilly points out that she never eats donuts. Joseph doesn’t quite believe her and takes a bite of his, exaggerating his enjoyment, and then Lilly points out that he’s got sugar on his cheek. I’m not sure what’s more sickeningly sweet at this point: the donuts, or these two. Lilly wipes the sugar off Joseph’s cheek and flirtatiously orders him to get over there, but he tells her she has to eat a donut first. Okay…definitely these two. Lilly insists she doesn’t want a stupid donut, but Joseph persists, and finally she tells him to give her the bag, after which she removes the donut and takes a big bite. Joseph congratulates her, and she’s forced to admit that the donut is pretty good, and Joseph chooses this moment to tell Lilly that he loves her. Wow. Okay, then. Lilly’s slightly taken aback. “Yeah?” she asks. “Yeah…definitely,” Joseph says. Lilly doesn’t know what to say, but Joseph’s confident she’ll figure it out, since she’s a detective. She doesn’t take the bait, and Joseph gets the hint, then says he has to run, tells her he’ll call her later, and gives her a very sweet kiss. After he leaves, Lilly stands there looking like all the sugary sweetness has gotten to her, because all of a sudden she’s a wee bit green around the gills.
Squad room. Scotty informs Stillman that he had OSHA check the state archives on this one, and Lilly identifies Compressed Air 505 as John Donovan. Stillman remembers John “Boomer” Donovan as head of Local 37, and Lilly adds that he was reported missing in 1948. Stillman explains that Donovan turned hero after taking on management, then mysteriously disappeared. Lilly comments that Boss sure knows his sandhog history, and Stillman replies that, in the neighborhood he grew up in, you either became a cop, a fireman, or a sandhog, and he’s got this thing about being burned or buried alive. Heh. Lilly asks how they know it wasn’t just an accident, and Stillman says that Donnie disappeared on a Sunday, leading Scotty to conclude that he wasn’t down there working. Stillman explains that the theory was that he took on management in a labor dispute, and Scotty surmises that this essentially bought him a pair of cement shoes and a ticket to the bottom of the river. Lilly points out that they couldn’t prove it without a body. Scotty tells us that the only surviving next of kin is a brother-in-law, Robert McAllister, an old sandhog and head of the union. Stillman tells them that, if Bobby’s not at home, check at Mulrooney’s in Devil’s Pocket. Scotty asks if that’s a sandhog bar. “We got Jones’ Tavern, they got Mulrooney’s,” Stillman replies.
Mulrooney’s. Bobby comments that they keep Donovan’s photo up there, with the top shelf whiskey, and are still buying him shots. Scotty asks about Donovan being married to Bobby’s sister, and Bobby says he introduced them. Vera comments that there are a lot of sandhogs in Bobby’s family, and Bobby proudly says he’s 3rd generation: his old man spent thirty years in the hole. He indicates his father, Big Mac’s, photo, and then whips out a silver lighter with a cross to light his cigar. “Nice lighter,” Scotty comments, and Bobby says it was a gift from Big Mac on his wedding day; it’s the only thing that holds a flame in the tunnels. Scotty tells him they hear management had it out for Donovan, and Bobby says that Sam Bertleman, the head of Bertleman Construction, did, and everyone knew it. He says even guys going deaf, being maimed, and being killed didn’t stop that greedy bastard. “Donovan tried to,” Vera points out, and Bobby replies that Donovan was the only one with the stones to take the boss-man on. Vera asks when Donovan started organizing the miners, and Bobby says it was right after his pal, Nate, died in the hole. After that, there was no stopping him.
Mine site. Over Son House’s “John the Revelator,” an alert horn sounds as miners run out of the mine, some carrying other miners on stretchers, others limping on their own. Big Mac runs up to Bobby and asks where Donovan is, and we then see him coming out of the mine. Big Mac shoves Bobby aside and rushes up to Donovan, asking if he’s okay. Donovan sees Bertleman, though, and runs up to him, yelling at him and getting into a shoving match, saying that “he had no chance in there.” Big Mac separates them, and Donovan winds up scuffling with him instead. All scuffling comes to a stop, though, with the arrival of a woman calling for Nate. Donovan rushes up to her and asks if she’s Alice, and she frantically asks where Nate is. Donovan doesn’t answer. “You left him down there?” she shrieks. Donovan’s starting to explain, but then two other miners drag Nate’s body out of the mine, and Alice falls to her knees beside him, sobbing hysterically that he promised her. Donovan gently pulls her away and apologizes, but she shoves him away, then slaps him and screams that he was supposed to watch over Nate, that he was his friend.
