Post by cellogal on Aug 1, 2008 21:29:49 GMT -5
April 13, 1953
The off-key strains of “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?” (complete with “Arf! Arf!”) emanate from a drugstore recording booth as teenage girls cluster outside it. Mercifully, this is soon replaced by “Dimples and Cherry Cheeks” by Tex Beneke. A blonde saunters up to a guy in a suit, who instructs her to get behind the counter and sell some makeup. She salutes him, and he flirtatiously tells her to stand at ease. She then heads back to her post just as one of the really bad singers from earlier comes up to the guy. Suit Man asks Bad Singer how it went in there, and he proudly says they made their own record. The guy, who is Bad Singer’s dad, tells his son to pop the record on the jukebox when it’s ready, since his mom will want to hear it.
Meanwhile, another guy’s behind the counter at the soda fountain, puzzling over some writing he’s doing, while a girl sits across from him sipping a soda. The girl asks him why he’s always so secretive about his songs, and he expresses concern that she won’t like them. She proclaims this impossible. He notices that her drink is empty and, calling her sugar, asks if she’s all done. “Looks like I am, Lemon Drop,” she replies. Awww, ain’t that sweet? Lemon Drop tries some fancy glass-tossing trick, but drops the glass, which shatters, and one of the Really Bad Singers, who’s lounging by the counter, tells Lemon Drop that he’s a spaz. Was that word even in use in the ‘50s? Bad Singer #1, whose name is JP, tells the other guy, Luke, to cut it out, but Luke proclaims both Sugar and Lemon Drop “freems.” Sugar instructs Luke, whom she calls “Frankenstein,” to stick it up his wazoo, and Luke tells Lemon Drop, whom he’s calling Bingo, that she’s a classy lady. Wait…is Bingo this guy’s actual name? Lemon Drop might actually be better. Sugar tells Bingo that those guys can drop dead twice; he’s her star and always will be, and all they need is love. “And music,” Bingo adds.
Looks like they needed a bit more than that, unfortunately, as Bingo lies dead in a dark alley.
At PPD, a detective sits reading the newspaper and not answering a ringing phone, while another one brings Bingo’s box in and places it on the shelf. They exchange a look, and then the newspaper-reading detective goes back to his article on the reargument of Brown. v. Board.
Present Day
Squad room. Lilly drops her own paper which, conveniently enough, contains an article about the possible revisitation of Brown. v. Board. While I’m puzzling over this, she asks Scotty how Round Two went with IAD. “Bad,” is Scotty’s detailed reply. Lilly asks him what happened, and he tells her that someone snitched about Burrell. Lilly can’t believe it and asks who, and Scotty says it could have been anyone who knew, then gives her a Significant Look. Lilly picks up on this and concludes that he suspects one of them, but he’s saved from having to reply by the arrival of Kat, who tells them to pick a stick. Lilly asks what it is today, and Kat says there’s a crackpot in the witness room who says he saw a murder 54 years ago, so they’re drawing straws. Scotty b*tchily suggests that they just do their jobs, then heads off. “What’s with him?” Kat asks. Good thing she’s not asking Vera; he’d probably just think it’s Scotty’s time of the month.
Witness room. Scotty asks the aforementioned crackpot, whose name is Lloyd, if he in fact witnessed a murder. “Kinda,” Lloyd replies, then changes his answer to “sorta.” Scotty crankily asks him which it is. Lloyd says he saw blood, and lots of it, back in 1953. Scotty points out that blood isn’t a murder, but Lloyd protests that he knows what he saw, then asks Scotty if he’s going to write it down. Yeah, Scotty. Why don’t you just do your job? Jeez. Scotty pulls out his notebook and tells Lloyd to go on, which he does, explaining that, late one night, his parents were throwing pans at each other, he snuck out to practice pop flies, and, in the process of chasing a runaway baseball, wound up in the alley behind Valentine’s Five and Dime.
Alley. Lloyd runs after the ball, then stops when he sees a wallet in a pool of blood. He picks it up and looks at it, then freaks out when he sees the blood on his hands. Still clutching the wallet, he runs off.
Lloyd says that the wallet belonged to Bingo Zohar. Wow. Guess Bingo really is his name-o. Lloyd says he heard his parents talking a few days later about Bingo being shot behind some blues club in Point Breeze. Scotty asks where Valentine’s was, and Lloyd says it was in Germantown, his old neighborhood, which Scotty realizes is across town from Point Breeze, and was all white in 1953. “That’s what I’m sayin’,” Lloyd says significantly. Scotty asks Lloyd if he ever told his parents what he saw, and Lloyd says he shouldn’t have been out in the first place, and it just got easier not to believe his eyes, to pretend it was a dream. Scotty observes that the memory’s not exactly crystal, and Lloyd suggests that maybe this will help. He then produces Bingo’s wallet, which he’s held onto for 54 years. Scotty asks Lloyd why come forward now, and Lloyd says he’s losing his sight and will be blind in a few more years, so he decided to tell what he saw and set things right. Scotty says they can’t fix Lloyd’s eyes, but they’ll try to set things right.
Credits.
Evidence warehouse. Lilly and Scotty summarize the case, which is the shooting of 19-year-old Bingo Zohar behind Red Hot Mama’s Blues Club at 20th and South. Lilly says they rounded up the usual suspects, all of whom were black, and Stillman adds that they never could pin it on anyone. Scotty reads the cops never found the bullet, which went clear through Bingo’s chest, and Stillman says it makes sense if the place where the body was found was only the dump site. Scotty adds that a strange substance was found on Bingo’s sleeve, and Stillman realizes that the cops back then couldn’t ID it. Lilly and Stillman conclude that, if Bingo was murdered inside Valentine’s, that changes the suspect list, and Stillman explains that Bingo had recently moved from the farm town of Brandywine after his parents died in a car accident. Scotty reads that Bingo was living with the Valentine family and shows a photo, pointing out Uncle Ed, Aunt Juliana, and Cousin JP, then sees Bingo’s girlfriend and asks who she is. Stillman identifies her as Miranda Allison, then explains that the recording booth in the picture is typical of old five-and-dimes. Lilly says that the doer dumping the body on the other side of town takes the spotlight off him, and Stillman produces a file for a possible suspect: Arthur Brown, known as “Aces,” who worked the night shift with Bingo at Valentine’s, and who lived at 22nd and South, two blocks from the dump site. Stillman says that, if they’re lucky, Evidence will still have Bingo’s shirt, which they can send to the lab. Five bucks says they’re lucky. Lilly suggests talking with Aces, and Stillman’s also interested in looking around Valentine’s to see if they can find the bullet.
Valentine’s, which is now apparently a Granola Patchouli Emporium, as evidenced by the hippie-looking dude behind the counter, who thinks Vera’s kidding. He’s not. Hippie points out that it’s been 27 years since this holistic store was Valentine’s Five and Dime, and proclaims finding some 50-year-old bullet “kinda out of the realm of possibility.” Vera disagrees, thinking it could have gotten lodged in a wall or floorboard. Hippie asks Vera if he’s seriously thinking about digging up his floor and walls. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility,” Vera replies. Heeee. Hippie boasts the walls are freshly painted, and his floor are Malaysian bamboo, then tells Vera to look somewhere else for the “phantom bullet.” Wow, they have that whole smug, self-righteous neo-Hippie thing down to a science. Vera asks if they found anything during that remodel. “Like a bullet?” Hippie smarms, pretends to think, then says no. Vera says that if he finds out that Hippie tampered with evidence, he’ll stick Hippie in the slammer with “guys who ain’t familiar with Buddha’s teachings.” Heh. “You do, and karma will be all over your ass, pal,” Hippie threatens, but Vera replies by saying that he’ll be all over Hippie’s ass with a warrant. Go, Vera. Hippie then chirpily offers Vera a goji berry, saying they make you happy, and if you eat enough, you never stop smiling. Well, Hippie better start chowing down, then. Vera just gives Hippie that wonderful “no way in hell” look of his and walks off.
Red Hot Mama’s. Jeffries tells Aces that the place looks great, just like the stories he heard growing up, and Aces demurs, saying people tend to embellish the past. Red Hot Mama’s was a dive, but a fun one, he explains, and when he came into some money, he decided to make reopening it his pet project. Jeffries talks about the blues resurgence, kids hearing it for the first time, and Aces tells him he won’t believe what those kids’ll pay for a drink. Jeffries guesses six dollars; Aces says it’s nine. Predictably, Scotty has zero interest in this trip down memory lane, and grouchily asks Aces about Bingo. Aces says he remembers Bingo as one of a kind, shot down in the alley behind the store. Scotty tells Aces they think Bingo was killed outside Valentine’s, where he and Aces worked the night shift together. Aces says he wasn’t working that night, if that’s what Scotty’s implying. Scotty b*tches that he’s not implying it, he’s saying it. Wow. I think maybe Scotty needs to go investigate some of those goji berries. Stat. Aces says he quit Valentine’s the week before, having grown tired of cleaning up after white folk and being treated like dirt. Jeffries asks if Bingo treated Aces that way, too, and Aces says Bingo treated him with respect, and was way ahead of his time in more ways than one.
Valentine’s, where Wynonie Harris’s “Bloodshot Eyes” accompanies Aces dancing around the store with a mop. Bingo comes up and catches him, and Aces hastily apologizes, saying he thought that, after hours, Mr. Valentine’s “No Negro Music” rule didn’t apply, then promises to not play it again. Bingo identifies the singer as Wynonie Harris, and Aces is surprised that Bingo knows who that is. Bingo explains that he saw Harris play back home, and then Aces expresses sympathy for Bingo’s parents’ death. Bingo says he used to sing this song for his mom, that that was the only thing that made her smile, then explains that his father was a drunk and used to use her for his punching bag, and theorizes that it made her feel better knowing that other people carried the same pain. Aces asks if Bingo’s mother ever knew she wasn’t alone, and Bingo nods, then says he thinks he knows how she felt. Aces expresses disbelief that Bingo’s uncle, Mr. Valentine, lets him listen to this music, and Bingo says that his uncle found his stash of records and smashed every one, saying he wouldn’t have “this corrupting devil music” in his house. Aces says that sounds like Old Man Valentine, and they share a laugh. Bingo demonstrates some Wynonie Harris dance moves, and Aces picks up on them and demonstrates some of his own. Bingo then starts singing along with the song, and Aces tells him he’s got some pipes. Bingo says singing is his thing, just not in front of other people. He then goes back to demonstrating dance moves, and soon, they’re both cutting a rug.