Bobby says he didn’t blame her, but her anger was misdirected, since Bertleman didn’t care about the safety of his workers. Scotty concludes that this is when Donovan started organizing the men, and Bobby says that a few months later, Donovan disappeared. Bobby says Mary told him Donovan went off to the pub and never came home. Scotty realizes that Bobby thinks Bertleman arranged to have Donovan killed, and Bobby says that Donovan was about to lead a walkout. “You tell me,” he says.
Construction site. Lilly and Kat approach Sam Bertleman, who claims to be busy. “So are we,” Kat replies, then explains that John Donovan’s body was just found in a tunnel under the Schuylkill. “Not to slow you down or anything,” Lilly remarks drily. Heh. Sam insists it’s got nothing to do with him, but Kat says it might have with his old man. Sam says his father built this city, every tunnel, and this isn’t the first body that’s turned up underground. Lilly says that this was one of his workers, and a union leader, too. Sam says that the last thing his old man wanted was to make John Donovan some kind of martyr. “Kinda funny that he turned up dead, then,” Kat comments, and Sam explains that they blamed his father because it was easier than looking at one of their own. Lilly asks if he’s saying that another sandhog did it, and Sam proclaims all that “band of brothers union stuff” a bunch of BS, then says that one guy, Zaccardo, was always causing trouble.
Mine site, where we hear Hank Williams, Sr.’s “Move It On Over.” Young Sam is playing with a toy airplane and making cute little-boy toy airplane noises while Donovan and Zaccardo argue. Donovan tells him that what happened to Nate isn’t right, and it isn’t going to change until they make it change. Zaccardo tells him he’s barking up the wrong tree, but Donovan argues that Nate was one of them, and they owe him. Zaccardo tells Donovan that if he wants to walk off the job over some dead (some word I can’t understand, but in any event, I presume is a racial slur), he should go ahead. “What’d you call him?” Donovan demands, and Zaccardo continues, accusing Donovan of making a fool of himself with “that bugaboo widow” in front of everyone. As Big Mac and the others look on, the two begin to fight, but when Zaccardo goes for one of his mining tools, Big Mac stops him. Zaccardo insists it’s not his concern. Donovan charges Zaccardo, ordering him not to talk about Alice like that, but before he gets there, Big Mac shoves him back and tells him to shut up, then turns to Zaccardo and says it’s over. Zaccardo begs to differ, promising that it is, in fact, not over.
Lilly and Kat surmise that one could bash a man’s skull in with that mining tool, which we learn is called a scaling bar. Sam says that Donovan had guts, but Zaccardo was a mean SOB who didn’t appreciate being humiliated. Lilly asks if he thinks Zaccardo killed Donovan, and Sam says he was a sandhog, and down in that hole, anything can happen. Lilly asks Sam if he has any idea where Zaccardo ended up, and Sam says the last he heard, prison, for caving someone’s head in during a bar fight.
Prison. Scotty reminds Zaccardo of his life sentence for second-degree murder, killing a guy with a crowbar outside a bar. “Guy had it comin’,” Zaccardo says calmly. Why? Was he watching little boys on the playground? “Did John Donovan?” Jeffries asks, pointing out that Zaccardo had motive, opportunity, and a serious beef. “He work for you?” Zaccardo asks Scotty, indicating Jeffries, and the two exchange a glance before Scotty continues, telling Zaccardo it’s time to set the record straight and clear his conscience. Jeffries adds that, at Zaccardo’s age, the DA might work out a deal. “I’ll talk to you,” Zaccardo tells Scotty, and Jeffries starts to leave, but then turns and offers this parting shot. “Or you can rot in prison for all I care.” Go, Jeffries. Zaccardo comments that “it’s always something with them,” and Scotty, showing remarkable restraint, asks him about Donovan. Zaccardo says they had a difference of opinion, but just because he wasn’t going to strike doesn’t mean he killed the guy. Scotty asks who did, and Zaccardo says it was “the coloreds,” who blamed Donovan for Nate’s death. “You mean the West Indian sandhogs?” Scotty corrects, with a roll of his eyes. Zaccardo says, West Indians, Afro-Americans, they can call themselves whatever they want, but they had it in for Donovan in the worst way. “And how would you know?” Scotty demands, and Zaccardo says that the only place near the dig to get refills was a coffee shop that served coloreds. “So long as you didn’t touch the silverware, it was fine,” he says with a leer. Man, Scotty, anytime you wanna smack the crap out of this guy is fine by me. He has it coming.