Aces explains that they got to be good friends, listening to that music late at night, and that Bingo was real decent. Jeffries asks about Mr. Valentine’s problem with that type of music, and Aces says that the old man feared it was the beginning of the end: first black music, then blacks sitting at his lunch counter. Scotty asks if he would have hurt Bingo over it, and Aces says that Mr. Valentine’s word was law, and he had the temper to back it up, too. He then points out that Bingo couldn’t hide his love of rock ‘n’ roll from anyone.
Kitchen. Kat asks Juliana about Ed’s death, and she says it’ll be twelve years this Christmas. Well, guess it probably wasn’t him, then. Lilly asks if he was a good man, and Juliana says he was; he was an officer in WWII, and they were happily married sixty years. Lilly asks where he was the night Bingo was killed, and she says he was asleep in his bed, “right next to mine, of course.” She then says that Bingo was like a son to them, and Lilly asks about Ed’s disapproval of Bingo’s choice in music. Juliana says he certainly didn’t approve, and Kat surmises that Juliana didn’t care for it, either. She says it was distasteful, and that Ed said all “Negro music” was. She then seems to notice Kat sitting there and digs her way out of the hole by saying, “No offense.” “None taken,” Kat replies. Juliana explains that they were the generation that survived the Depression and the war, and they wanted stability and decency. “And Negro music wasn’t that,” Kat concludes, and Juliana explains that Ed said it made the kids go wild, and it did.
Auditorium. Miranda tells Bingo he’s going to be radioactive out there, and Bingo says he wants to sing something real, with teeth, not the usual fake-o happyland stuff. Miranda says it doesn’t matter what song he sings, as long as he’s singing it, and tells him that everyone will see what she sees. “Yeah, that I’m a freem,” Bingo replies bitterly, but Miranda disagrees, saying they’ll see he’s the “razz’s berries.” I’m not sure which is preferable. There’s applause then, and Juliana says that was JP and the Wishing Stars, then announces Bingo’s performance of “Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair.” Bingo nervously takes the stage and begins his song, but quickly realizes that he’s losing his audience, particularly when Luke loudly boos and says to wake him when the snooze-fest’s over. Bingo stops, then plugs in his guitar and launches into a new song, Billy Ward and The Dominoes’ “Sixty Minute Man,” complete with the predictably shocking Elvis-style dance moves. The teenagers are instantly intrigued, Juliana is instantly horrified, and suddenly the girls start screaming and rushing toward the stage. Juliana motions for the musicians to stop playing, but they don’t. Bingo, meanwhile, is wiping his forehead with one of the girls’ scarves and then tossing it into the crowd, resulting in the predictable screaming. Juliana instructs Miranda to stop Bingo from doing “whatever it is he’s doing.” Miranda won’t.
Juliana says that Bingo drove the girls wild with those swiveling hips of his, and proclaims it disgraceful. “Kinda like Elvis…hot,” Kat says gleefully, smiling at Lilly. Wait…is that a smile I see from Lilly? Go, Kat. Lilly theorizes that Miranda was pushed aside, and presses Juliana when she’s silent. Juliana says that, shortly after Bingo’s death, Miranda’s mother caught her playing Russian roulette with a loaded handgun and sent her to the state mental ward. Kat says it sounds like Miranda was off her rocker.
Street. Jeffries remarks to Stillman that white kids singing black music in the early ‘50s reminds him of Elvis, and Stillman reluctantly admits to breaking up with his junior high sweetheart because she joined the Elvis Fan Club. Jeffries doesn’t believe this, and Stillman explains that back in the late ‘50s, the girls were either Elvis girls, or Pat Boone girls. Jeffries remembers, and Stillman says that his family wouldn’t approve of him going out with an Elvis girl. Jeffries chuckles, and Stillman guesses that made him a square. “No, man, you were a cube,” Jeffries corrects, then explains that his family hated Elvis, too, especially the ones who thought he ripped off black music. “He certainly was a polarizing figure,” Stillman remarks. “Have to be to make history,” Jeffries replies.
This brief little educational exposition comes to a close with Scotty, who’s walking behind them, ending his phone call and announcing that the results on Bingo’s shirt are in. Jeffries can’t believe Evidence still had it after all these years. Oh, I can. So can Scotty, who pointedly brats that they’re pretty dependable, the guys in that unit, then says that the substance was nitrocellulose, used as a car finish back in the day. Stillman says it could be from the car that dumped Bingo, and Scotty says that would be a long shot, since a lot of cars used it, and this leads Jeffries to conclude that they’re back to square one. Stillman asks if anyone’s talked to the jealous girlfriend, and Scotty says he’s on it. Stillman tells him to have Vera go with him, but Scotty says he’s got it covered. “What the hell is his problem?” Jeffries asks. Well, it’s either that time of the month, or a severe lack of goji berries in his diet. Any other guesses?
Dress shop. Scotty asks Miranda where she was the night of the murder, and she says she and Bingo went to the drive-in to see “The Band Wagon,” with Fred Astaire, and Bingo dropped her off around 10:00 PM. She says that the next morning, she got the phone call saying he was dead. Scotty asks her about her suicide attempt and her resulting time in the nuthouse, and Miranda says that being eighteen and having your boyfriend murdered warrants depression. I’d agree. Scotty asks where the gun came from, and Miranda says that her mother kept a gun in her bedside table next to her pills, Scotty bets she’s going to tell him she doesn’t have it anymore. Miranda insists that she didn’t kill Bingo; he was her first love, and the purest of all her romances. Scotty theorizes that this was true until Bingo was up onstage, turning the other girls on, and she got pushed to the back row. Miranda argues that it wasn’t the girls Bingo loved, it was the music. “Yeah, right,” Scotty replies, but she insists that Bingo never betrayed her; he shared his limelight.
Valentine’s. Miranda sits at the counter as Luke tells Bingo he played that song Bingo showed him for his girl, and then makes some remark about “polishing her headlights,” which earns him a playful ear-tweak from said girlfriend. Bingo tells Luke to go easy on the word painting, since there’s a lady present. He blows Miranda a kiss, which she catches and presses to her heart. First love, indeed. Luke asks Bingo how he gets his hair like that, and Bingo defers to Miranda, saying she’s the one with style. Miranda tells Luke he needs to grow it out, but it won’t hide that Frankenstein head of his. Bingo suggests that JP grow his hair out, but JP insists that high and tight is right for him. Bingo observes that JP sounds like his dad, and JP tells him to imagine what his dad would say if he came home looking like Bingo. Luke tells JP not to be a square, and Miranda then tells Bingo that someone saw that Bandstand scout at his show. JP points out that they hear those rumors at their shows, too, and nothing ever comes of it. Luke suggests that the Wishing Stars add some rock ‘n’ roll beats and new dance moves to their lineup, and JP retorts that the Wishing Stars will not be gyrating their privates onstage like a bunch of natives. Wow. Sounds like JP could use some goji berries, too! Bingo snarks that it might serve JP to practice gyrating his privates, earning him laughter from everyone else. JP glares and leaves; Bingo calls after him that it was a joke and urges him to come back.
Miranda says that music was changing, and so were the times, and Scotty realizes that “Mr. King of the Quartet” was left in the dust.
Stillman’s office. JP says the music his granddaughter listens to is all “milkshake” this, and “booty” that, then explains that she made him a playlist and he learned to appreciate it. “Like you learned to appreciate Bingo’s music?” Vera asks. JP admits that it took him awhile, since he was a stick in the mud back then. Lilly asks him where he was when Bingo was killed, and JP says he was at Wishing Star practice, like clockwork on Saturday nights. Vera asks if the Wishing Stars ever incorporated Bingo’s style into his act, and JP says they did, picking up some of his moves and one of his songs. Lilly asks which one, and JP can’t remember the name, but remembers a line of the chorus: “I’ll take my chance, ‘cause truth be told, you only get one dance.” Lilly says it sounds meaningful, and JP says he liked that one. Vera asks if it wasn’t too racy, and JP explains that it wasn’t always the lyrics that were racy, it was the beat that unnerved people; things were different back then, everything was segregated, and the beat was considered “an African-American…thing.” Lilly concludes that Bingo bringing that into their world had repercussions, and JP agrees, saying that some people took the heat more than others.
Valentine house. JP asks Ed if they can watch Bandstand; Ed scoffs that no one wants to watch kids dance, predicts that the show will get yanked, and says they’ll watch Milton Berle like they always do. Bingo asks Ed if he’s received a telegram, since he’s been hoping to hear from Bandstand, but Ed shakes his head, and JP scoffs that they don’t play Bingo’s kind of music. Ed says there was nothing for Bingo, but JP was accepted to Princeton, then instructs JP to show Bingo the letter. Ed explains that JP’s the first one in the family to go to college. Meanwhile, Juliana and Miranda are bringing things in from the kitchen, and Juliana’s noticed that Miranda and Bingo are “pinned.” Miranda explains that it’s just for fun, ironic, actually, and it’s their anti-commitment: to never plan for the future for the rest of their lives. Juliana asks what they’ll live on, if they don’t plan for the future. “Love and music,” Miranda giggles, as only a naïve, lovestruck teenager can. Juliana explains that Miranda’s husband’s livelihood will be her livelihood, and Miranda says she always thought she’d get her own job. Juliana asks which Miranda plans to be, a teacher or a nurse, and when Miranda doesn’t answer, she suggests that Miranda secure herself a future “before the bloom is off the rose,” then asks rhetorically if Miranda wants to end up a penniless old maid.
As Miranda stares in disbelief, Juliana takes the food into the living room, and Ed explains that, with JP going to college, he’ll need someone to take over the store, then tells Bingo he’s being promoted to counter manager. Bingo thanks him, but says he was hoping to focus on his music. Juliana pointedly asks Ed if they can afford to give promotions at the moment, and Ed condescendingly advises her not to worry her pretty little head about money, since he fired Aces anyhow. Bingo’s aghast at this, reminding Ed that Aces is his best worker, and that that job is the only thing keeping his family out of the poorhouse. Ed says Aces should have thought of that before he left that devil music on the jukebox. Bingo protests that he was the one who left that record on, but Ed says there’s no reason to cover for Aces, deeming him a “bad apple,” and now he’s gone.
Lilly and Vera realize that Aces didn’t quit, he was fired, and JP tells them that Bingo was determined to find him and make it up to him somehow. Lilly asks when this was, and JP says it was a few days before he was killed.