Coffee shop, where “Buzz Me Blues” by Louis Jordan plays. Zaccardo comes in to get his thermos refilled, and who should be doing the refilling but Alice! Donovan comes in a few seconds later, takes a seat at the end of the counter, and asks for coffee. Alice says it’ll be ready in a minute, and Donovan and one of the West Indians eye each other uncomfortably. Alice approaches and asks him if he wants cream or sugar. “Just black,” he replies. “Just like this place used to be,” she comments. Donovan then takes out an envelope and hands it to Alice, saying that the boys at the hoghouse passed a hat; it’s not much, he says, but it’s the best they can do. Alice looks surprised, and Donovan says that Nate was right, she gives a man no quarter. I’m not sure what that means, but Alice seems to, because she seems pleased that Nate told him that. Donovan says Nate told him a lot of things, and that he misses him, too. “Not like I do,” Alice says sadly, in that absolutely beautiful accent of hers. The West Indian sandhog pipes up, asking what’s going to be done about it, and Donovan says that the union’s working on getting a settlement. The other guy points out that he and Nate paid their dues, and it’s bad enough that they still got shut out for the best jobs. Donovan says he hears him, but the other guy doesn’t seem to believe him, cynically surmising that maybe a white man has to die down in that hole for the union to sit up and take notice. Donovan decides to leave, picks up his thermos, and tells Alice to take care. “I will,” she replies.
Scotty concludes that Zaccardo thinks that the other guy, Bishop, made good on his threat, and Zaccardo points out that he’s not the only sandhog who ever served time. Scotty asks if Bishop served time, and Zaccardo says he had a record, and a bad attitude. Well, that makes two of ‘em.
PPD, kitchen. Kat’s trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Alice was never paid a settlement, and Alice confirms it. “Bertleman wouldn’t give a dime for a black man’s life,” she says. Lilly reminds her that Bishop was pretty upset about it, but Alice says he was all bark, no bite. Kat asks if the two of them kept in touch, and Alice explains that he passed twenty years ago, and no, they didn’t. Well, looks like Bishop’s in the clear, since he’s dead and all. Lilly asks Alice about her own beef with Donovan, and Alice says that she was upset because her husband died, but Donovan helped her in a time of need. Lilly asks if Donovan came by regularly to give her money, and she says it was to check on her, to see how she was getting by. Kat asks if he ever talked about work, or about anybody who might have had it in for him, but Alice says that mostly they just talked about Nate. Lilly surmises that Alice enjoyed talking to Donovan, and Alice says that he was the first person to make her laugh again after Nate died, and she began looking forward to seeing him on his way home from his shift. She’s got this adorable little smile, even after all these years, and the detectives are picking up on it. “Sounds like Donovan was there quite a bit,” Kat says slyly, and Alice explains that he didn’t have much to go home to: Mary couldn’t get pregnant, so she crawled up inside a bottle. He didn’t talk about it much, she says, and she didn’t ask. Kat observes that, back then, people stuck it out, even when it didn’t make sense, and Alice says it was the times: “He was married and white, and I was neither.” Lilly asks if that stopped her. Alice says that, one evening, they were talking later than usual, and finally, they just ran out of things to say.
Coffee shop, where Donovan’s the only customer, and Alice looks like she’s preparing to close for the night. Louis Armstrong’s “I Wonder” is on the jukebox, and Alice smiles and remarks that there’s nothing quite like the blues. Donovan remarks that Nate always said Alice liked her music, and Alice says it’s not just music. “Then what?” Donovan asks. She says it makes her feel like she’s not alone, and Donovan looks up at her, grins adorably, and says it’s good to see her smile again. He explains that Nate used to say that Alice’s smile could light up every tunnel in the city, and he always used to wonder what Nate meant, but now he knows. Wow. That was very, very smooth. Props. They gaze at each other for a minute, scoot their hands closer together, touch them briefly, and then Alice says she ought to be getting home. Donovan agrees, pays for his meal, and wishes her good night. He leaves, but after a few seconds, he returns, asking her what she said this song was called again. She never said, but surmises that he likes it. Donovan does, saying he likes everything about it. It ain’t just the music he likes, folks, and Alice seems to have figured this out, because she approaches him, and he holds his arms out in a wordless invitation for her to dance with him. She agrees with a smile, and they sway back and forth for a few seconds before he asks who the singer is. “Satchmo,” she says. Donovan whispers to her that she’s not alone, and they then start kissing in what has to be one of the most beautifully romantic moments I’ve ever seen on this show.
“White married man, black woman…that could get you in trouble today,” Kat remarks. Alice nods, and she says she knew it couldn’t last, and it didn’t. Lilly surmises that it must have been tough to let that go. Kat asks if anyone else knew, and Alice says it was just the brother-in-law. “Bobby MacAllister,” Lilly realizes, and she and Kat exchange a meaningful glance.