The off-key strains of “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?” (complete with “Arf! Arf!”) emanate from a drugstore recording booth as teenage girls cluster outside it. Mercifully, this is soon replaced by “Dimples and Cherry Cheeks” by Tex Beneke. A blonde saunters up to a guy in a suit, who instructs her to get behind the counter and sell some makeup. She salutes him, and he flirtatiously tells her to stand at ease. She then heads back to her post just as one of the really bad singers from earlier comes up to the guy. Suit Man asks Bad Singer how it went in there, and he proudly says they made their own record. The guy, who is Bad Singer’s dad, tells his son to pop the record on the jukebox when it’s ready, since his mom will want to hear it.
Meanwhile, another guy’s behind the counter at the soda fountain, puzzling over some writing he’s doing, while a girl sits across from him sipping a soda. The girl asks him why he’s always so secretive about his songs, and he expresses concern that she won’t like them. She proclaims this impossible. He notices that her drink is empty and, calling her sugar, asks if she’s all done. “Looks like I am, Lemon Drop,” she replies. Awww, ain’t that sweet? Lemon Drop tries some fancy glass-tossing trick, but drops the glass, which shatters, and one of the Really Bad Singers, who’s lounging by the counter, tells Lemon Drop that he’s a spaz. Was that word even in use in the ‘50s? Bad Singer #1, whose name is JP, tells the other guy, Luke, to cut it out, but Luke proclaims both Sugar and Lemon Drop “freems.” Sugar instructs Luke, whom she calls “Frankenstein,” to stick it up his wazoo, and Luke tells Lemon Drop, whom he’s calling Bingo, that she’s a classy lady. Wait…is Bingo this guy’s actual name? Lemon Drop might actually be better. Sugar tells Bingo that those guys can drop dead twice; he’s her star and always will be, and all they need is love. “And music,” Bingo adds.
Looks like they needed a bit more than that, unfortunately, as Bingo lies dead in a dark alley.
At PPD, a detective sits reading the newspaper and not answering a ringing phone, while another one brings Bingo’s box in and places it on the shelf. They exchange a look, and then the newspaper-reading detective goes back to his article on the reargument of Brown. v. Board.
Present Day
Squad room. Lilly drops her own paper which, conveniently enough, contains an article about the possible revisitation of Brown. v. Board. While I’m puzzling over this, she asks Scotty how Round Two went with IAD. “Bad,” is Scotty’s detailed reply. Lilly asks him what happened, and he tells her that someone snitched about Burrell. Lilly can’t believe it and asks who, and Scotty says it could have been anyone who knew, then gives her a Significant Look. Lilly picks up on this and concludes that he suspects one of them, but he’s saved from having to reply by the arrival of Kat, who tells them to pick a stick. Lilly asks what it is today, and Kat says there’s a crackpot in the witness room who says he saw a murder 54 years ago, so they’re drawing straws. Scotty b*tchily suggests that they just do their jobs, then heads off. “What’s with him?” Kat asks. Good thing she’s not asking Vera; he’d probably just think it’s Scotty’s time of the month.
Witness room. Scotty asks the aforementioned crackpot, whose name is Lloyd, if he in fact witnessed a murder. “Kinda,” Lloyd replies, then changes his answer to “sorta.” Scotty crankily asks him which it is. Lloyd says he saw blood, and lots of it, back in 1953. Scotty points out that blood isn’t a murder, but Lloyd protests that he knows what he saw, then asks Scotty if he’s going to write it down. Yeah, Scotty. Why don’t you just do your job? Jeez. Scotty pulls out his notebook and tells Lloyd to go on, which he does, explaining that, late one night, his parents were throwing pans at each other, he snuck out to practice pop flies, and, in the process of chasing a runaway baseball, wound up in the alley behind Valentine’s Five and Dime.
Alley. Lloyd runs after the ball, then stops when he sees a wallet in a pool of blood. He picks it up and looks at it, then freaks out when he sees the blood on his hands. Still clutching the wallet, he runs off.
Lloyd says that the wallet belonged to Bingo Zohar. Wow. Guess Bingo really is his name-o. Lloyd says he heard his parents talking a few days later about Bingo being shot behind some blues club in Point Breeze. Scotty asks where Valentine’s was, and Lloyd says it was in Germantown, his old neighborhood, which Scotty realizes is across town from Point Breeze, and was all white in 1953. “That’s what I’m sayin’,” Lloyd says significantly. Scotty asks Lloyd if he ever told his parents what he saw, and Lloyd says he shouldn’t have been out in the first place, and it just got easier not to believe his eyes, to pretend it was a dream. Scotty observes that the memory’s not exactly crystal, and Lloyd suggests that maybe this will help. He then produces Bingo’s wallet, which he’s held onto for 54 years. Scotty asks Lloyd why come forward now, and Lloyd says he’s losing his sight and will be blind in a few more years, so he decided to tell what he saw and set things right. Scotty says they can’t fix Lloyd’s eyes, but they’ll try to set things right.
Credits.
Evidence warehouse. Lilly and Scotty summarize the case, which is the shooting of 19-year-old Bingo Zohar behind Red Hot Mama’s Blues Club at 20th and South. Lilly says they rounded up the usual suspects, all of whom were black, and Stillman adds that they never could pin it on anyone. Scotty reads the cops never found the bullet, which went clear through Bingo’s chest, and Stillman says it makes sense if the place where the body was found was only the dump site. Scotty adds that a strange substance was found on Bingo’s sleeve, and Stillman realizes that the cops back then couldn’t ID it. Lilly and Stillman conclude that, if Bingo was murdered inside Valentine’s, that changes the suspect list, and Stillman explains that Bingo had recently moved from the farm town of Brandywine after his parents died in a car accident. Scotty reads that Bingo was living with the Valentine family and shows a photo, pointing out Uncle Ed, Aunt Juliana, and Cousin JP, then sees Bingo’s girlfriend and asks who she is. Stillman identifies her as Miranda Allison, then explains that the recording booth in the picture is typical of old five-and-dimes. Lilly says that the doer dumping the body on the other side of town takes the spotlight off him, and Stillman produces a file for a possible suspect: Arthur Brown, known as “Aces,” who worked the night shift with Bingo at Valentine’s, and who lived at 22nd and South, two blocks from the dump site. Stillman says that, if they’re lucky, Evidence will still have Bingo’s shirt, which they can send to the lab. Five bucks says they’re lucky. Lilly suggests talking with Aces, and Stillman’s also interested in looking around Valentine’s to see if they can find the bullet.
Valentine’s, which is now apparently a Granola Patchouli Emporium, as evidenced by the hippie-looking dude behind the counter, who thinks Vera’s kidding. He’s not. Hippie points out that it’s been 27 years since this holistic store was Valentine’s Five and Dime, and proclaims finding some 50-year-old bullet “kinda out of the realm of possibility.” Vera disagrees, thinking it could have gotten lodged in a wall or floorboard. Hippie asks Vera if he’s seriously thinking about digging up his floor and walls. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility,” Vera replies. Heeee. Hippie boasts the walls are freshly painted, and his floor are Malaysian bamboo, then tells Vera to look somewhere else for the “phantom bullet.” Wow, they have that whole smug, self-righteous neo-Hippie thing down to a science. Vera asks if they found anything during that remodel. “Like a bullet?” Hippie smarms, pretends to think, then says no. Vera says that if he finds out that Hippie tampered with evidence, he’ll stick Hippie in the slammer with “guys who ain’t familiar with Buddha’s teachings.” Heh. “You do, and karma will be all over your ass, pal,” Hippie threatens, but Vera replies by saying that he’ll be all over Hippie’s ass with a warrant. Go, Vera. Hippie then chirpily offers Vera a goji berry, saying they make you happy, and if you eat enough, you never stop smiling. Well, Hippie better start chowing down, then. Vera just gives Hippie that wonderful “no way in hell” look of his and walks off.
Red Hot Mama’s. Jeffries tells Aces that the place looks great, just like the stories he heard growing up, and Aces demurs, saying people tend to embellish the past. Red Hot Mama’s was a dive, but a fun one, he explains, and when he came into some money, he decided to make reopening it his pet project. Jeffries talks about the blues resurgence, kids hearing it for the first time, and Aces tells him he won’t believe what those kids’ll pay for a drink. Jeffries guesses six dollars; Aces says it’s nine. Predictably, Scotty has zero interest in this trip down memory lane, and grouchily asks Aces about Bingo. Aces says he remembers Bingo as one of a kind, shot down in the alley behind the store. Scotty tells Aces they think Bingo was killed outside Valentine’s, where he and Aces worked the night shift together. Aces says he wasn’t working that night, if that’s what Scotty’s implying. Scotty b*tches that he’s not implying it, he’s saying it. Wow. I think maybe Scotty needs to go investigate some of those goji berries. Stat. Aces says he quit Valentine’s the week before, having grown tired of cleaning up after white folk and being treated like dirt. Jeffries asks if Bingo treated Aces that way, too, and Aces says Bingo treated him with respect, and was way ahead of his time in more ways than one.
Valentine’s, where Wynonie Harris’s “Bloodshot Eyes” accompanies Aces dancing around the store with a mop. Bingo comes up and catches him, and Aces hastily apologizes, saying he thought that, after hours, Mr. Valentine’s “No Negro Music” rule didn’t apply, then promises to not play it again. Bingo identifies the singer as Wynonie Harris, and Aces is surprised that Bingo knows who that is. Bingo explains that he saw Harris play back home, and then Aces expresses sympathy for Bingo’s parents’ death. Bingo says he used to sing this song for his mom, that that was the only thing that made her smile, then explains that his father was a drunk and used to use her for his punching bag, and theorizes that it made her feel better knowing that other people carried the same pain. Aces asks if Bingo’s mother ever knew she wasn’t alone, and Bingo nods, then says he thinks he knows how she felt. Aces expresses disbelief that Bingo’s uncle, Mr. Valentine, lets him listen to this music, and Bingo says that his uncle found his stash of records and smashed every one, saying he wouldn’t have “this corrupting devil music” in his house. Aces says that sounds like Old Man Valentine, and they share a laugh. Bingo demonstrates some Wynonie Harris dance moves, and Aces picks up on them and demonstrates some of his own. Bingo then starts singing along with the song, and Aces tells him he’s got some pipes. Bingo says singing is his thing, just not in front of other people. He then goes back to demonstrating dance moves, and soon, they’re both cutting a rug.
Aces explains that they got to be good friends, listening to that music late at night, and that Bingo was real decent. Jeffries asks about Mr. Valentine’s problem with that type of music, and Aces says that the old man feared it was the beginning of the end: first black music, then blacks sitting at his lunch counter. Scotty asks if he would have hurt Bingo over it, and Aces says that Mr. Valentine’s word was law, and he had the temper to back it up, too. He then points out that Bingo couldn’t hide his love of rock ‘n’ roll from anyone.
Kitchen. Kat asks Juliana about Ed’s death, and she says it’ll be twelve years this Christmas. Well, guess it probably wasn’t him, then. Lilly asks if he was a good man, and Juliana says he was; he was an officer in WWII, and they were happily married sixty years. Lilly asks where he was the night Bingo was killed, and she says he was asleep in his bed, “right next to mine, of course.” She then says that Bingo was like a son to them, and Lilly asks about Ed’s disapproval of Bingo’s choice in music. Juliana says he certainly didn’t approve, and Kat surmises that Juliana didn’t care for it, either. She says it was distasteful, and that Ed said all “Negro music” was. She then seems to notice Kat sitting there and digs her way out of the hole by saying, “No offense.” “None taken,” Kat replies. Juliana explains that they were the generation that survived the Depression and the war, and they wanted stability and decency. “And Negro music wasn’t that,” Kat concludes, and Juliana explains that Ed said it made the kids go wild, and it did.
Auditorium. Miranda tells Bingo he’s going to be radioactive out there, and Bingo says he wants to sing something real, with teeth, not the usual fake-o happyland stuff. Miranda says it doesn’t matter what song he sings, as long as he’s singing it, and tells him that everyone will see what she sees. “Yeah, that I’m a freem,” Bingo replies bitterly, but Miranda disagrees, saying they’ll see he’s the “razz’s berries.” I’m not sure which is preferable. There’s applause then, and Juliana says that was JP and the Wishing Stars, then announces Bingo’s performance of “Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair.” Bingo nervously takes the stage and begins his song, but quickly realizes that he’s losing his audience, particularly when Luke loudly boos and says to wake him when the snooze-fest’s over. Bingo stops, then plugs in his guitar and launches into a new song, Billy Ward and The Dominoes’ “Sixty Minute Man,” complete with the predictably shocking Elvis-style dance moves. The teenagers are instantly intrigued, Juliana is instantly horrified, and suddenly the girls start screaming and rushing toward the stage. Juliana motions for the musicians to stop playing, but they don’t. Bingo, meanwhile, is wiping his forehead with one of the girls’ scarves and then tossing it into the crowd, resulting in the predictable screaming. Juliana instructs Miranda to stop Bingo from doing “whatever it is he’s doing.” Miranda won’t.
Juliana says that Bingo drove the girls wild with those swiveling hips of his, and proclaims it disgraceful. “Kinda like Elvis…hot,” Kat says gleefully, smiling at Lilly. Wait…is that a smile I see from Lilly? Go, Kat. Lilly theorizes that Miranda was pushed aside, and presses Juliana when she’s silent. Juliana says that, shortly after Bingo’s death, Miranda’s mother caught her playing Russian roulette with a loaded handgun and sent her to the state mental ward. Kat says it sounds like Miranda was off her rocker.
Street. Jeffries remarks to Stillman that white kids singing black music in the early ‘50s reminds him of Elvis, and Stillman reluctantly admits to breaking up with his junior high sweetheart because she joined the Elvis Fan Club. Jeffries doesn’t believe this, and Stillman explains that back in the late ‘50s, the girls were either Elvis girls, or Pat Boone girls. Jeffries remembers, and Stillman says that his family wouldn’t approve of him going out with an Elvis girl. Jeffries chuckles, and Stillman guesses that made him a square. “No, man, you were a cube,” Jeffries corrects, then explains that his family hated Elvis, too, especially the ones who thought he ripped off black music. “He certainly was a polarizing figure,” Stillman remarks. “Have to be to make history,” Jeffries replies.
This brief little educational exposition comes to a close with Scotty, who’s walking behind them, ending his phone call and announcing that the results on Bingo’s shirt are in. Jeffries can’t believe Evidence still had it after all these years. Oh, I can. So can Scotty, who pointedly brats that they’re pretty dependable, the guys in that unit, then says that the substance was nitrocellulose, used as a car finish back in the day. Stillman says it could be from the car that dumped Bingo, and Scotty says that would be a long shot, since a lot of cars used it, and this leads Jeffries to conclude that they’re back to square one. Stillman asks if anyone’s talked to the jealous girlfriend, and Scotty says he’s on it. Stillman tells him to have Vera go with him, but Scotty says he’s got it covered. “What the hell is his problem?” Jeffries asks. Well, it’s either that time of the month, or a severe lack of goji berries in his diet. Any other guesses?
Dress shop. Scotty asks Miranda where she was the night of the murder, and she says she and Bingo went to the drive-in to see “The Band Wagon,” with Fred Astaire, and Bingo dropped her off around 10:00 PM. She says that the next morning, she got the phone call saying he was dead. Scotty asks her about her suicide attempt and her resulting time in the nuthouse, and Miranda says that being eighteen and having your boyfriend murdered warrants depression. I’d agree. Scotty asks where the gun came from, and Miranda says that her mother kept a gun in her bedside table next to her pills, Scotty bets she’s going to tell him she doesn’t have it anymore. Miranda insists that she didn’t kill Bingo; he was her first love, and the purest of all her romances. Scotty theorizes that this was true until Bingo was up onstage, turning the other girls on, and she got pushed to the back row. Miranda argues that it wasn’t the girls Bingo loved, it was the music. “Yeah, right,” Scotty replies, but she insists that Bingo never betrayed her; he shared his limelight.
Valentine’s. Miranda sits at the counter as Luke tells Bingo he played that song Bingo showed him for his girl, and then makes some remark about “polishing her headlights,” which earns him a playful ear-tweak from said girlfriend. Bingo tells Luke to go easy on the word painting, since there’s a lady present. He blows Miranda a kiss, which she catches and presses to her heart. First love, indeed. Luke asks Bingo how he gets his hair like that, and Bingo defers to Miranda, saying she’s the one with style. Miranda tells Luke he needs to grow it out, but it won’t hide that Frankenstein head of his. Bingo suggests that JP grow his hair out, but JP insists that high and tight is right for him. Bingo observes that JP sounds like his dad, and JP tells him to imagine what his dad would say if he came home looking like Bingo. Luke tells JP not to be a square, and Miranda then tells Bingo that someone saw that Bandstand scout at his show. JP points out that they hear those rumors at their shows, too, and nothing ever comes of it. Luke suggests that the Wishing Stars add some rock ‘n’ roll beats and new dance moves to their lineup, and JP retorts that the Wishing Stars will not be gyrating their privates onstage like a bunch of natives. Wow. Sounds like JP could use some goji berries, too! Bingo snarks that it might serve JP to practice gyrating his privates, earning him laughter from everyone else. JP glares and leaves; Bingo calls after him that it was a joke and urges him to come back.
Miranda says that music was changing, and so were the times, and Scotty realizes that “Mr. King of the Quartet” was left in the dust.
Stillman’s office. JP says the music his granddaughter listens to is all “milkshake” this, and “booty” that, then explains that she made him a playlist and he learned to appreciate it. “Like you learned to appreciate Bingo’s music?” Vera asks. JP admits that it took him awhile, since he was a stick in the mud back then. Lilly asks him where he was when Bingo was killed, and JP says he was at Wishing Star practice, like clockwork on Saturday nights. Vera asks if the Wishing Stars ever incorporated Bingo’s style into his act, and JP says they did, picking up some of his moves and one of his songs. Lilly asks which one, and JP can’t remember the name, but remembers a line of the chorus: “I’ll take my chance, ‘cause truth be told, you only get one dance.” Lilly says it sounds meaningful, and JP says he liked that one. Vera asks if it wasn’t too racy, and JP explains that it wasn’t always the lyrics that were racy, it was the beat that unnerved people; things were different back then, everything was segregated, and the beat was considered “an African-American…thing.” Lilly concludes that Bingo bringing that into their world had repercussions, and JP agrees, saying that some people took the heat more than others.
Valentine house. JP asks Ed if they can watch Bandstand; Ed scoffs that no one wants to watch kids dance, predicts that the show will get yanked, and says they’ll watch Milton Berle like they always do. Bingo asks Ed if he’s received a telegram, since he’s been hoping to hear from Bandstand, but Ed shakes his head, and JP scoffs that they don’t play Bingo’s kind of music. Ed says there was nothing for Bingo, but JP was accepted to Princeton, then instructs JP to show Bingo the letter. Ed explains that JP’s the first one in the family to go to college. Meanwhile, Juliana and Miranda are bringing things in from the kitchen, and Juliana’s noticed that Miranda and Bingo are “pinned.” Miranda explains that it’s just for fun, ironic, actually, and it’s their anti-commitment: to never plan for the future for the rest of their lives. Juliana asks what they’ll live on, if they don’t plan for the future. “Love and music,” Miranda giggles, as only a naïve, lovestruck teenager can. Juliana explains that Miranda’s husband’s livelihood will be her livelihood, and Miranda says she always thought she’d get her own job. Juliana asks which Miranda plans to be, a teacher or a nurse, and when Miranda doesn’t answer, she suggests that Miranda secure herself a future “before the bloom is off the rose,” then asks rhetorically if Miranda wants to end up a penniless old maid.
As Miranda stares in disbelief, Juliana takes the food into the living room, and Ed explains that, with JP going to college, he’ll need someone to take over the store, then tells Bingo he’s being promoted to counter manager. Bingo thanks him, but says he was hoping to focus on his music. Juliana pointedly asks Ed if they can afford to give promotions at the moment, and Ed condescendingly advises her not to worry her pretty little head about money, since he fired Aces anyhow. Bingo’s aghast at this, reminding Ed that Aces is his best worker, and that that job is the only thing keeping his family out of the poorhouse. Ed says Aces should have thought of that before he left that devil music on the jukebox. Bingo protests that he was the one who left that record on, but Ed says there’s no reason to cover for Aces, deeming him a “bad apple,” and now he’s gone.
Lilly and Vera realize that Aces didn’t quit, he was fired, and JP tells them that Bingo was determined to find him and make it up to him somehow. Lilly asks when this was, and JP says it was a few days before he was killed.
